The recently closed edition of BlueZone held from 30 to 31 August 2016 in Munich infused new energy and liveliness to the whole Munich Fabric Start show and to the market. 

For its 20th birthday, Munich Fabric Start (held from 30 August to 1 September 2016) took a significant evolution path everyone talked about. A key change was the new zoning concept that included the addition of 2,500 square meter exhibition space, two newly inuagurated pavilions (the Catalyzer and the Keyhouse) , 25 new exhibitors mostly taking part in the BlueZone and a series of additional initiatives.

Bringing inspiration to the market

“Our aim is to become a source of inspiration for the market, bringing new trendsetting ideas, hyped technology interaction and new sustainable perspectives to its players’ attention,” commented the show organization headed by its founders and managers Wolfgang and Sebastian Klinder. “This is possible thanks to this new setting and concept – which will also evolve further,” they explained while pointing out how the renovated zoning concept recalled new exhibitors as well as visitors from segments like automotive (BMW and Porsche design teams were around) and interior design just to name a few.

Great enthusiasm was in the air as expressed by visitors and exhibitors, also thanks to a series of panels and talks, and various new and dynamic companies presenting their new projects within the Keyhouse. Many of the participants of this area focused on new sustainable solutions and applying a circular economy model to fashion.

Keyhouse leads the way

Among the novelties presented at the Keyhouse pavilion there was a new collaboration between Santoni, Lenzing, Unitin and Tonello aimed at producing a pair of sustainable jeans in a record time of 7 minutes. The new athleisure jeans can be made by recycling fibers thanks to a Lenzing technology, producing a yarn by Unitin, creating a seamless jersey tube with a Santoni knitting machine that can be cut into a pair of jeans and can be ozone and laser treated with Tonello technology. This whole process saves new raw material, electricity, dyestuff, water and time.
Various other companies presented their projects all aimed at giving new life to old textiles. The Remo transparent process, for instance, can all be tracked and accessed online by companies and brands involved in recycling old fibers via QR code scans. 

Catalyzing the market

The Catalyzer area was also newly inaugurated and hosted a selection of Italian, European and US denim weavers. This new area was restructured from an old industrial location and characterized by huge natural light windows juxtaposed to the authentic industrial stone walls and additional decors.

Some discontent was only sensed among some BlueZone exhibitors as the space hasn’t changed significantly for this edition – apart from the moving of some exhibitors to the Catalyzer pavilion which also generated discontent.

 

Prizing innovation

Also new among the various initiatives was the launch of the Keyhouse Hightex Award aimed at recognizing the most innovative and fast-forward thinking fabrics. The show’s organization selected the 40 top fabric developments offered by its overall 1,000 exhibitors. The jury presented the best 25 fabrics to visitors and awarded the three newest ones. The first award was won by Manifatture Italiane Scudieri - Mectex Textile Division, part of the Adler Group, who created a super lightweight, 100% waterproof and breathable 3-layer technical fabric that is light absorbing when exposed to light and glows in the dark.

The second award was won by Schoeller which showed an animal friendly created Merino wool fabric that is water-repellent without employing any PFC. The third award was won by Officina +39 launching Recycrom, a new color dye obtained by 100% recycled textile cotton waste.

Also participating in the award was Stone Paper, a sustainable paper material for labels. This material is obtained by We Nordic by grinding stones without employing any water, wood, bleach or chemicals and producing very low CO2 emissions when burnt. Dienpi also produced some Alcantara labels that can become interactive and show 3D augmented reality effects when scanned with a smartphone.

Some denim treats

Amongst the denim brands debuting in Munich was Cone Denim. For the occasion they pre-introduced Pinto Denim Washed to the market, a vertically streaked treatment applied onto denim they accidentally developed in the ’60s that was never forgotten by insiders.

The real record denim on show at BlueZone was by Kassim Denim, who launched a 38 oz. natural indigo fabric, probably the heaviest denim of the world!

For more information on trade shows check out DFV Group’s expocheck.com.