The fashion trade fair landscape in Berlin is continuing to intensify and is also concentrating on two poles: Selvedge Run will move closer to Panorama in January and the Premium Group with all its formats will cooperate more closely with the green trade fairs Ethical Fashion Show and Greenshowroom. Now there’s another development: Panorama and Innatex are teaming up. Starting January 2018, a new green format entitled Xoom will celebrate its premiere in Hall 7c on 1,000 sq. meters. Twenty-one exhibitors have already registered, including brands such as Knowledge Cotton Apparel, Recolution, Antonio Verde, Komodo, Organisation, Tranquillo and Woody to name only a few.
How do the industry and Berlin’s trade show makers view this decision? We asked the top insiders and it looks like this development is generally welcomed. It further strengthens Berlin’s relevance as a fashion location, which has been discussed time and again in past seasons. Whether the concept will work out and help green fashion become more mainstream will soon be determined.
Alexander Hitzel, project manager, Innatex: 
"We approached Panorama and have been talking to each other since summer. Innatex is the largest working and order fair for sustainable textiles, but we admit that we do not reach conventional retailers. We can only do that in Berlin. However, we do not want to organize our own trade fair but rather use the synergy effects as part of Panorama. Under the title Xoom, we will be using a uniform stand construction system in Hall 7c. So far, we have 21 commitments; half of the space is already fully booked. We are planning to have a total of about 40 exhibitors. We know that some of the exhibitors will also exhibit at the Ethical Show and Greenshowroom. The concept of the biannual Innatex in Wallau remains unaffected by this.”
Thimo Schwenzfeier, head of marketing communication, Frankfurt Messe: 
“Eco-Fashion is the future, which is why we have been working closely with the industry for many years and have made Berlin Fashion Week, with our two trade fairs Ethical Fashion Show Berlin and Greenshowroom–with around 180 labels at the end of the day–the global hotspot in this area. With sustainable fashion, Berlin is uniquely positioned to compete with other countries and cities such as Milan, Paris, London or New York. During the upcoming Fashion Week in January, we will be moving our trade fairs to the power plant in the heart of Berlin for the first time and will cooperate even more closely with the Premium Group and its #Fashiontech event.
This enables us to bundle the fashion themes of the future–sustainability, functionality and smart materials–in a way that is unique and comprehensive as nowhere else. Our commitment includes, for example, the cooperation with the Berlin Senate, which explicitly promotes sustainability and technology in fashion, and the Fashion Council Germany.
We are sure that this total package is unbeatable for all eco- and lifestyle-oriented fashion labels. We also believe that sustainability in fashion needs a platform of its own and should not be just part of a conventional mainstream environment.”
Aki Tuncer, country manager, Knowledge Cotton Apparel: 
“We welcome the new concept and will be exhibiting on the new Xoom platform in January. But we won't be at the Seek and the Ethical Show for that reason. The overall concept of Xoom sounds convincing. I was also impressed by the decision of Selvedge Run to move closer to Panorama. Innatex is the oldest trade fair for sustainable textiles and I make the best orders there, but I can only reach my regular customers from the niche there. Conventional traders don't get there. But I didn't reach them at Seek and only occasionally at the Ethical Show. The Panorama is open to everyone, so I'm hoping for new customers there.”
Bernd Hausmann, CEO, Glore: 
“I am skeptical about whether it will work through the integration of Innatex into the Panorama to attract and reach more conventional traders. Generally speaking, I find it unfortunate that there is now another location that we have to approach dealers. The decision to move the Ethical Show into the power plant and link it to #Fashiontech is a step in the right direction. Better accessibility and frequency.”
Anita Tillmann, managing partner, Premium Group: 
“Berlin stands for sustainability like no other fashion city. With the Premium, we launched the Green Area at the station in 2006 and to this day we are presenting green labels on the Premium Group formats. Messe Frankfurt with its two trade-fair formats forms the Centre for Eco-Fashion twice a year. In January, we will be extending our #Fashiontech conference in cooperation with Messe Frankfurt by a whole day, during which the focus on TechTextiles and sustainability will be focused at FashionSustain. We expect experts and high-level speakers who will share their knowledge and innovations with the participants.
At FCG, we promote young designers in the field of sustainability with long-term programs; last season, the winners of the Sustainability Award successfully presented themselves at the Premium and the Ethical Fashion Show.
For Berlin, it is only positive to position itself as a globally relevant location for sustainability in all price segments through competence and offering. As always, we are therefore in favor of any expansion that will make a positive contribution to the development of the Berlin location.”
Tom Heise, chief communication officer, Panorama: 
“Innatex approached us with the desire to integrate their trade fair into the portfolio of Panorama Berlin. And the topic was very well received by us, as sustainability is not only highly relevant to society, but many of our exhibitors are also already realizing the topic in their processes without communicating it in a big way. For us, the new Xoom platform now offers an opportunity to display this area within a hall in its entirety. And with Innatex, we have a reliable partner at our side with over 20 years of experience and the existing exhibitor portfolio. Consolidation is also an advantage for the attractiveness of Berlin as a location in international competition. Nowhere else do national and international buyers have the opportunity to get a complete market overview at such an early stage in one place.”
Jan Thelen, CEO, Recolution: 
“We'll exhibit only at one fair. Innatex on the Panorama makes sense, of course, to give our niche a larger platform and visibility. The Ethical will also be a good event, however. With the new hall and the closer cooperation with Premium, this organic trade fair will also provide a further boost to the future. And competition is what they say is so good for business.”
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For more information on trade shows check out DFV Group’s expocheck.com.
