July, Colombian fashion month to the world

Colombian companies will participate with their products at the most important runways and fairs in the world in the clothing and textiles industry.

Quality and innovation are the two features tha make Colombian fashion so widely known in the world, and during the month of July it will have the possibility to be on display on some of the most important runways and fairs in the world.

Paris, Miami, Guadalajara and New York will be the cities where Colombia’s latest designs will be on display at fairs like Mode City, Swim Show, Intermoda and Curveny, as well as the main events organized in Colombia during this month, where international buyers from the United States, Central America, the Caribbean, South America and Europe will be attending.

PROCOLOMBIA will accompany the Colombian companies to visit the fairs and create new business opportunities.

At Mode City, one of the most famous fairs in Europe, the 2012 spring and summer underwear, pajamas, swimwear and men’s and women’s clothing collections will be on display. Eleven Colombian exporters will attend as exhibitors and five companies will be on an exploratory mission during the event, to take place in Paris from July 9th to 11th.

Another 14 companies will travel to New York to participate at Curveny from July 31st to August 2nd, one of the most important encounters for lingerie, swimwear and men’s formal clothing designers.

Also taking place in the United States will be the Swim Show from July 16th to the 19th in Miami. During the fair, 15 entrepreneurs from the country will exhibit their bathing suits and value added beach accessories, such as bikini wrap-arounds, purses and sandals.

Guadalajara, Mexico, will receive 27 Colombian companies during the Intermoda Fall – Winter event, to be held from July 19th to the 22nd. This is one of the main fashion platforms in the region, with almost 700 local and international exhibitors and 20,500 buyers.

Colombian Fashion Agenda

July will also be the month for different fashion events in Colombia, the Province of Santander being host to three of them.

The city of Bucaramanga will host Expoasoinducal, the footwear and leather accessories fair from July 13th to the 15th, where 400 local companies will gather to meet 35 international buyers. As a special feature, this year’s event will be attended by Studio Design Goretti, one of the most important specialized footwear academies in the world, whose designers will be giving the companies special advice on design and innovation.

EIMI, which will be held from July 19th to the 21st, will invite 100 Colombian companies and 52 children’s clothing buyers and 70 exporters and 45 buyers will attend Santander Fashion Week from July 7th to the 8th. This fair will feature a specialized jewelry room.

The month will end with Colombiamoda, one of the most important fairs in the continent, organized by the Institute for Exports and Fashion, Inexmoda, where PROCOLOMBIA will introduce a mission with over 620 guest international buyers and 450 exporters.

A growing sector

Thanks to the quantity and quality of Colombian designers, and the raw materials produced in the country, the national fashion industry has achieved its own identity, which very few textile and clothing producing countries manage to achieve.

As a result, the various national designer collections have been successful at the world’s most important runways and fashion weeks, establishing trends and showing outstanding proposals thanks to the inclusion of traditional and artisan materials and techniques in its designs.

Qualified labor and the local companies’ will to adapt to the different markets and the needs of international buyers are also outstanding factors.

According to a report issued by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism based on DANE figures, the clothing sector, which is comprised of garments, rawhide and processed leather, textiles and all other fashion products, generated exports in the amount of US$1,303 million in 2010.