There are many impressive stories about how we can make the fashion industry better. Some of them were narrated or presented to the interested trade audience in concentrated form at this year's first Neonyt Fashion Fair in Berlin – whether in the conferences, seminars and workshops offered or individually at the more than 150 smaller or larger trade fair stands.

The venue Kraftwerk Berlin was at least as exciting with its facilities as the control room and charming industrial design, such as the sustainability-oriented brands. Topped off with other exhibitors, all on the way to sustainably improve the (textile) world with their products, this was clearly felt: this innovative trade fair format has a future, is the future and still holds great potential for the future.

Sustainable fashion and more

With a comprehensive portfolio of 150 national and international sustainable fashion brands from 26 countries, the Neonyt Trade Fair impressed as the world’s biggest B2B event for sustainable fashion. New positioning, new quality, new appeal – the first edition of Neonyt wowed visitors with an even more streamlined fashion profile, in-depth contents and community building opportunities.

“We announced Neonyt as a real must-attend event and it certainly was. And not just in terms of visitor numbers: the feedback from everyone we spoke to – from visitors and exhibitors to speakers and partners – was extremely positive, whether regarding the style and professionalism of the exhibiting fashion labels, the variety and depth of the topics covered or Neonyt’s new look. The Neonyt concept was a resounding success, also from a global perspective. Our visible partnership with the United Nations Office for Partnerships and the Conscious Fashion Campaign has attracted worldwide attention,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President of Textiles and Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt.

A whole host of trends and inspiration

The fact that sustainability is one of the industry’s most future-relevant topics was underlined in particular by the large number of conventional buyers attending. “For us as a mainstream retailer, sustainability is a key topic for 2019. We are noticing our customers’ interest and want to do better. Neonyt can help us with that. The significantly younger audience and the tech link are turning ecological fashion into a key innovation topic,” said Marc Ramelow, Managing Director of fashion store Ramelow. This was also confirmed by Dr Annette Hempel from Modehaus Hempel: “What really stood out to me was the increased number of conventional buyers and the significantly expanded fashion offer.” And the collections also lived up to the expectations of the fashion community: “It’s great to see fair fashion brands stepping up the pace and also that sustainable fashion is now sexy,” says Lisa Banholzer from Blogger Bazaar.

Neonyt concept also a hit with fashion labels

And Johan Graffner, CEO of Dedicated from Sweden, agrees: “Neonyt is a hugely significant event as it conveys a different side to sustainable fashion, which is presented here in an inspiring, cool and exciting way! Neonyt therefore has what it takes to become a real movement. The tradeshow was very positive for us and we also noticed an extremely positive development: the market is growing, and new stores in particular are focusing on sustainable products. Here at the fair we gained France as a new potential market. Apart from that, the Benelux countries are particularly important for us, as well as the German-speaking region and Scandinavia.”

Constanze Klotz, co-founder of label Bridge and Tunnel: “This was our first time exhibiting here and we are really impressed by the Neonyt community spirit. There was an open and constructive exchange of ideas among exhibitors and visitors and the location is simply perfect!”. “We saw the highest number of visitors in the history of the fair and were able to attract new international customers,” says Dietrich Weigel, owner of denim label Goodsociety. “The Fashionsustain conference, which I was involved in as a speaker, promoted the whole sustainability movement even further, raising awareness of a fairer and more environmentally conscious fashion industry. Thanks to Neonyt, sustainability is gaining recognition as a German export product!”

Let’s talk about fashion

The fact that the Neonyt Trade Fair was combined with conferences like Fashionsustain, FashionImpact, the Silent Forum and the Thinkathon was unique for Berlin Fashion Week. “Neonyt has created something incredible. It’s exceptionally well-organised and very thoughtfully curated with experts and industry leaders. Learning, connecting, sharing and activating change are an absolute pleasure here. Neonyt has set a new standard in sustainability events worldwide,” says Patrick Duffy, founder of the NYC-based Global Fashion Exchange.

Neonyt conference Fashionsustain

Messe Frankfurt packed out the conference area on the upper floor of the Kraftwerk venue with the Neonyt conference Fashionsustain on Wednesday 16 January. Under Neonyt’s overarching topic of “Water”, Fashionsustain brought together high-profile speakers from companies including WWF, Tchibo, Germany’s Federal Ministry of the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Blue Ben, We are Spindye, Remei AG, Goodsociety, Pure Denim, Circular Fashion, Sympatex, Swedish Stockings and Langbrett.

“Showcase of Change”

Right next to Fashionsustain, the “Showcase of Change” brought conference topics to life with products and services by international exhibitors including French technology firm Lectra, Swedish supplier “We are Spindye” and Berlin start-up ZyseMe.

“Green Circle from Portugal”

In addition to that, the “Green Circle from Portugal” bridged the gap between the end product and sustainable production processes in Portugal and the Netherlands presented textile innovations and water-efficient solutions for the fashion and textile industry in the “Urban Living Lounge” and the “Embassy Lab”.

Braz Costa, Managing Director of Portuguese industry association CITEVE, says: “Neonyt is the ideal place for us to present Portugal as a sustainable textile nation. This is where the future issues facing the industry are presented. The vibe here really is one of a kind. We hope even more fashion brands will recognise that. If they also take part in Neonyt, we will be able to elevate sustainable fashion to an even higher level.”