STYL, KABO and a summer full of fashion
August 22, 2023 / 12:12 PM
This year's edition of the STYL and KABO trade fairs was traditionally in the spirit of the latest collections of clothing, footwear, handbags, and accessories. Over 150 exhibitors from 15 countries came to the Brno Exhibition Centre.
"The 61st edition of the STYL and KABO trade fairs kicked off the second half of the expo calendar and even surpassed the annual February one in size. I would like to thank all exhibitors, partners and both associations for their support and cooperation, which we greatly appreciate. I believe that in the future we will continue to develop the STYL and KABO trade fairs together and supplement them with interesting topics, " said Lukáš Helan, commercial director of the trade fairs.
Traditional Czech and international brands appeared on the catwalk and in company exhibitions, some of which premiered at the fair. From abroad, German, Slovak and Polish companies were the most represented, India had a large joint exposition. The ratio of domestic to foreign companies was 40:60.
"In the Central European region, the STYL and KABO fairs keep their position and maintain their internationality, " said Martin Škarka, director of the fairs.
Sewing machines in full shine
Manufacturers of technologies for the textile industry are returning to trade fairs. Sewing and embroidery machines have their customers not only among manufacturing companies or tailor shops, but also with advertising agencies. A novelty was the interactive presentation of these machines enriched with interesting examples of the work of experts in the field of textile and leather. Leatherworker Jan Planička produced his hand-crafted leather accessories in front of the audience. Ironing and steaming machines or companies providing individual fabric printing were also presented.
Traditional companies, newcomers, and comebacks
Styl and Kabo are fashion fairs with a remarkably long history. The continuity they manage to maintain supports the confidence of domestic and foreign exhibitors. There are companies that have been using fairs as a form of presentation for decades, others have returned years later, some were complete newcomers.
Slovak companies inherently belong to the fair
Many Slovak companies visited Brno, including members of the Slovak Chamber of Industry and Commerce. "We allow entrepreneurs to participate under good price terms. We try to help them with the exposition that is shared. Now we have three companies at STYL and three companies at KABO. There are also nine other Slovak companies exhibiting here, which have separate stands, five of them at KABO, 4 at STYL," says Ludovít Mičuda, secretary of the textile and leather industry section, expert section of the Slovak Chamber of Commerce and Industry. This branch organization was established with the generous support of the Slovak Ministry of Foreign Affairs as part of the support for economic diplomacy.
Sustainability wherever you look
Fashion fairs not only present news in the clothing and footwear industry, but also reflect current trends in both industries. At the same time, sustainability is an increasingly frequent topic. As a number of companies base their philosophy on 0% Virgin plastic and the use of recycled materials, the extra programme of the fairs is moving in a similar direction. One of the topics of the lectures on the catwalk was Sustainable textile production – a responsible solution to improve climate change, which was also attended by lecturers from the Austrian Ecological Institute. Sustainability in practice was then presented by a joint project of the Brno Trade Fairs, the Veba company and the Mendel University in Brno. In it, the students of the woodworking faculty used leftover materials from the PPM Brno exhibition focused on patchwork and created tabourets for sitting. A sample of patchwork paintings was also part of the decoration of the fair.
Olga Lounová danced the Summer Style Fashion Show
Thanks to the B2B format, the fairs were held in the spirit of closed business negotiations, apart from the fashion shows, which were extremely attractive to the audience, and which took place over the entire three days. Exhibitors' collections and models of young designers, students at professional art schools were presented in them. A special highlight of the shows was Sunday's Summer Style Fashion Show, which was attended by a number of celebrities. In addition to selected collections of daily shows and creative pieces of young "Fashion Puppies" creators, exclusive models of designer Helena Bedrnová, designers Michael Miroslav Knot, Pavel Jevula and Martin Čapek were presented here. They were worn by, among others, presenters Gábina Lašková, Iveta Vítová and Eva Decastelo, misses Karolina Mališová, Nikola Burantská, Hana Vágnerová and Tereza Fajksová. The presenters of the event, PRIMA TV star Sarma Parmová Pospíšilová and singer Olga Lounová, were also beautifully dressed. Her opening and closing song live added grace to the whole Summer Style Fashion Show and got the audience dancing.
Carmen Flora company took care of the flower decoration, Campani gelato di Clara partners provided quality and tasty ice cream, Tommy Kofi brewed delicious coffee. Sunday's early evening show followed the atmosphere of Saturday's garden party for exhibitors, where good music was combined with excellent VICAN wine and great cuisine.