Intertextile Apparel marks a milestone:25 years of serving the industry

Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics will return from September 25th – 27th at the National Exhibition & Convention Center （Shanghai）. This year marks the 25th anniversary of the Autumn Edition， and 2019 has already proven to be an exciting year for Intertextile. In March， the Spring Edition experienced yet another 15% increase in visitor numbers and strong positive feedback from exhibitors. Despite global trade concerns， this fair proves itself time and time again as the ideal place to make valuable connections and capture new potential in the market.

One global apparel textile flagship， 25 years strong

Intertextile was first held in 1995 with 123 exhibitors and 7，000 trade buyers. Since then， the fair has rapidly expanded and globalized. The 2018 Autumn Edition welcomed 4，480 exhibitors from 33 countries & regions and around 78，000 trade buyers from some 110 countries & regions. The fairs international aspect welcomes opportunities from all around the world， while its location in Shanghai offers the chance to take advantage of Chinas strong economy and apparel industry.

There is a place for every apparel textile product at the fair， with well-established product zones and country & region pavilions including：

SalonEurope： featuring high-end products from Europe， including pavilions from Germany and Turkey， as well as Milano Unica from Italy.

Asian country & region pavilions： presented by Hong Kong， India， Japan， Korea， Pakistan， Taiwan and Thailand.

Group pavilions： from Lenzing， Invista， Hyosung， DuPont， Korea Textile Trade Association （KTTA）， Korea Textile Centre （KTC） and OEKO-TEX （in the All About Sustainability zone）.

Product zones： Functional Lab， Beyond Denim， All About Sustainability， Digital Printing Zone， Verve for Design， Premium Wool Zone and Accessories Vision.

New season of inspiration and flexible order services

The fair will host a comprehensive fringe programme for visitors and exhibitors to enhance their trip with the latest market information and opinions. Visitors can discover a new season of inspiration， for both international and domestic Autumn / Winter 2020-21 trends， at the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum and the Fabrics China Trend Forum. Intertextile Apparel also aims to foster innovation and creativity at the China International Fabrics Design & Fabrics Creation Competition. The fringe programme will also include seminars and panel discussions covering key industry topics， as well as product presentations from leading exhibitors.

To meet flexible sourcing needs， the fair will offer a database of exhibitors offering small-order and product-in-stock services. The Business Matching Programme will also arrange onsite meetings between exhibitors and VIP buyers， with interpreters available on a first-come-first-serve basis.

Eco-conscious Intertextile Directions trends for Autumn / Winter 2020-21

While this years Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics celebrates 25 years of history， the fair also looks to the future for the next trend forecast. From September 25th – 27th ， trade buyers can visit the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum for Autumn / Winter 2020-21 inspiration. The seasons trend theme is HUMAN TECH， with four trends： SENSE-ABILITY， ELECTRO-TONIC， KNOW-HOW and RE-MAKE. The theme reflects on todays transformative era. It considers ways to rediscover a sense of self， whilst also connecting to the future.

Vitally， the trend theme discusses fashions responsibility to cut waste and create a sustainable future. Eco-friendly fabrics and natural textures with modern functionalities are mentioned throughout the Intertextile Directions Trend Guide， suggesting that sustainability is becoming an integral “norm” of fashions future.

SENSE-ABILITY： sensual fabrics that fuse chemistry and nature， combining technology with ecology. Textures in this trend are coarser， archaic materials with a natural look， such as pile， fairy wool， velour， velvet and organic silk in subdued， delicate pale tones and medium-neutrals.

ELECTRO-TONIC： bold and enchanting designs， encapsulating a luxurious feel infused with rich nature. Fabrics in this trend are dynamic and technical – triacetate， cupro， eco-nylon， organic wool – paired with a palette of vivid tones， neon， and black and white.

KNOW-HOW： materials are diverse and expressive， demanding both comfort and functionality. Fabrics are sustainable， recycled or re-used， nostalgia-inspired and handcrafted： felted wool， jersey jacquard， ecosuede， yarn-dyed and soft tweed. A vintage pastel palette will subtly incorporate autumnal tones.

RE-MAKE： practical， functional and sportive – an evolved version of traditional materials. Recycled wool， organic cotton， mixed feel on tweed， corduroy， functional stretch fabrics and bulky home-spun fabrics are key to this trend. Chic， earthy greens and basic brights will pair modern and retro palettes.

At the fair， the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum is a valuable opportunity for exhibitors to submit on-trend fabric samples， which in turn direct trade buyers to their booths. Often a first visit for major trade buyers， the Trend Forum is a key example of how the fairs fringe programme supports and enables new business connections. “Our products are quite expensive， so we target the high-end market， and many visitors at the fair are from this sector. Victorias Secret saw our product in the Trend Forum and came to our booth. Weve also had buyers from Icebreaker and other luxury brands visit us，” observed Mr. James Tang， Marketing Manager of Südwolle Group at last years Autumn Edition.

Intertextiles Functional Lab options offer high performance with low impact

Major activewear and outdoor brands， such as adidas， Columbia Sportswear， Nike， Patagonia and more， have all been releasing news with a significant theme： whats new in their environmental efforts. Meanwhile， social media has proved successful for smaller brands offering products such as recycled activewear and shoes. For consumers with a highly ac-tive outdoor lifestyle， it stands to reason that they seek products with maximum functionality and minimal environmental impact. Stand-out fabrics suitable for sportswear， swimwear and lingerie can be sourced from Functional Lab at the exhibition.

According to the EU Commissions Science Hub， over 80% of a products environmental impact is determined during the design phase. As such， even the accessories on a garment should be responsibly produced. Solutions can be found at Functional Lab with suppliers such as Vetex， who create highly durable transfer tape coatings. Their eco-friendly production process is compliant with REACH and STANDARD 100 by OEKO-TEX？； Vetex are solar-powered， do not produce water waste， and convert any fumes into energy that heats up their factory， ensuring circularity in their process. Another Functional Lab exhibitor， Giftstart， offer reflective yarns and fabrics， and are committed to developing eco-friendly compositions.

Many Functional Lab exhibitors will feature their latest textile developments made from unique raw materials. This includes Yalta， who have developed a decomposable stretch fibre from polylactic acid， extracted from genetically altered corn. New Wide Group are the first to master the application of aerogel – typically used as insulation by NASA – to yarn， which creates a lightweight knitted fabric with thermal conductivity. They will also bring their tempsense thermostat fibre， a functional regenerated cellulose coated in PCM， which regulates body temperature and deodorises.

Recycled fabrics on offer at Functional Lab

Unifi will feature their REPREVE？ brand， which recycles plastic bottles into fabric that offers wicking， warming， cooling and water repellent functions. Whats more， buyers supporting Unifis REPREVE？ will help them to meet their goal of recycling 20 billion plastic bottles by 2020.

Lee Ven will bring performance wear fabrics made with recycled fibre. They have also developed a new knitting method using a modified knitted jacquard machine， which avoids the issue of white stretch marks that accompanies digital printing.

Klinger Asia will return with their PureCool？ fabric， made with recycled jade stones， which offers a cooling function， as well as odour control， quick-dry effects and UV protection.

Shanghai Tiqiao Textile Yarn Dyeing will feature a wide variety of fabrics with functional properties， including recycled options， organic cotton and fabrics made with soybeans.

Hyosung and LYCRA pavilions return

The Hyosung Pavilion will showcase functional fibres suitable for sportswear， athleisure， swimwear and intimate apparel. They will bring their creora？ brand， a range of functional fabrics with functions such as such excellent dyeability， heat resistance， degradation prevention and more.

The LYCRA Company produces innovative apparel fibre and technology solutions， as well as specialty chemicals used in the spandex and polyurethane value chains. They own leading consumer and trade brands： LYCRA？， LYCRA？ T400？， COOLMAX？， THERMOLITE？， SUPPLEX？ and TACTEL？. The LYCRA Company will return to Functional Lab with its pavilion， focusing on comfort and lasting performance.

All of these inventive suppliers and more can be found at Functional Lab， which has experienced rapid growth in recent editions and now serves as a key platform to find competitive products in the industry. Mr. Zhen Wang， Product Engineering Manager of Textile Dyeing （Suzhou）， who sourced from Functional Lab at last years Autumn Edition， said，“We are looking for high-quality raw material suppliers， and the quality of the exhibitors this edition is very good. Our customers are brands such as Nike， adidas， New Balance， Columbia Sportswear， Decathlon， Li-Ning and ANTA， so this is an important platform for us to find quality products which can meet the needs of our clients.”

Cambodia and South Africa join Intertextiles Accessories Vision

Around 600 exhibitors will join Accessories Vision， the comprehensive accessory product zone in hall 6.2 at Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics. This year， new exhibitors from Cambodia and South Africa will join the 25th Autumn Edition of the fair， further diversifying the international exhibitor line-up.

Accessories such as zippers， buttons， hooks and decorations are important factors that indicate a garments quality to consumers. Recent high street fashion trends， such as oversized buttons， have also seen accessories play a large role in design. The Accessories Vision product zone offers visitors access to a wide variety of suppliers， both Chinese and international， who will showcase a huge range of high-quality products at competitive prices. The zone also includes options essential for smart branding， such as eco-friendly tags and labels.

While big names like 3M， Avery Dennison， Ideal Fastener and Shimada Shoji are ready to return， along with key members of Button & Garment Accessories Industry Chamber， new exhibitors include：

Huashengda Zipper （Cam）， from Cambodia. They specialize in zippers， including metal， plastic， water-repellent， functional and custom-made items using their patented structure design， which can include brand logos and symbols for better brand identification. They will showcase their new patented toothshaped a-carve？ series.

From South Africa， Prime Fastener will introduce their buttons for denim and sew-on buttons， as well as rivets， press studs， hook & bar fasteners， pronged snap fasteners and eyelets.

Other highlighted exhibitors include：

Hong Kong Bright Zipper & Machinery， who will bring their half-round aluminium teeth zippers， which offer 50% more strength than standard zippers– suitable for luggage， garments and shoes – and a unique aesthetic.

Monica Crystal Accessories， who specialise in hand-embroidered accessories， rhinestone jewellery， water-soluble lace， collars and other products.

U.R.Label & Printing， offering various kinds of printing， weaving， tag， decorative label， heat transfer hot stamping and other products.

Wai Hung Weaving Factory， who will provide all kinds of fancy ribbons， ropes and round flats. They implement strict quality management， offer innovative styles and fast production times， offer low MOQ options and welcome custom orders.

And environmentally-friendly accessories can be found with：

3M， who will bring their innovative， environmentally-friendly Thinsulate？ – a 100% recycled warming alternative to down. It maintains excellent thermal insulation and is durable， light weight， and fluffy.

Mitchell， who are focused on finding ways to reduce plastic waste in the environment， and have developed biodegradable tag pins made with PLA （polylactic acid）.

Mainetti， who will offer their M-film green packaging solutions， which include advanced polybags， and products including organic additives for increased biodegradability.