#Exhibitions & Events

2021-10-13

Messe Frankfurt restructures its Textile Business Unit with personnel changes for the Texpertise Network

With its Texpertise Network, Messe Frankfurt leads the world market in events for apparel fabrics, fashion, home textiles, technical textiles and textile processing. Now, there have been a number of personnel changes in the business unit, a division of Messe Frankfurt that includes the Frankfurt Fashion Week and is headed by Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies.

The Frankfurt Fashion Week has been enriching Messe Frankfurt’s portfolio of textile events since the announcement in May 2020. Due to the pandemic, the first edition in July 2021 was held digitally as the FFW Studio. The event was organised by Frankfurt Fashion Week Director Dr Hendrik Müller-Giegler, who took over this position in June 2021 from Ricarda Quehl, who is currently on maternity leave. With managerial and international marketing experience in the media and entertainment industry, Hendrik Müller-Giegler, joined Messe Frankfurt as Marketing Communications Director in the Entertainment, Media & Creative Industries Business Unit in 2018.

A major role in the development of the Frankfurt Fashion Week has also been played by Claudia Franz, who has extensive experience of the international fashion and textile sector and has been with Messe Frankfurt as Director of Brand Management, Interior & Contract Textiles and Apparel Fabrics & Fashion, since 2019. She is currently involved in the launch of the new quality mainstream fashion fair, Val:ue, and a supplementary downstream event, Apparel Sourcing in Fashion, both of which will be held in association with the Frankfurt Fashion Week.

Two other changes have been made following the resignation of Thimo Schwenzfeier who leaves the company at his own request on 31 October 2021, to take up new professional challenges.

He is followed in the position of Neonyt Show Director by Bettina Bär who has worked for Messe Frankfurt in a variety of positions in the consumer-goods fairs division since 2012, most recently as Tendence Show Director. In this connection she was, inter alia, jointly responsible for the Ethical Style Guide, in which ecologically oriented exhibitors of the Tendence trade fair were specially labelled and promoted after having been selected by an expert jury. Additionally, Bettina Bär has been appointed co-director of the new fashion fair, Val:ue, which makes its debut during the Frankfurt Fashion Week in January 2022 and is set to be the corner stone of the quality and mainstream fashion segment.

The Marketing Communication Department has been headed by Ivonne Seifert since 1 October 2021. Accordingly, she is now in charge of marketing communication for the leading international trade fairs, Heimtextil, Techtextil and Texprocess, and the Neonyt and Val:ue fashion fairs, as well as the communication activities for the international Texpertise Network. Ivonne Seifert joined Messe Frankfurt ten years ago and has held a variety of positions in marketing. She has extensive marketing expertise in both the B2B and B2C fields.

All report to Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies, who is responsible for the Texpertise Network at Messe Frankfurt. With an unparalleled portfolio of around 60 international textile fairs, Messe Frankfurt is the world market leader for trade fairs in the textile sector. In 2019, the last year before the pandemic, more than 23,000 exhibitors and over 600,000 visitors took part in events organised by Messe Frankfurt around the globe. The spectrum of fairs covers the whole value chain of the textile industry.

Messe Frankfurt and Supima introduce Prefab – a new curated fabric sourcing event in New York City

Messe Frankfurt is expanding its international textile network with the launch of Prefab, a new boutique-style sourcing event dedicated exclusively to high-quality fabrics. Taking place 19-20 January 2027 at the Altman Building in New York City, the event will bring selected Supima member fabric mills together with senior designers, fabric directors, product developers and sourcing decision-makers from premium and luxury brands. With a carefully curated exhibitor line-up and a targeted visitor approach, Prefab is designed to create a focused business setting in which material quality, expertise and meaningful exchange take priority over scale.

Heimtextil expands Bed, Bath & Living with new ‘Comfort & Connect’ area

Heimtextil is expanding its product range for Bed, Bath & Living in a targeted manner: ‘Comfort & Connect‘ is creating a new meeting place in the foyer of Hall 5.1 for high-quality bed, bath and lifestyle collections. Following on from ‘Sleep & Meet‘, this is now the second area where Heimtextil is further refining its offering for exhibitors and buyers. The new area brings together established brands, high-profile returning exhibitors and international buyers in a central location with easy access.

Global carpet industry smartly connected: Heimtextil 2027 sharpens Carpets & Rugs with new structure and premium segment

Even more efficient, more targeted and closer to the market: Heimtextil 2027 strengthens its position as the leading meeting place for the global carpet industry and further expands Carpets & Rugs in line with market needs. With a stronger focus on distribution channels, the segment integrates into Heimtextil’s product worlds.

Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris highlights evolving global sourcing landscape

From 31 August to 2 September 2026, Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris will bring together more than 1,000 international exhibitors at Paris-Le Bourget Exhibition Centre. This edition reflects the new global balance of textile and apparel sourcing, highlighting a strong diversity of sourcing countries — some unexpected.

Yarn Expo Shenzhen 2026 closes doors, advancing sustainable and innovative sourcing in South China

Yarn Expo Shenzhen 2026 served as a strategically positioned mid-year sourcing platform for the Greater Bay Area, highlighting Shenzhen’s role in connecting regional demand, supply and innovation exchange across the textile value chain. During the three-day fair, over 20,000 visits were drawn from 74 countries and regions[1], as exhibitors and buyers engaged with new developments in greener, performance-led, and value-added yarn and fibre solutions. Held in conjunction with Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and PH Value, the fair underscored the benefits of closer synergy and new materials across yarn, fabric and apparel platforms for the South China market.

ITM 2028 opens exhibitor registration following successful 2026 edition

Following the successful conclusion of ITM 2026, preparations for the next edition of the International Textile Machinery Exhibition are already underway. The organisers have officially opened exhibitor registration for ITM 2028, which will take place from June 13–17, 2028, at the Tüyap Fair and Congress Center in Istanbul.

SHIMA SEIKI brings new flat knitting technologies to FEBRATEX 2026

Leading flat knitting solutions provider SHIMA SEIKI MFG., LTD. of Wakayama, Japan, together with its Brazilian representative BRASTEMA TECNOLOGIA TEXTIL LTDA., will exhibit at the Brazilian Textile Industry Fair (FEBRATEX 2026) this month. On display will be a roundup of SHIMA SEIKI computerized flat knitting technology, represented by WHOLEGARMENT® knitting machines, computerized flat knitting machines featuring a brand-new model with high productivity and excellent cost performance, a glove knitting machine and the latest digital solutions.

Lenzing reports improved half-year results and advances strategic transformation

Despite a persistently challenging market environment in the first half of 2026, characterized by volatile energy and raw material prices, subdued global consumer demand and intensified competition from Asia, the Lenzing Group significantly improved its financial performance. Net result after tax more than doubled to EUR 35.6 million, compared with EUR 15.2 million in the first half of 2025. Free cash flow increased to EUR 45.8 million, while EBITDA amounted to EUR 239.2 million. Revenue totaled EUR 1.27 billion, compared with EUR 1.34 billion in the previous year.

Trützschler’s latest spinning and card clothing innovations at CAITME 2026

From September 8 to 10, 2026, Trützschler will present its latest innovations in spinning and card clothing for state-of-the-art fiber processing at CAITME in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Visitors are invited to meet the experts at Pavilion 2, Booth D50 and explore solutions designed to increase productivity, streamline processes, and ensure consistently high yarn quality. Key topics include the next-generation card TC 30i, the integrated draw frame IDF 3, the high-performance comber TCO 21XL as well as Trützschler Card Clothing’s new flat top series STEELTOP®.