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Neonyt to have fringe programme for sustainable future

10 Jan '19

5 min read

Courtesy: Neonyt Messe Frankfurt

The Neonyt Trade Show, to be held during January 15-17, 2019 as part of Berlin Fashion Week, has an impressive fringe programme with an aim for a paradigm shift in the fashion industry towards a future that saves resources. Neonyt, taking place for the first time, is the synthesis of the two successful formats Greenshowroom and Ethical Fashion Show Berlin.

“The current change in consciousness,” says Olaf Schmidt, vice president Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt, “is not taking place in a vacuum. It’s hasn’t just appeared from nowhere. Rather, it is the result of discourse and discussions, competition and collaboration. The aim of Messe Frankfurt as a global player in the fashion and textile industry is to accompany this process of change and give it a platform. This is why we’ll be expanding the fashion trade show Neonyt in a consistent manner to include an even more broad-ranging fringe and conference programme whose content will partly be generated from our global Texpertise Network and will in turn be reflected in it.”

Fringe programme comprises Fashionsustain, the international conference. Technology, sustainability and innovation are important drivers of the fashion and textile industry and will revolutionise the industry and its processes and production methods. On January 16, 2019, Fashionsustain will be dedicated to precisely these issues, focusing on the ubiquitous challenges to sustainable water management currently facing the textile industry. The conference, which is organised by Messe Frankfurt, will highlight how the interplay of cooperation and competition relating to new and sustainable technologies leads to innovations that drive the industry’s paradigm shift. Fashionsustain will be opened by Clare Press, sustainability editor-at-large of Vogue Australia, author and fair fashion activist, with her keynote speech ‘We are Water. Inspiration and Respiration’. The subsequent conference programme comprises international speakers, including Global Fashion Exchange, Greenpeace, Remei, Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Sympatex, Tchibo, We are Spin Dye and the WWF.

Then there is Fashionimpact, a counterpart to Fashionsustain which goes even more in-depth in order to give more space to topics relevant to smallholders. Activism, empowerment, diversity, traditional craftsmanship, organic farming and fair trade – the Fashionimpact conference format will discuss a broad range of current topics. Its patron is Bandana Tewari – editor-in-chief of Vogue India and columnist for the Business of Fashion. Among the topics discussed will be questions such as ‘Fair Trade Modern Thinking’ and ‘Will the future of denim be organic?’

Thinkathon, part of fringe programme, connects forward-looking companies with the Neonyt network, which is unique in terms of its diversity and professional expertise. During a period of 48 hours, 40 participants will work in six multidisciplinary teams on prototype solutions for three challenges using system-oriented methods. Sourcebook, which organises the Thinkathon on behalf of Messe Frankfurt, selected the experts from 19 countries, including India, the US, Japan, Ghana, Israel, France, the UK and Germany, each with qualifications in areas as diverse as research, development, science, consulting, design and business development. The results will be presented to challenge hosts Otto, Bikini Berlin and TCBL first behind closed doors and then on the Fashionsustain stage.

Neonyt Trade Show also includes Prepeek, the Neonyt influencer and blogger event. From January15 to17, social media professionals and lifestyle journalists are invited to have a Prepeek at the next collections, style them, photograph them and publish them on their channels. Lectures hosted by Prepeek on January 15, 2019 include sessions with influencers such as Alf Tobias Zahn, Blogger Bazaar, Fashion Changers, Jäckle & Hösle, Kirsten Brodde, Kleiderei, Marie Nasemann and The Wearness as well as the presentation of the new book ‘Wardrobe Crisis’ by Clare Press.

In addition to the large and already firmly established conference stage, the already familiar Schaltraum and the Prepeek area, an additional area will be added this year - the Silent Forum, which will provide space in Berlin's Kraftwerk for discussions that support the transformation process of the fashion industry. Workshops, lectures and panels take place in silence on all three days in the Silent Forum via headphone conference. In the Schaltraum, expert panels join together with partners from the Knowledge Lounge. Highlights include the breakfast session ‘Introduction to the Higg Index for SMEs’ by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, the panel ‘The Future of Eco-Conscious Footwear Manufacturing’ with representatives from Lenzing, Procalcado and Santoni as well as various panel discussions, such as with Blauer Engel, BMZ, Fairtrade Deutschland, Fashion Council Germany, Filippa K, GOTS, GIZ, HUGO BOSS and Melawear.

There will also be Neonyt Fashion Show on January 15, which will take place on the runway of the official Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week venue E-Werk. `The Art of Assembling’ presents a best-of of the autumn/winter 2019/20 collections from various national and international sustainable fashion labels in curated multi-brand looks.

On the eve of the official Neonyt launch, January 14, 2019, the doors of the Kraftwerk will open for a pre-screening of the film ‘Fair Traders’. The film is dedicated to the ‘True Stories of Ethical Business’ and tells the story of Patrick Hohmann and two other protagonists in the free market economy whose companies operate locally, nationally and internationally and who have set themselves the task of taking on ethical responsibility, respecting future generations and reconciling markets and morals.

Another conference, #Fashiontech Berlin, which is organised by the Premium Group and focuses on digitalisation, change management, innovation and disruptive technologies, will take place on January 15. (SV)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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