The Performance Days team has reason to celebrate. This year's Spring Fair 2024, held on March 20th and 21st at the Munich Trade Fair grounds, concluded with great success. With around 3000 trade visitors from around the world, Performance Days provided an optimal environment for the sports and fashion industry to learn about future fibre and material trends for the upcoming S/S 2026 season, explore innovations, exchange ideas, and establish new contacts.

With almost 440 exhibitors from various countries the fair offered a wide range of products and solutions. Trade visitors were particularly pleased with the extensive offering of information platforms, such as the Trend Forum featuring the highly topical Focus Topic ‘Beyond Bottles – the Future of Polyester’, the newly integrated Footwear Area and dedicated Footwear Forum, the Innovation Area, the packed program of Expert Talks, the Sustainability Lounge, the Media Lounge, the new Reality Zone, and the newly integrated Technology Hub.

The record attendance is proof of the relevance and importance of this fair for the entire textile industry. We are proud to provide a platform that drives innovation and shapes the future of textile design

Nina Conrad, co-initiator of the Footwear Area, commented: "The atmosphere in the Footwear Area was simply wonderful. It was great to see the conversations between exhibitors and the collaborations that were fostered. The results of this collaboration were also evident in the forum, which attracted a large audience thanks to the 3D-printed shoe we presented."

The Italian Bar became the central meeting point and utilised its potential as an industry get-together at the end of the first day of the fair. Thanks were extended to the sponsor of the get-together, Drirelease / Dricomfort / Optimer.

"We are overwhelmed by the positive response and the lively interest in this year's Performance Days fair," summarised Marco Weichert, CEO of Performance Days.

"The record attendance is proof of the relevance and importance of this fair for the entire textile industry. We are proud to provide a platform that drives innovation and shapes the future of textile design."

The number of visitors exceeded all expectations, reaching a new record, making the Performance Days Fair 2024 one of the most significant events in the industry. The diversity of participants, including designers, buyers, manufacturers, and experts, contributed to an inspiring exchange of ideas and expertise.

The Reality Zone & the Technology Hub excite

Performance Days has long established itself as a renowned information platform alongside its expertise as an important fibre and material fair. The aim is to educate the industry on current topics, provide discussion material, and promote mutual exchange, as well as future collaborations. With two new platforms, which will also be continued at the autumn event, the goal is to build on this foundation.

For the first time, the fair introduced its own workshop format with the Reality Zone. In Hall C2, not only did the open, appealing design generate enthusiasm, but solutions and approaches were discussed for two days, in collaboration with Accelerating Circularity, that provide stakeholders in the circular supply chain the opportunity to participate in textile-to-textile systems. The non-profit organisation founded by Karla Magruder, based in New York, serves as a catalyst for new, circular supply chains and business models to convert used textiles into common raw materials. It was particularly gratifying that the workshops could help connect polyester recyclers in the industry with fabric producers capable of integrating textile raw materials into their processes and products.

Karla Magruder, founder of Accelerating Circularity, expressed her enthusiasm: "The Performance Days was a fantastic event where you could educate yourself, meet existing and potential partners, and see new innovations. The format of the fair is well thought out to be at the forefront of the industry's transition to circular systems. The success was visible in every aspect. We are very pleased to be part of this important event."

For the first time, a separate Technology Hub was integrated into Hall C1 to address the trending topic of digitalisation. Companies and manufacturers such as Vizoo, Kornit, PB Accessories, Emtec Electronics, and DMix Color Digital GmbH showcased solutions for digitalisation processes in this area. Andreas Büdel from PB Accessories confirmed the importance of the new platform: "The 'Tech Hub' was a long overdue concept for us and fits perfectly with the format of Performance Days! In an industry that heavily relies on innovation, a space for the exchange of innovative technologies and tools that support sustainable processes is essential. We feel well-placed with innovative products based on state-of-the-art technologies in this environment. As a product supplier, we had plenty of opportunities during the two days to engage intensively at the highest level with system partners, technology suppliers, and customers."

Positive feedback for Expert Talks program

Always a highlight and therefore also a magnet at Performance Days are the various presentations, panel discussions, Pecha Kuchas, and talks as part of the Expert Talks. Unfortunately, moderator Charles Ross had to cancel due to illness, so Kim Scholze, CSO at Sympatex, and also a renowned moderator and podcast host, spontaneously led the program on both days.

In addition to current insights into this year's Trend Forum by Alexa Dehmel and Nora Kühner's look into future colour worlds, discussions focused on how the footwear industry can work more sustainably. Additionally, René Bethmann from Vaude examined this year's Focus Topic, Beyond Bottles. The upcoming EU Green Deal will disrupt the rPET raw material source, as old beverage bottles need to be recycled into new ones. He impressively summarized where the (new) recycled yarns could come from in his presentation.

Mark Held, founder of the European Outdoor Group, explained how the EOG aims to follow the Race to Zero, what successes it has achieved in recycling, showing, among others, Cyndi Rhodes. Equally well-attended as the Expert Talks Area, the Sustainability Lounge followed the principle of learning, participating, exchanging, and networking. Here too, the quality of partners and topics was extremely high.

Organizer Anna Rodewald from GreenroomVoice is pleased with the many good conversations and intense exchanges: "Sustainability only works as a team - an exchange among each other and mutual learning is essential. The two days once again proved how important it is for the industry to pull together, look ahead, pursue a common goal, and initiate new projects together."

The next edition of Performance Days will take place on October 23rd and 24th, 2024, in Munich, at the Munich Trade Fair grounds in Halls A1 and A2. Until then, the Performance Days platform will be available, including the Marketplace and continued inspiring themes of Material Stories, to make online sourcing even easier.

www.performancedays.com