Fashion Trade Fairs the Biggest in Five Years

The Czech and Slovak markets are growing and so are the trade fairs STYL and KABO as the only international B2B presentation of the fashion industry in this area. The exhibition space has expanded and the number of companies and brands has grown; dozens of newcomers introduced themselves and many previous exhibitors returned to Brno. The 48^th fashion trade fairs STYL and KABO presented new collections and trends for the Spring and Summer 2017 and, as was expected, attracted five thousand professional visitors, businesspeople, and buyers.

“As the only contractual event of its kind in the Czech Republic and in Slovakia, the trade fairs STYL and KABO once again proved their worth and confirmed the growing demand of the consumer market of footwear, clothing, leather goods, and accessories. The return of some domestic manufacturers is encouraging,” the CEO of the BVV Trade Fairs Brno company Jiří Kuliš commented on the 48^th fashion trade fairs.

Expositions of 330 exhibiting companies from 16 countries filled the pavilions P and F. In total, 666 fashion brands presented themselves and the share of foreign participants reached 32 %; the biggest number of them came from Poland, Germany, and Slovakia. Importers once again dominated among Czech exhibitors, but the number of Czech manufacturers grew to 83. 69 companies presented themselves at the Brno fashion trade fairs for the first time; a large participation of companies from China was a novelty. Furthermore, interesting fashion brands from Hungary, Greece, and Belarus, and high quality footwear brands from Germany, Italy, and Spain, had their premiere at the trade fairs. The section of textile and haberdashery, where foreign companies who offer innovative technologies of processing textile presented themselves for the first time, expanded. 54 media representatives from the Czech Republic, Austria, and Slovakia were accredited in the Press Centre.

Novelties and trends for the Spring/Summer 2017 were viewed by the exhibitors not only at stands, but also at fashion shows. Four contractual fashion shows of swimwear, lingerie, and women’s and men’s clothes, in which the collections of two dozen fashion brands were introduced, took place every day. Additionally, a special fashion show LUXURY MATERIALS was held, with an original collection of men’s fashion by the Czech designer Mirka Horká, and haute couture collections of formal and evening dresses by the world-famous designers Roberto Cavalli, Elie Saab, and Oscar de la Renta.

The Dutch expert on fashion trends Ellen Haeser, who gave a lecture about women’s and men’s fashion for the spring and summer 2017 attended by businesspeople and others interested, again accepted her invitation to Brno. At her seminar she pointed out interesting trend products of the trade fair KABO, and concluded with the first ever commented fashion show of trend outfits chosen from collections presented at the trade fair STYL. The supporting programme included a seminar by Martin Kárych from the company ALTRA which revolved around trends in lingerie and swimwear for the seasons 2017 and 2018.

The fashion trade fairs became the scene of several award ceremonies. Young footwear and leatherwear designers competed for the tenth time for the Jan Pivečka Foundation Award, which was awarded in three categories. Two companies were given the permission to use the brands “Žirafa” (Giraffe) and “Česká kvalita” (Czech Quality) which declare quality and harmless-to-health children’s footwear. And for the very first time the new brand “Komfortní obuv” (Comfort Footwear) was awarded at the trade fair KABO. The brand is the adult counterpart to the children’s brand “Žirafa” and indicates a good quality footwear design which ensures a comfortable wear without health risks. A professional supporting programme prepared by the Czech Footwear and Leatherwear Association was also a part of the trade fair. A seminar titled “Barefooting – Yes or No?” pointed out the risks of the current trend of ultrathin, barefoot footwear for walking and running.

What they said about the trade fairs

Iva Macháčková, Managing Director of the company Afeli (the brand Tamaris)
Businesswise, we are once again satisfied. The first two days were excellent and the number of visitors was evenly spread, so we didn’t have any large queues or idle times at our stand. We also made contact with some new customers. Our new collection, which we presented for the first time according to fashion themes, was very well liked, and the premiere of our collection of jewellery and leather design bracelets, which we offer as accessories to footwear and leather haberdashery, was met with great success as well.

Aleš Pavelka, Head of Sales for the Czech Republic and Slovakia, the company Gabor
The trade fair KABO did not fall behind its average success of the past years; the participation on Saturday and Sunday was very good. We’re happy with the progress of the trade fair, our collections were liked and we were successful businesswise. The share of Slovak customers might have been a little lower, which was due to the date of a Slovak bank holiday.

Václav Vaněk, Managing Director of the company V+J obuv
We’re here every six months and I can say that we make 20 to 30 per cent of our total number of orders. I welcome the extended opening hours until 6 p.m. on Monday, although the benefits from this may not manifest themselves until the following years when the visitors get used to this change.

Lucie Marková, designer
I presented my jewellery in the Fresh Fashion zone for the first time in February, and this time I brought drawings and a collection of clothes, which was very successful. A great number of visitors came to us, so we are definitely coming again. I am completely satisfied because I started a cooperation with several stores here which I have known for a long time and which I value greatly.

Bohumil Řihák, CEO of marketing, PLEAS, Plc.
At the trade fair, we expect a greater response to the brand Schiesser; we presented a part of its collection at a fashion show here. We believe that novelties from PLEAS will attract attention as well – for example, we returned petticoats, which are again in demand, into production. The number of visitors at our stand is large, we cannot complain, so from this point of view we are satisfied.

Alexander Baryshev, CEO, Neula Group, Ltd.
This is not our first time in Brno and we have some experience with the fashion trade fair STYL. Our regular customers visit us here and order from us repeatedly, which is why we’re here this year as well. We present a Finnish company’s women’s clothes from purely natural materials, which are largely produced in the Czech Republic because we cooperate with Czech tailor workshops. We participated in a fashion show with our collection of women’s summer dresses, and our dresses could be seen at the seminar about fashion trends, which I consider a professional presentation.

Monika Jeglová, Sales Manager, KARPET
We welcomed the offer to participate in the lecture of the Dutch specialist Ellen Haeser about fashion trends and tried to choose interesting models, for example paper or sisal ornate hats. We’re happy that we caught the audience’s interest, because several our photos made an appearance in the lecture. We’re of course happy that our goods are well liked - this is why we do it, so that the customers are satisfied.

Michal Prskavec, Manager of the brand JU’STO, BORSETTA
Our participation in the trade fair is connected to the fact that we are currently introducing the Italian brand JU’STO to the Czech and Slovak market. It is the next project of the customisable bag made by the Italian designer and father of the idea for O BAG Emanuele Magenta. The trade fair is an opportunity to show a new product and attract potentional customers.

Josef Šimáček, Director of the company JOPESS
We have been coming to STYL since 2001, which is the year our company started, and we’ve had nothing but positive experience with the trade fair over the years. It feels like there were fewer visitors this year but I think that the number of ordered goods evens the number of people out, so the overall impression from our participation this year is good.

Magdalena Petruželová, Vice-Chairperson, PERSA, Plc.
This is our twelfth time at the trade fair as the company Hegler, Essen, Germany. We’re always very satisfied in Brno because forty to fifty clients come to our stand and order goods for both spring and winter, therefore both for the current and the following season. Each of our clients, whether they look for sport or elegant clothes, can find what they need.

The 49^th International Fashion and Footwear
Trade Fairs STYL and KABO will take place
from the 18^th to the 20^th of February 2017