The countdown is on: from January 23 to 25, 2024, MUNICH FABRIC START will once again bring together designers, product managers and fashion makers from all over Europe. Flanked by THE SOURCE, BLUEZONE and KEYHOUSE, around 1,000 international collections for the Spring/Summer 2025 season for the global fashion and apparel industry will be presented in a highly professional working atmosphere at Germany’s largest and most important fabric show.
It is accompanied by a diverse supplementary program consisting of keynotes, panel discussions, trend presentations, Q&A sessions and more with top-class international experts from various areas of the industry.
Under the title CLARITY, MUNICH FABRIC START, together with THE SOURCE, BLUEZONE and KEYHOUSE will open its doors on January 23, 2024, thus commencing the sourcing round for Spring/Summer 2025. With approximately 1,000 international exhibitors, the fabric show is heavily booked.
Among the exhibitors are many of the most relevant suppliers ranging from Assyst, Cadica Group and CNC Tessuti to Liberty, Lisa and Studio 9 to Takisada Nagoya, WeNordic and Yünsa. To meet the ever-growing need for orientation, MUNICH FABRIC START is not only focused on Spring/Summer 2025, but also on professional exchange, networking, forecasts and edutainment.
Visitors’ expectations confirm that MUNICH FABRIC START strikes the right nerve with this concept:
“The MFS is always a good opportunity to find out about technological innovations in the industry. Current topics certainly include blockchain technology, digital product passports, 3D design and general innovations in the field of software for material and process innovations. At MFS, our creative teams look into the latest trends from fabric producers and weavers and engage in a creative exchange with the trend experts in attendance.” Dr. Horst Gersmeyer, COO/Managing Director, Textilkontor Walter Seidensticker GmbH & Co. KG
“For us, MFS is the most important platform for gaining an overview of the new collections and trends in just a few days. Thanks to the Bluezone and other areas, we have a very diverse range of exhibitors. This, together with fantastic organization, makes the fabric show a special event. For our golf collection in particular, we are looking for lightweight functional materials with a high level of UV protection.” Philipp Walendy, Managing Director | ALBERTO GmbH & Co. KG
“At MFS, we look to existing suppliers for the collection items that can make the difference for us, for something special. We also regularly look at new suppliers, which you won’t find anywhere else in such a concentrated form. We appreciate the strong organization and the broad overview of the market at Munich Fabric Start. The exchange with all the suppliers that are important to us in a very short space of time is essential for the input for our new collections.” Jochen Digel, Managing Director | Digel AG
In the TREND LECTURES (Keyhouse – Hall 5) and the SEMINAR ZONE (BLUEZONE – Hall 7), over 50 speakers will be sharing their expertise in more than 30 presentations, offering exclusive insights into various areas of the industry and explaining the latest trends and innovations:
On the first day of the show, visitors to MUNICH FABRIC START can look forward to a variety of highlights on the topics of sustainability, trends and AI – including “Design From Idea to Shelf (Fashion Innovation + AI)” with host Hans Peter Hiemer (Assyst GmbH), who will highlight the multitude of new opportunities that artificial intelligence and production-ready 2 and 3D design hold for designers (10:30-11:00, Keyhouse – Hall 5).
From 11:00-12:00, GANNI’s Chief Sustainability Officer Lauren Bartley and Muchaneta ten Napel, Founder & CEO of Shape Innovate, invite you to a dialog on the broader impact and potential of sustainable practices across the fashion industry (“In Conversation With Lauren Bartley”, Keyhouse – Hall 5). In his trend presentation “Gen Z Trends and Consuming Habits”, Samuel James Trotman (Samutaro) will shed light on the relevance of denim for “Gen Z” and what influence the resurgence of the cult fabric has on the work of designers and manufacturers (12:00-13:00, BLUEZONE – Hall 7).
At the same time, Karin Schmitz (Peclers Paris) looks confidently into a future in which the hybridization of references and the clash of opposites pave the way to a sustainable world with “Women’s Fashion Trends SS 25 – Optimismus & nachhaltige Visionen” (12:00-13:00, Keyhouse – Hall 5). Immediately afterwards, Muchaneta ten Napel (Shape Innovate) will moderate the innovation panel “FASHION360: Helping Reinvent the Textile Lifecycle – Birth, Life, Renewal” with Camilla Mjelde (Trimco Group), Cyrus Gilbert-Rolfe (Kezzler) and Johanna Stemberger (TOMRA Textiles).
In the afternoon, Rolf Heimann (Hessnatur Stiftung) will give an overview of how companies can develop individual concepts and strategies to successfully integrate and expand sustainability practices into their corporate structure in light of the new challenges posed by the EU Green Deal in his educational session “ESG Screening – Basis für eine gelungene Nachhaltigkeitsstrategie” (14:00-14:30, Keyhouse – Hall 5).
At the same time, Maria Cristina Pavarini (The SPIN OFF) will moderate the educational talk “DENIM DEAL 2.0 – The Next Chapter” with Nicolas Prophte (DENIM DEAL Steering Committee), Romain Narcy (Ereks) and Besim Özek (Bossa) (BLUEZONE – Hall 7, 14:00-15:00). Anna F. Michel (Yoona.ai) will join Gareth Locke (Mytheresa), Fax Quintus (I-MMERSIVE) and Raquel Silva (Safira) on a technology panel to discuss how AI is transforming the retail landscape (“AI- How New Technology Enhances Retail”, 15:30- 16:30, Keyhouse – Hall 5). In his keynote “The Art of Living” (16:30-18:00, Keyhouse – Hall 5), David Shah (View-Publications) will sift through the jungle of constantly changing trends in search of the answer to what “design” actually means in our time.
Wednesday is off to an inspiring start: Simon Angel (MUNICH FABRIC START), curator of SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS, will speak about sustainable material solutions that can contribute to a more sustainable circular economy for textiles in “Key Conversation and Deep Dive About Future-Oriented Sustainable Material Developments” (10:00-11:00, Keyhouse – Hall 5).
Immediately afterwards, Panos Sofianos will host an innovation panel in the BLUEZONE (11:00-12:00, Hall 7) with circular denim pioneers Carme Santacruz (Jeanologia) and Marco Lucietti (Sanko Holding ISKO Division) on the topic of “The Power Of R – Is It the Letter R to Rescue Us from Failure?”, where the latest industry developments in the areas of recycling, repurposing, reforming and reinventing will be discussed.
In the panel discussion “Fashion Forward – Einfluss von Materialien und Herstellungsprozessen auf Modedesign” Chelsea Jean Lamm (Chelsea Jean Lamm), Adrian Runhof (Talbot Runhof), Ronja Beckmann (FASHION X CRAFT) and Stefan Brunner (FASHION COUNCIL GERMANY) will share their experiences of choosing the right sustainable materials and how these influence their design process (13:00- 14:00, Keyhouse – Hall 5).
Nicole Espey (BIOTEXFUTURE) will also focus on sustainable materials: in her innovation talk “BIOTEXFUTURE: Biobased Solutions to Address the EU Textile Strategy 2030”, she will present new ideas, promising approaches and possible solutions that could reform the textile landscape (15:30-16:00, Keyhouse – Hall 5). At the same time, “Denim Hunter – The Documentary” will be screened in the BLUEZONE (Hall 7) – in the subsequent Q&A session from 16:30-17:00, director and journalist Emilio Di Stefano and protagonist Viktor Fredbäck (Resterörds) will be on hand to answer questions.
The eight areas ADDITIONALS, FABRICS, ReSOURCE, BLUEZONE, DESIGN STUDIOS, KEYHOUSE, SUSTAINABLE INNOVATIONS and THE SOURCE represent the entire fashion ecosystem in one location, reaffirming MUNICH FABRIC START as a unique one-stop sourcing solution: with short distances, a highly professional working atmosphere, many familiar faces, centrally located and easily accessible in the heart of Europe.
