PORTUGUESE TEXTILES SHINE BRIGHT IN BAVEIRA
From 2 to 4 February, nineteen Portuguese companies will "invade" the German city of Munich with textiles and the main trends for spring/summer 17. The Munich Fabric Start fair opens its doors for three days and has a strong Portuguese contingent, promoted by Associação Selectiva Moda, under the From Portugal internationalisation project.
The German fair has the market's main players, making it a must-exhibit event. The presence of nineteen Portuguese companies at this fair - A. Sampaio&Filhos - Adalberto Estampados - Albano Morgado - Familitex - Lemar - Living Colours & A Fiandeira by Living Colours - Luís Azevedo - MMRA - Paulo de Oliveira - Penteadora - QuickCode - Riopele Têxteis - SanMartin - Sidónios Malhas - Somelos Tecidos - Tessimax Lanifício - Teviz by Polopique - Texser - TMG Textiles - reflects the importance of the Portuguese textile industry internationally.
A. Sampaio & Filhos, an habitual presence at this fair, shall exhibit, in particular, knitted fabrics with linen and silk blends, knitted fabrics with a crêpe feel, new proposals with multi-coloured yarns, as well as new fabrics with organic fibres. «It is a very important fair, principally for customers of the German market. We intend to strengthen our presence in this market, as well as reach new customers», explains Miguel Mendes, head of the company's sales and innovation areas.
A collection with a fresh and inspiring colour range, comes from Living Colours. Fluid mixtures of polyester, linen, cotton, viscose and wool, combining technicality and functionality with digitally printed backgrounds, are the highlights. «The German market remains "the reference market" for Living Colours. We want to continue conquering an image of supply capability of more casual and youthful summer products», says Tiago Martins, the company's director.
According to Sílvia Azevedo, director of the knitted fabrics company Luís Azevedo «it is only natural we choose this market, due to our interest in it and its proximity». They exhibited at this fair five years ago, and this time they shall present a very diverse collection in terms of material and its compositions. Of note are the linens, silks and multi-coloured yarns. «This is a growing market, so our expectations are high. We aim to grow in the German market» she adds.
This is the first time M.M.R.A. exhibits in this German city. It exhibits the Pantone colours, for summer '17, in this edition, with “light” structures such as: jersey, jersey jacquard, rib separation, rib transfer, interlock and interlock Jacquard. Also of note are some heavy fabrics, such as American and Italian fleece. «This is a fair that has grown a lot lately, besides having a favourable location geographically. It is also interesting as it is a fair where agents can easily be found, which can expand the network of contacts of our company», states Ricardo Monteiro, export sales of the company. «We intend to show our technical capacity with regard to design and composition blends, and hence create a positive impact on visitors», he adds.
Back in Munich, Quick Code – Digital Fashion has several new products to display at the fair. The highlights of the patterned fabrics include micro-floral prints and dégradés in ditsy prints, with the highlighted materials being satins and structured articles. The main bright fabrics are Lurex, and the technical fabrics include the laser cut. «This fair is of particular importance to Quick Code owing to its geographical proximity. The company searches for customers seeking service and service quality», says Marlene Quelhas.
Knitted fabrics with blends of rich fibres such as silks, tencel, cashmeres, among others, and with very low weights, almost making them a second skin, and knitted fabric with functional technical yarns, are the highlights of Sidónio Malhas. «The choice of the fair in Munich arises from the fact that it covers other types of customers and Eastern European markets, which have been growing quite a lot in recent years. It is a way of being closer to these customers as well as the German market itself, which has very interesting potential customers», says John Gomes, sales manager of the company. «We have excellent prospects, since we have enough customers attending this fair as it starts earlier than the others and lets us start working on the collections much earlier. We expect to revisit customers and attract potential new interested customers», he adds.
Colourful and light shirts and blouses for a cool and casual summer, are the main new products taken by Texser to Germany. «Germany is a reference in the European textile market and this fair is a showcase for its potential suppliers. We intend to consolidate a strategy of moving closer to our main customers», explains José Ferreira, the company's export manager.
The participation of the nineteen Portuguese companies in one more Munich Fabric Start edition is an initiative promoted by the Selectiva Moda Association, co-financed by the EU Structural and Investment Funds as part of the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020 and COMPETE 2020. The FROM PORTUGAL project is made up of approximately 81 international activities which take place in the second half of 2015 and in 2016, covering the entire textile and fashion industry and spread over four continents, with a total investment of over 13 million euros.
