The largest textile fair in Latin America, Colombiatex de las América 2023, organized by Inexmoda, began with innovations in terms of bets on textiles, styles and sustainable energy.
The event, which began on January 24 and ends today in the Plaza Mayor in Medellín, has more than 85 exhibitors in categories such as recycling, water use, emission control, circularity, and eco-inputs.
Colombiatex de las Américas 2023 stands out this year with a concept that revolves around “circular awareness”, encouraging industries that have sustainable processes and reiterating the commitment to protecting the environment. Companies related to the textile sector, clothing industry, footwear, fashion designers and leather goods participate in this trade show.
According to Sebastián Díez, executive president of Inexmoda, the textile and supplies fair seeks to promote the industry whose practices are intended to reduce environmental impact.
“This year is very special because in the 35 years of Inexmoda and Colombiatex de las Américas we are going to talk about a concept of circularity and responsibility of this sector with the environment and it is that on this occasion the fair recovers pre-pandemic levels; that is, we recovered 100% of what Colombiatex was before the pandemic,” he said.
In its 35th version, the event opens the commercial calendar in the country, which is consolidated as the epicenter of the textile industry in the continent and has “Circular Consciousness” as its central axis; the firm commitment to a more conscious and sustainable production for the planet.
On this occasion, the fair comes with new spaces such as the materials library, which shows the boom in the development of new textiles; the “Hackathon”, which will be solving industry challenges with technology; the trends forum with the metaverse and the announcement of new Inexmoda fairs.
THE NEW CENTURY He spoke with the Inexmoda research coordinator, Maite Cantero, to learn more about the news of this textile meeting.
“At Colombiatex we are promoting circular fashion, which implies having all the contact points of the value chain aligned, measured and standardized,” he said.
Cantero pointed out that this year there are four trends that will mark fashion, not only in Colombia but in the world.
“The first of it is ‘grow up’, which speaks of inner flowering, because after this time of a pandemic that is so hard that we are going through, comes the stage of rediscovering ourselves, of seeing all those things that make us happy, that make us more human; love and affection for the other, then we see that reality with nature. All this is reflected in the use of materials, textiles and all kinds of inputs that have natural fibers with a slightly more romantic color chart,” said Cantero.
To give an example of this trend, he pointed out that, in the female case, there are draped, patterned, flowery dresses, and in the male case, the trend is more neutral colors in clothing and footwear.
The second trend is called “letting go”: “Because it’s like time to get rid of what doesn’t make us happy, to let go of all those many things that weren’t working well, then somehow we move into this new time of letting go. In this sense, new ways of relating are going to be shown and it is also an invitation to enjoy, to stimulate the inner child. In inputs and graphics we see an explosion of geometric, linear colors, but also abstract, padded, exploration in all senses, many silhouettes. In the same way, designs come where people want to show themselves in a different way; then the garments are going to be very aligned with that exploration of new identities”.
The third fashion trend this year is “belonging”, which is related to the individual, with how he relates to the other. “Styles that have to do with nature are presented, with garments that can react with heat and light. This trend is very inspired by uniforms.”
And finally there is “raw”, which implies going back to the essence, to history, to the earth. For this reason, textures and colors are presented that allow exploring those roots, with the use of sustainable fibers.