Follow new trends at our fashion fairs

The 54th STYL and KABO fairs remained the only major  contracting event of the Czech clothing and footwear industry. Almost half of the exhibitors were direct manufacturers and the share of foreign participants increased to almost 40 percent. Retailers got acquainted with new brands and collections designed not only for the coming autumn/winter season, but also for the next spring and summer. This time, the supporting programme focused on increasing the knowledge and skills of sales staff. Four and a half thousand trade visitors viewed the presentation of 233 exhibiting companies and more than 500 fashion brands in three days.

The largest and most modern hall of the Brno Exhibition Centre – Hall  P – featured women's, men's and children's clothing, lingerie and swimsuits, fashion accessories and costume jewellery. Design Street with exhibitions and examples of authors' work was opened. Companies from 15 countries, including remote Australia, came to exhibit; Germany, Poland and Slovakia once again had the largest representation. “I am glad that the STYL and KABO fashion fairs have maintained their level of international contracting events despite new market conditions, with new exhibitors and new buyers coming also from online shops,” said Jiří Kuliš, CEO of BVV Trade Fairs Brno.  

ČOKA also regularly participates in the event;  its director Miroslav Bísek adds : “Despite the difficult situation on the clothing market, the Styl and Kabo fairs still maintain their standards and we are happy to come back here. It is a place where we meet both colleagues and friends, and this is very important for our work . ” 

The programme centre hosted four exhibitions of new collections of exhibitors four times a day. There were two different shows and twelve companies participated, including the Slovak boutique brand Jankiv Siblings, supplier of Italian handbags Jadise or Russian manufacturer of headwear Level-Pro, which presented itself together with the Czech designer Iveta Řádková.

A few steps away, Hall F was occupied by exhibitors of footwear, leather goods and accessories. Companies from 13 countries presented themselves. In the central space of KABO LOUNGE on Sunday, the results of the 13th annual competition of young designers of shoes and leather goods for the Jan Pivečka Foundation Award were announced. All the awarded works could be admired by visitors in the adjacent showcases.  

The supporting programme was conceived as a free professional training of store staff, as the knowledge and skills of sales people are a key element of the purchasing process. Three lectures took place directly in Halls P and F on Saturday and Sunday. The first focused on the composing of a collection in small and medium-sized fashion stores, the second on selling a complementary range of footwear and leather goods, and the third took the form of training on textile materials. Entrance to the fairs and the supporting programme was free of charge for the members of the STYL and KABO Visitors' Club and their accompanying persons.   

The upcoming 55th edition of the STYL and KABO fairs will take on a new look. The organizers will present a new concept during the autumn months; follow the  website www.bvv.cz/styl-kabo or subscribe to our e-letters so that you don't miss out on anything.

What people said about the fairs

Viera Beniaková, Sales Director, Favab s.r.o.:
We are participating after three years and we are excited. I wasn't expecting how happy customers would be to welcome our return. We were pleased with the size of orders and the fact that people from newly established stores come to STYL. Even the presentation here has the level that fashion needs. We were a little afraid of our return, but it turned out that the fair really makes sense.

Monika Havlová, Managing Director, H&D
I am very satisfied, we have a triple turnover compared to the previous fair. We were really busy writing orders, because the Czech market came thinking of a more environmentally friendly trend in favour of linen. Linen is best worn in summer, it is cooling in summer, making you feel warm in winter. It is antibacterial, micromassaging and has the best properties of all qualities in the world. It is a unique material and I am glad that we do not only have to export to a large extent, but that we can stay with our own produce and reach Czech customers as well.

Saffrine Nydegger, owner and designer of the Australian fashion brand SAFFRINE:
This is my first participation in an Eastern European fair. I already have customers in Slovakia, but not in the Czech Republic yet, so I am here to find them. I really liked the fashion shows, they were even better than I had expected. My models were presented in a big style.

Anna Beránková, owner of the company Biošatník:
I am exhibiting at STYL for the first time, making new business contacts here and on the very first day I got orders. I am pleased that the interest in organic cotton is growing in this country and the awareness of the benefits of ecological clothing for small children or people with allergies and eczema is increasing.

Elena Macková, Manager of Con Brio s.r.o.:
We always show several brands in Brno and this time for the first time we present Spanish fashion brand  TanTrend, which has a comprehensive range of women's clothing and accessories. The clients have a very good response, they are excited about the collection and tell us that it is inspirational for their business. It was a very successful premiere of the new brand.

Veronika Sedláčková, under the brands Madzerini, Orienique, Yest (exhibitor Yest)
Our stand was visited by regular customers and some new ones appeared as well. We premiered the Italian brand Madzerini, which are Italian premium quality jackets made with certified duck feathers. There was great interest in them.

Iveta Řádková, fashion designer
These fairs provide space for shows and designers, and that is very good. I have a positive relationship with STYL because I won the TOP STYL DESIGNER competition here in 2003. Since then, I have been continuously presenting my new author's collections and this year I have prepared a show together with the Russian company LEVEL-PRO, which produces headwear and which addressed me for cooperation this spring.

Vlasta Mayerová, ČOKA Secretary
Although the temperature was 33 degrees Celsius outside, ambiance was pleasant in the exhibition halls. We talked to exhibitors from KABO and their feedback for the first two days is positive, both Saturday and Sunday were favourable for them, visitors came to them and they achieved the expected volume of orders.

Andrea Píšková, co-owner, JONAP - shoe production
We were fully satisfied. There was a huge attendance at our booth for three days, so we can't complain. Saturday was the strongest day, with existing customers and many new ones coming from Slovakia. We specialize in children's shoes, the greatest interest was in the barefoot soft and wider children's shoes.

Sami Meziad, Sales Representative, Mat Star Ltd., Sofia, Bulgaria
Our company has been successfully operating on the Bulgarian market since 1972 and has been developing its business activities in many countries of Europe and beyond. We offer a wide range of children's, women's and men's shoes, around four thousand models a year. We could not bring them all here to Brno, but in spite of that I think we have a wide range of our production here. We would like to address potential customers on the Czech and Slovak markets primarily with the quality of our footwear for a good price.

Antonín Žirovnický , Managing Director, Consortium T+M
Our priority is children's health-safe footwear, but we also exhibit women's and men's mostly formal footwear. I also see the benefit of the fair in the fact that we meet here with businesspeople who tell us their joys, worries, requirements and reactions of the end customer. This feedback is important to us in deciding what direction to take and what to do next season. The fair holds its standard in terms of design and the level of the environment in which we exhibit. Attendance is very specific and depends on the economic situation of the season, weather and other factors, but we generally see that people are more careful when placing their orders.

Jozef Šalát, Managing Director, SALTRA s.r.o., Slovakia
We have been going to Brno for twenty years as visitors, this year we are here for the first time as exhibitors of footwear. Our company has been cooperating with renowned customers mainly from France, Austria and Germany for a long time and we want to transfer foreign trends also to the domestic market. At this year's fair you can see how times have changed in our segment. I am glad that STYL and KABO are still in place and that as producers we can confront our possibilities and compare ourselves with other manufacturers or traders.

Simona Spoustová, Managing Director, Simmy s.r.o.
We know the STYL fair well, because we have been exhibiting our umbrella collections here for many years. This year we expanded our presentation to include luxury women's handbags by the Italian brand JADISE from the workshop of Sicilian designer Massimiliano D'Angelo, which we now represent on the Czech and Slovak markets. That is why we decided not only to have a stand, but also to take part in the STYL SHOW, for which we had a number of positive responses.

Jakub Závorka, Company Manager, UNIDAX s.r.o.
We exhibit at KABO twice a year, so we know that the customer expects innovations and variability from us. We use the fair mainly to show our current customers our new products, which this year are small, variable and practical women's and men's bags of our brand FACEBAG, and we are looking for new customers who appreciate the quality of Czech produce and Italian brands that we import into the Czech Republic.