Kohan Textile Journal
Jun 26, 2018
Avantex Paris is a leading trade fair and a trailblazer for the tech + fashion sphere
Avantex Paris is a leading trade fair and a trailblazer for the tech + fashion sphere. Twice a year, it brings together innovative products and services for all segments of the fashion industry.
Avantex Fashion Pitch provides an opportunity for candidates to take part in the show during the Avantex edition in February 2019 in one of its five segments (Materials & Components, Prototype Studio, Clothing &Accessories, Smart Retail, Avanprint – Digital Printing).
The winner also gets the chance to show their creations in the catwalk area for events under the Texworld Paris banner and receives support from the Wirate rating platform in creating a promotional video, worth 1200 euros.
If you would like to take part, join the Avantex Paris club and submit a relevant project before midday on 7 September 2018: www.wirate.co/fr/clubs/avantex-paris
A springboard for innovation in fashion!
Avantex Fashion Pitch is a crowd-rating initiative that aims to encourage integration of technology in clothing following a call for project proposals on the specialist Wirate.co platform, one of the event’s partners. Start-ups
obtaining the best rating from Internet users will thus be able to present their proposals at Avantex Paris on 19 September 2018 at the Avantex agora.
Project champions will have to explain their work in a brief 5-minute pitch at the agora at the trade show, The winner will be revealed once each competitor has made their presentation and the industry professionals attending the show have judged them via the Wirate rating application. Visitors to the show and Internet users will get to
choose the best project using the free Wirate application.
Two very resourceful winners to date
During the September 2017 edition of Avantex, it was the ‘smart’ tights, which monitor the health of athletes’ knees, designed byTorq Labs, that collected the award.
“We come from Madison in Wisconsin, where there are far fewer investors willing to give a sports manufacturer a chance. But we were accepted at Station F in Paris. Deciding to come to France wasn’t hard for us. It was the least expensive option, as an American firm we would be more unusual and we would immediately come into contact with a sizeable business network. We have been proven right so far. The relationships and friendships we have
formed have helped us grow much faster than if we had stayed in the Midwest”explains Julian Holtzman, CEO at Torq Labs.
The February 2018 Avantex winner:Coco&Rico, the start-up specialising in textile production and R&D, offers products Made in France, thanks to semiindustrial clothing production to craftsmanship standards in a 200 m2 workshop on the outskirts of Paris.
In order to realise projects for fashion professionals, whether those just starting out or those with previous experience, Coco&Rico offers a workshop for producing small and medium lines of clothing and accessories. The
business is committed to delivering a quality service with an eco-friendly and ethical approach by focussing on recovering tools and materials and still ensuring a short supply chain and traceability.
Julian Holtzman, CEO of Torq Labs, and Clea Polar, CEO of Coco&Rico, winners of the Avantex Fashion Pitch © Avantex Paris competitions in 2017 and 2018 respectively. Since the Avantex Paris show in February 2018, the two winners have set up a provisional partnership to manufacture Torq Labs’ products in the Coco&Rico workshop.
The next Avantex Paris show: 17-20 September 2018
Learn all about Avantex Paris: www.avantex-paris.com
Providing maximum convenience for visitors, Avantex Paris is one of the group of related trade shows organised by Messe Frankfurt France, held in one and the same location, on the same dates and where entry is free upon presentation of professional credentials: Apparel Sourcing Paris, Avantex Paris, Shawls&Scarves – the accessories showcase, Texworld Paris and Texworlddenim. All details about textile trade shows organised by Messe Frankfurt throughout the world can be found at www.texpertise-network.com
Messe Frankfurt in figures
Among organisers of trade shows, conventions and events with their own exhibition grounds, Messe Frankfurt is the global leader. With 2400 employees at 30 different sites, Messe Frankfurt posts annual sales of over 640 million euros. The group has resource to in-depth knowledge of the sectors it covers and draws on its international distribution network to provide effective support for its clients’ business interests. A comprehensive range of services – on-site and online – guarantees customers all over the world a consistently high standard of quality and maximum flexibility in the planning, organisation and execution of their events. The variety of services offered ranges from renting stand space to marketing services, including stand construction, personnel services or catering.
The company has its headquarters in Frankfurt am Main. The City of Frankfurt holds a 60% share in it and the state of Hesse a 40% share.