#Textiles & Apparel / Garment

2024-11-19

Sport, health, fashion: The highlights of ISPO Munich 2024

Rethink the world of sports and shape it together: that’s what ISPO Munich 2024 (3 to 5 December 2024) is calling for with this year’s main topics Retail & Sustainability, Health & Fashion, and Tech/AI & Sports Extended. With over 2,400 exhibitors, topic-specific hubs and an extensive programme featuring prominent speakers, the upcoming event will set new standards and show how technology, sustainability and health are revolutionising the sports industry. With a total of five conferences, the accompanying conference programme offers deeper insights into various topics.

From tennis brothers Alexander and Mischa Zverev and tennis icon Andre Agassi to German national football coach Julian Nagelsmann and Malaika Mihambo, who won a silver medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, ISPO Munich 2024 not only features top athletes and coaches, but also hosts representatives from the worlds of politics and business. Judith Gerlach, Minister of State for Health, Care and Prevention, Dr Fiona Bull, Head of the Physical Activity Unit at the World Health Organization (WHO), and Arne Freundt, CEO of Puma, are among the highlight speakers of the supporting programme. Exciting panel talks, interviews, padel/pickleball show matches, as well as the ISPO and Brandnew Awards, make ISPO Munich a unique place for the sports industry to experience networking, inspirations and discoveries.

Digital transformation and innovations

Digitalisation is opening up new possibilities in sports. The Digitize & Retail Hub and the partner conference Sports Tech Nation, Europe’s leading summit for the sports technology industry, showcase the latest tech innovations that are currently transforming sports retail and the sports industry. A total of over 400 guest speakers at ISPO Munich and the five partner conferences, including presenters from SPORT MARKE MEDIEN, will share their insights into topics such as elite performance, smart venues, media & broadcasting, sports data and fitness tech. Visitors can look forward to inspiring talks and discussions that show how technology will shape the sport of the future. In the Digitize & Retail Hub, leading companies present solutions for digital transformation that open up new business potential for the industry and for sports retail.

The ISPO Award, ISPO Brandnew and ISPO Textrends platforms showcase innovative products, promising start-ups and groundbreaking material developments. This year, the award winners will once again be celebrated on the main stage and provide valuable orientation with regard to tomorrow’s trends and highlights.

Fusion of sport and fashion

The newest trends in the areas of athleisure, sports fashion and streetwear will be presented in a separate hall at this year’s ISPO Munich with the Zeitgeist by ISPO and ISPO 520M concepts. On the Zeitgeist by ISPO area, brands from ISPO’s partner fair Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF), which ranks among the most important platforms for the international fashion industry, will show sports fashion concepts that traditionally tend to come from the fashion sector.

Sustainable

The Sustainability Hub in partnership with Patagonia and the Material Lab are the hotspots for green innovations. Topics such as natural materials, climate action and circular economy will be covered here. Brands such as Adidas and Gore-Tex show how sustainable materials can be both high-performance and environmentally friendly. The utilisation of algae as a renewable raw material, which is presented in the Material Lab, is a particularly exciting development. The Ski Industry Climate Summit, one of the partner conferences initiated by ATOMIC, discusses concrete solutions for making winter sports sustainable and resource-efficient.

Topics such as EU guidelines on human rights and environmental standards will be explored in greater detail in the Supply Chain Forum. Here, companies have the opportunity to learn about the latest developments and challenges in supply chains and to exchange ideas with key players.

Health and sport combined

The health market is booming. Holistic concepts offer enormous potential for the sports industry as a well-known provider of fitness solutions. Creative ideas for sport and health will accordingly go hand in hand at ISPO Munich 2024. The fair provides new impulses for the fusion of sport and health in cooperation with therapie MÜNCHEN. And the German Trainers’ Summit offers trainers opportunities to expand their expertise, network and discover new approaches for their daily work with athletes.

Exciting topics related to corporate health will be discussed on the Yellow Stage, where the themes include Pilates equipment training in rehabilitation and the effects of inactivity on the sporting goods industry. Networking, exchange, best practices in the sports industry and beyond: these are also among the topics of the panel of the WFSGI at ISPO Munich. Together with representatives from companies, politics and the World Health Organisation, current statistics will be discussed and awareness of the issue will be heightened.

The padel boom and the growing popularity of pickleball not only provide inspiration and hope for more exercise, but also offer lucrative opportunities for investors and manufacturers. Visitors can experience the latest developments and products in the Pickleball & Padel Village. The central court provides space for exciting matches, show courses and product presentations. Professionals will also be on site to share their tips.

EOG and Messe München decide to pause OutDoor 2025

“Sometimes, courageous decisions are needed”, said Christian Schneidermeier, who recently took on his new role as Director of the European Outdoor Group at the beginning of February. “But beyond being courageous, our decision not to hold OutDoor in 2025 is logical. Despite our best efforts – ranging from a new trade fair concept to thorough discussions and appeals – the number of registrations that we have received to date indicates that we will not achieve the goals set for OutDoor 2025.

EOG and Messe München establish Retail Advisory Council

Retailers are calling for more brands, and brands are seeking greater retailer participation at the trade fair. This initiative aims to facilitate proactive exchanges, forge new business contacts, and collaboratively advance the industry. The European Outdoor Group (EOG) and Messe München have established the Retail Advisory Council to directly gather feedback from international retailers on their needs and requirements for the trade fair concept. The council will play a crucial role in shaping OutDoor 2025, ensuring closer retailer involvement in its development.

ISPO Munich 2024 unveils the future of sportswear

ISPO Munich, the leading trade fair for the global sports business, will open its doors from December 3 – 5 at the Munich Riem Exhibition Center. This year's theme, "LOVE EVERY CONTACT," perfectly encapsulates the blend of networking and inspiration. Visitors will witness the dynamic fusion of sports and style, outdoor and fashion, while having the chance to engage directly with brands and exhibitors, forging valuable connections.

KARL MAYER puts textiles centre stage

For KARL MAYER, textiles are much more than just materials – they express function, emotion and progress. And they are at the heart of its customers' activities. KARL MAYER is now focusing more than ever on its customers' needs and plans and therefore on the textiles made on its machines: WARP KNITS. At the upcoming ITMA ASIA + CITME, the company will demonstrate how textile solutions are providing new impetus in the categories of Fashion & Clothing and Technical Textiles.

Freudenberg accelerates local production for apparel market by expanding its site in India

Freudenberg Performance Materials Apparel (Freudenberg Apparel) celebrates the grand opening of a major expansion at its manufacturing facility in Chennai, India, on October 14, adding 20,000 square feet of production space and introducing new production lines tailored to the Indian apparel market. This strategic investment is aimed at significantly reducing lead times and enhancing the availability of high-quality, locally produced interlinings for the fast-evolving apparel sector in India and South Asia.

KARL MAYER develops seersucker WARP KNITS with even more character and style

Seersucker fabrics are icons of the clothing industry and assure their manufacturers' success. Just in time for ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025, the textile product developers at KARL MAYER have succeeded in creating brand new variants of this material. These fancy newcomers feature unique bubble effects and, with their new dimensionality, inject extra dynamism into the textile surface – and into the market.

Groz-Beckert showcases textile innovation at ITMA Asia + CITME 2025 in Singapore

From October 28 to 31, 2025, the global textile industry will gather at ITMA Asia + CITME at the Singapore Expo, where Groz-Beckert will present its latest highlights and innovations across its six product areas – Knitting, Weaving, Nonwovens, Tufting, Sewing, and Spinning – at Hall 5, Booth B301.

Technical textiles for more and new business

KARL MAYER's composite machines and warp knitting machines with weft insertion produce technical textiles offering an impressive variety of properties and textures. The range of tasks these textiles can perform is as broad as the spectrum of their possible fields of application. Both newcomers with the right textile solution and already established players can trust their business will flourish, as demonstrated by the examples from KARL MAYER's Technical Textiles division at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025. The exhibition at stand A 301 in Hall 5 of the Singapore EXPO focuses on two areas: filtration and construction.

ICAC releases 2025 edition of the Specialty Cotton Report

The ICAC has released the newest edition of the Specialty Cotton Report, a free publication that was created in 2023 to highlight the many new "identity cotton programs" that have been emerging around the world, in addition to covering long-staple (LS) and extra-long staple (ELS) cotton. For the ICAC's purposes, "specialty cotton" refers to any cotton that is remarkable in some way — LS, ELS, or falls under a specific identity program.