STYL & KABO fairs brought innovation, inspiration, information and interaction. And a great fashion show!

February 23, 2025 / 5:00 PM

163 exhibitors from 12 countries brought their latest collections of clothing, footwear, handbags and accessories to be offered to retailers. Over 3 thousand visitors, including guests from the fashion industry, media and show business, visited the fashion trade fair over the three days. A total of 380 brands were presented at the Exhibition Centre, and 40 per cent of the exhibitors came from abroad.

"The fair was not only a meeting point for traders, importers and manufacturers, but also one big fashion show full of beautiful designs, including students’ creations. It also opened up important topics in the field of legislation and the much-discussed green transition, introduced interesting innovations and, above all, created an even larger meeting space for fashion lovers and industry experts," said Jan Kubata, CEO of BVV Trade Fairs Brno.

Personal meetings cannot be replaced

"We are happy that Styl works, that we are here, it is a wonderful expo that is going strong. Congratulations for holding on. We need you and you need us," said Monika Havlová from the clothing company H&D, which has attended the fair since the beginning, this year for the sixty-fourth time. "There is no replacement for a personal meeting, it always has an added value," also confirmed the executive director of ATOK, Jiří Česal. Olga Vondráková, author of the jewellery brand Nature In Drop, who was at the fair for the very first time, also appreciated face-to-face meetings. "It is excellent promotion for me, in cooperation with BVV, the number of visitors to my website and socials has increased dramatically. I see my participation in the fair as an entry into the big world of fashion."

Interactions brought by Fashion Lounge

The Fashion Lounge meeting space was largely utilised throughout the three days. It offered a cosy seating area and well-selected interesting guests with whom visitors could openly discuss. Fashion specialist Olo Křížová advised what the Czech Fashion Council could help with. Stylist Klára Klempířová presented clothing as a means to success and positive energy. Miloš Beran from the CLUTEX cluster talked about what Czech textiles can do, and designer Sam Dolce advised on how to start a new brand. Oldřich Voyta and Erik Martin Lawart revealed how they make shoes for the presidential couple. David Severa presented the KUMST Creative Hub, the well-known make-up artist Pavel Bauer described how he made up StarDance. Famous designer Lukáš Macháček also prepared his lecture under the title Budapest Runway Sneak Peek. Tomas David from Dataanimals explained the benefits of performance marketing and its impact on increasing sales. Zdeněk Steiner from Eurostock talked about how to have a successful clothing store. Studio Sylva Henriquez prepared a presentation titled "Made In Spain & Portugal" and Iva Holubová from Carmen Flora revealed in a creative workshop how to make a moss painting and kokedama.

It's great that there is a wide range of speakers

And what did the guests themselves have to say about the new project? "When I was studying at the Secondary Vocational School of Clothing in Prostějov, STYL and KABO were the biggest Mecca of fashion. We used to come here throughout high school, it had the biggest catwalk and I literally devoured it. So, it's a great thing that it still works and that people are so interested in fashion and style," said designer Lukáš Macháček. Stylist Klára Klempířová also welcomed the idea: "I am really excited and grateful that I could give a lecture there. It's great to talk about fashion and appearance in general, especially when there is interaction and it's a discussion forum. It's great that there is a wide range of speakers. Young people and students have a different perspective on fashion, those who are starting out in the business or on the other hand mature and experienced professionals who have been through something. It's good that there is space for everyone here."

Information about all that is currently troubling the textile and footwear industry

The trade fair's expert sponsors brought visitors the latest information on the industry and its legislation.

Friday's seminar "THE IMPACT OF THE EUROPEAN GREEN DEAL ON THE TEXTILE AND CLOTHING AND LEATHER INDUSTRY AND TRADE", organised by ATOK. "There was a great interest in the topic of addressing the issues of the "green transition", the lecture room was full up," praised Jiří Česal, Executive Director of ATOK, who also positively appraised the renewed competition for young designers, which the association sponsored. The cooperating association ČOKA also prepared a specialist programme for visitors. The seminar "GENERAL PRODUCT SAFETY NEW" addressed the new regulations affecting both manufacturers, importers and sellers of textile and footwear products. Jitka Gregory, the new director of the association ČOKA, used the fair as a platform for meeting member companies in person. "I am glad that we can meet in person and establish cooperation. I am also delighted to see the interest in our competition for the Jan Pivečka Foundation 2025 Award, the 17th edition of which we announced at the fair," said the director of ČOKA.

Innovations attracted media interest, or news on TV Nova

On the very first day, the fashion fairs appeared on the main newscast of TV Nova. The editors were interested not only in fashion trends, but also in innovations in materials and interesting things that appeared at the stand of the Clutex technical textiles cluster. And what can we produce in the textile industry in the Czech Republic? For example, special clothing for patients with skin problems or safety lighted ribbons and suspenders connecting electronics and textiles. This SUNFIBRE lighting system uses optical fibres to increase visibility in challenging conditions – in darkness, rain, snow, fog or smoke. There were also special nanofibre layers incorporated into sleeping bags, while the theme of sustainability was represented by demonstrations of the processing of used textiles into construction boards.

Inspiration not only on the catwalk

Four times a day, the catwalk in Hall P was under siege from visitors. Two blocks of shows ran twice a day and featured beautiful pieces from designers, young talents of the Young Top Style Designer competition and exhibiting brands. Among them were VEBA, Hana Celnarová, Uomo&Donna, Ateliér Donát, H&D, Ivamoda Strakonice, Cristina Barros, Helena Bedrnová, Senses The Label, Knoflíky Žirovnice, Rakija, Sebastian Sturm, Olga Vondráková – Nature in Drop. Not only the shows, but also the range of exhibitors attracted personalities from the fashion industry. Natálie Debnárová, plus size model and online editor of Vogue magazine, also headed among the stands. "I've seen the entire Style and Kabo, and I can say, at least for myself, that I've actually found sizes that really appeal to us women from size 40 and up. And if they happen not to fit us, we can pick out handbags and shoes and they always look good on us."

Young Top Styl Designer has winners from Brno and Kladno

The return of the TOP STYL DESIGNER competition after 13 years and its specialisation for young students under the YOUNG label brought new emotions to the exhibition grounds. The seven-member expert jury evaluated 62 original models designed by 42 students from 11 participating textile and art schools. At 1 pm, visitors to the fair had the opportunity to see all the designs on the catwalk, with the top ten finalists from the Free Design and Street Style categories then advancing to the evening programme. Who won the prestigious Young Top Style Designer competition? In the Free Creation category, it was Anna Zavoralová with her model Capsule /Easy from the Secondary School of Art and Design and Higher Vocational School Brno. Her guarantor was teacher and designer Aleš Šeliga. "I think that schools and students are enthusiastic about this competition, they will definitely participate, and this will attract the young generation back to Styl a Kabo," said the educator. The winning entry in the Street Style category was the Before start model by Michaela Petrusová from the Secondary School of Design and Crafts Kladno, whose guarantor was Petra Melicharová. The winner advanced to the finals with a total of 3 samples, each of which was judged separately. "Every competition is an opportunity for young people to try the whole process from the idea, through implementation to the final presentation. Thus, the student learns what to be careful about. I have to say that all the works were of high quality, and that is incredibly positive news," praised Olo Křížová, a member of the jury representing the Czech Fashion Council. The chair of the jury was designer Klára Nademlýnská, other members were designer Iveta Řádková, stylist Luděk Šmehlík, Brno city councillor Kateřina Jarošová, David Severa for the creative hub KUMST and Pavel Zezula for ATOK. The main partner of the competition was the Statutory City of Brno, the patronage was granted by the First Lady Eva Pavlová and the project was supported by the ATOK association.

Gala Evening as a selection of grapes

Friday's Gala Evening was held in the spirit of beautiful models and a plethora of fashion shows, starting with selected collections of exhibiting companies, through competition models of young talents to original collections of leading Czech designers. The evening was hosted by Iveta Lutovská. In the opening show, visitors could admire a total of 24 designs, as each of the presenting companies selected 2 most representative pieces from the daily shows. Then came the parade of the finalists of the Young Top Styl Designer competition, in which the best ten designs from each category were presented on the catwalk, followed by the announcement of the three best designs in the Street Style and Free Creation categories (results here Young Top Styl Designer knows the winners!). The final part of the program was the designer shows. Debbie Brown showed her TOMORROW I'LL BE FAMOUS collection, which included party and prom designs as well as everyday wear samples with original features. Designer Iveta Řádková combined opposites in perfect harmony in her WHITE HARMONY collection. The collection evokes purity and a certain austerity of men's cuts, but at the same time retains feminine mystery and sophistication. The DE|CADE collection, presenting a total of ten different designs, was prepared by Luděk Šmehlík. Each sample featured a cut that the author considers flattering and supportive of a woman's natural silhouette and beauty. The last show was launched by Klára Nademlýnská, whose collections are characterized by their purity of style, high quality materials, hand tailoring and timelessness. Last year, the brand celebrated 25 years of its existence and the show featured a cross-section of different collections from recent years.