Messe Frankfurt France's full range of textile and apparel products will be on display for three days in the fashion capital: Texworld and Apparel Sourcing will be joined by the Avantex sector, which brings together suppliers of innovative solutions for a more efficient and sustainable fashion industry, and Leatherworld, dedicated to the leather industry, from raw materials to finished products. A total of 1,154 companies from 26 countries will be represented on two levels of Paris Expo Porte de Versailles (7.2 and 7.3). This summer's edition will feature several new initiatives.

Focus on yarn at Yarn Expo, leather trends at Leatherworld

Among the new features at Texworld 2024 is a pavilion devoted entirely to yarn, in Hall 7.2. Organized in conjunction with Yarn Expo - a Messe Frankfurt trade show originally based in Shanghai - this space will take visitors upstream in the yarn industry, shedding light on the know-how of cutting-edge companies from China, India, Pakistan and Taiwan. Leatherworld, meanwhile, will host a trend area featuring the show's Italian manufacturers. Co-produced with publisher Edizioni AF and Arsutoria School's Design Center, the Leather Trend will showcase, on four separate podiums, the major current trends in the components used to manufacture shoes and bags. These presentations will be enhanced twice a day by a series of twenty-minute mini-conferences.

Focus on Chinese brands, new accessory categories

This year, Apparel Sourcing welcomes around thirty Chinese manufacturers, offering their own brands as well as to produce under white label for European distributors. They will be identified by a special "Chinese Brands Gallery" logo, to make it easier for buyers to find what they're looking for. This offer will also be visible and displayed on mannequins in the Chinese Brands Gallery Bar in Hall 7.3. In the spirit of openness, another new element at this year’s autumn edition is the introduction of exclusive new categories in the fashion accessories sector - jewelry and bag ranges - to enable buyers to complete and expand their collections.

More near sourcing

Near sourcing countries have not been forgotten this year, as the offer of some twenty Portuguese, Turkish and Serbian companies will be accessible on the Near Sourcing Hub: the samples on display are linked by QR Code to the digital B2B platform of FourSource, a partner of Messe Frankfurt France. This feature enables visitors to obtain detailed information or to be guided through the contact process. African production, which is playing an increasingly important role in global fashion sourcing, will also be in Paris, with companies from Rwanda and Ethiopia at Apparel Sourcing, and from South Africa at Leatherworld.

Econogy Tour: guided tours around the sustainable economy

Trade fairs continue to focus on Texpertise Econogy, which combines the notions of ecology and economic development. Championed by the Messe Frankfurt Group, this concept now frames the approach taken by its Texpertise Network worldwide, and can be applied in various ways. Firstly, the Econogy Finder, an online directory accessible via the Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris application, enables visitors to identify all sustainably produced textile suppliers (around 80 companies). These exhibitors' booths, whose CSR commitments have been verified by a third-party organization, will also be marked with Econogy symbols.

New for 2024, two Econogy Tours will enable visitors to meet a selection of Econogy-certified companies and discover their products and services. These guided tours, led by a specialist in the sustainable approach, will be operated on Monday and Tuesday for buyers who wish to do so (appointments are set for 12:30 p.m. in the agora). Last but not least, Econogy Talks will mark out conferences dealing with topics linked to the sustainable economy (see conference program below) to help visitors manage their schedule.

A new Designer Hub completes the ReSources area at Avantex

Some twenty suppliers will be exhibiting at this year's Avantex sector, which has been enriched by the addition of a Designer Hub. This meeting place for designers and buyers will provide an opportunity to discover original initiatives such as designer Jean-Luc François' association, supported by Messe Frankfurt's Texpertise network, which trains people with little access to employment, 3D design expert Scotomalab, and stylists and designers Rozz Connor and Maeva Elfassi.

The ReSources area completes Avantex's offering with a selection of materials at the cutting edge of sustainable innovation: 4 companies (two German, one French and one Greek), selected in partnership with the TCBL association, have collaborated on the European HEREWEAR project aimed at creating tomorrow's locally-produced circular textiles and clothing from bio-based waste. The outcome of their collaboration, presented for the first time in France, will be exhibited in phygital mode: the samples on display will be connected by a QR Code to the FourSource matchmaking platform.

Avantex Fashion Pitch: solutions for tomorrow’s fashion

The Avantex Fashion Pitch contest rewards the best innovative and sustainable fashion and textile projects. The selected winners will present their work on July 1 at 4:00 pm in the form of a 5-minute pitch to a panel of experts composed of:

- Claudia Cesiro, Founder of The Ace Project and start-up mentor,

- Élodie Lemaire-Nowinski, Director of the National Tartan Centre Project, and researcher at the Glasgow School of Art,

- Yoobin Jung Venture Associate - Sustainability at Plug&Play Tech Center

- Jayne Estève-Curé, fashion and luxury expert.

The winner will receive a "Start-Up" stand at the next edition of Avantex, a €2,000 prize provided by Messe Frankfurt France and the Texpertise network, as well as a year's incubation in the Foundry at IFA Paris.

Conferences, trends and forecasting

True to its mission as a pathfinder, the Texworld Apparel Sourcing Paris platform does its utmost to offer visitors perspectives on market trends and the demand orientation. Conferences and events in the Agora on Monday July 1 and Tuesday July 2 will explore market trends and forecasts in detail. Louis Gérin, one of the shows' two Artistic Directors, will comment on "IMPERFaiCTION", the Trendbook for the Autumn-Winter 2025/2026 season, highlighting the creative directions that will shape tomorrow's fashion (Monday July 1 at 1:30pm). Several round tables on the Avantex Paris agenda will focus on innovative textiles and solutions to support fashion's ecological and digital transition, and will be categorized as Econogy Talks (green background).