The fashion trade fairs looking good at 50

The STYL and KABO trade fairs have been taking place in Brno for 25 years and their 50^th edition showed that the Czech and Slovak market is still in need of these contractual fashion presentations. The good shape of the global economy and the growth of the textile, footwear, and leatherwear industries were reflected in a heightened interest in attendance. In total, there were 253 exhibitors from 15 countries and the number of brands present rose to 780. The new collections for Spring and Sumer 2018 attracted, according to first estimates, approximately five thousand professional visitors, mostly traders and buyers.

Brno has always represented a unique space for B2B presentations of domestic production, at the 50^th edition of the STYL and KABO trade fairs there were 75 Czech exhibitors, including a couple of interesting newcomers, such as the designer brands E.daniely or LADA fashion. The traditional section of young and independent fashion Fresh Fashion, where five young fashion designers were given an opportunity to present themselves, was again a part of the trade fairs. Foreign brands and companies represented 36 % of the exhibitors; most of them came from Germany, Poland and Slovakia. 62 companies presented themselves for the very first time; 43 at the STYL trade fair and 19 at the KABO trade fair. 65 media representatives were accredited in the Press Centre.

For the 50^th anniversary milestone, a garden party was thrown. Exhibitors and important figures of the fashion market were among the guests. Representatives of the trade union associations ATOK and ČOKA agreed that there is a large demand for this B2B presentation, praised its quality in the context of other European fashion trade fairs, and congratulated the Brno Exhibiton Centre. The organisers used this occasion to highlight six loyal exhibitors who haven’t missed almost any of the 50 fashion fairs that have taken place in Brno so far. At the STYL trade fair it is the companies LAMIDO, H&D Prostějov and Moděva Konice; at the KABO trade fair, the most loyal are the companies PROTETIKA, RIEKER Bohemia and ANEKTA. Special thanks went to the Polish representative of the Brno Trade Fairs company, Mr. Jaroslaw Krykwiński.

On Sunday, the catwalk in the pavilion P became the scene of a magnificent fashion show. In the first block, the STYL and KABO trade fairs were congratulated on their anniversary by renowned Czech and Slovak designers led by Liběna Rochová, Klára Nademlýnská and Pavel Berky. The visitors could admire some of the current models of each one of the eleven designers. The second part of the show belonged to the British fashion icon Vivienne Westwood and her prêt-à-porter collection of women’s and men’s fashion for 2017 – 2018 which had its official premiere in the Czech Republic.

The pavilion P, of course, had been alive with exhibitions for all three days – the contractual STYL SHOW, LINGERIE SHOW and BEACHWEAR SHOW were putting the exhibitors’ new collections on display at regular intervals. On Sunday, the catwalk witnessed a traditional lecture on fashion trends by the Dutch expert Ellen Haeser, who pointed out the changes in the global fashion market and trends in women’s and men’s fashion for Spring and Summer 2018. The seminar included a fashion show with commentary featuring some of the trendy outfits selected from the exhibitors’ collections.

A novelty of this trade fair’s edition was the setting up of lecture spaces directly in the pavilions within reach of all visitors. Two talks on the topic of clothing as communication were given by the Consultant in the Affairs of Elegance and Tact, Daniel Šmíd; trends in swimwear and beach fashion were described by Martin Kárych from the company ALTRA. Ladislava Zaklová from the company SOTEX GINETEX CZ educated the listeners on the news in maintenance symbol marking. The KABO trade fair hosted an official award ceremony and announced the winners of the 11^th annual competition for young designers of shoes and leather haberdashery for the Jan Pivečka Foundation Award.

The supporting programme also included the Czech-Saxon Textile Forum for cooperation in the fields of production, business and education. The forum took place in the pavilion P amid the Lace is Grace exhibition – a unique project of the company ALTERFIL presenting 2,733 bobbin lace pieces from five countries.

What they said about the trade fairs

Jenz Otto, Managing Director of the VTI, North-Eastern German Textile and Clothing Industry Association:
We are happy to be guests at this trade fair. Our association represents more than 300 companies from the textile and clothing industry with more than 16 000 employees, who generated total sales of 1.82 billion euros the previous year. We could not bring all 300 companies to Brno, but I am glad that some of them came here and will attend B2B negotiations with our Czech partners.

Pavel Mlčák, the owner of the company PM-STYL:
For us, the trade fair is mostly an opportunity to present ourselves. People know about us, the customers are used to being able to find us at our usual spot, and for us, this is one of the ways we can present new collections from the brands that we represent on the Czech and Slovak market. We are trying to be here together with our suppliers. The February fashion fair is a bit more attractive for us, but we like to come here in the summer, too.

Roland Hegedüs, Head of Sales of the company DEVERGO, Budapest, Hungary:
The Brno Trade Fair is a good opportunity for getting to know the Central European market – and it’s not that far from Budapest. Last year here at STYL we presented our new collection of jeans. We were successful and very pleased with the result; we acquired new contacts and customers. Then we found a clothes distributor in Prague and in December signed an agreement of cooperation. This year we said to ourselves that we should try to do the same thing with shoes at KABO.

Matěj Závorka, Sales Manager of the company UNIDAX:
We came to Brno with new models of the leather bags Facebag and other hot pieces from the Italian brands RIPANI and JU´STO which we represent on the Czech and Slovak market. Here at the trade fair we meet with traders and professionals from our industry. We would like to make the public aware that we exist and that we are constantly trying to think of new designs.

Petr Pohorský, Managing Director of the company LAMIDO:
Our company deals with the manufacturing of nightwear and sleepwear. We exhibit our goods at the STYL trade fair twice every year, we have regular customers that keep coming back to our stands – they know that they will find us here. I think that the number of visitors is still relatively high and that the trade fair has kept its importance.

Michaela Dufková, Sales Representative of the company ANEKTA:
We prepared a wide range of women’s and men’s handbags and purses for our customers, and according to their reactions from this weekend when the turnout at our stand was bigger, it was a success. We will reserve our judgement until the trade fair is finished, but since we haven’t missed a single one of its fifty editions, we know that results come with time. The first order, however small the volume may be, can in the future evolve into a regular customer that represents an attractive stream of revenue. We come here with the goal of finding new customers – from that point of view the trade fair has its merit.

Szöghiné Csanádi Kata, Head of Sales of the company SZEGED BOLERO, Hungary:
We are a Hungarian company and we present the Hungarian brand Livello di vita. This is the second time we’ve come to the STYL and KABO trade fairs here in Brno; currently our exhibition comprises of our Autumn-Winter collection. The number of visitors at our stand was lower than in February, but this time we gained new contacts and orders, so we are very satisfied. Working with the Brno Trade Fair company is always harmonious, and every time we come, everything is well prepared. We expect to come back to Brno in February.

The 51^th International Fashion and Footwear Trade Fairs STYL and KABO will take place from the 17^th to the 19^st of February 2018.