Global rollout of B2B fashion sustainability fair Neonyt from 2023

Neonyt, which is said to have developed into an important B2B community platform for fashion, sustainability and innovation, is taking place in a B2B format in Düsseldorf from 28 to 30 January 2023 and additional satellite events around the world are also being planned.

Messe Frankfurt explains Neonyt is the synonym for a fundamental process of transformation in the textile and fashion sector and it believes the convenient position of Germany in the heart of Europe makes it a hub for the sustainable textile and fashion business.

“There continues to be no doubt about the potential of the sustainability community, and much has happened, especially over the last two years. Consequently, we must recalibrate our concepts and events. Given that many of today’s collections are only accessible to limited target groups, one of the biggest challenges is to make sustainable fashion suitable for the retail sector, too,” says Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies, Messe Frankfurt.

He continues: “Our strength in the textile sector is based, inter alia, on the great expertise of the international Texpertise Network of Messe Frankfurt. With around 60 events around the world, around 22,000 exhibitors and more than half a million visitors, we not only generate impulses for the whole textile value chain but are also in continuous and close contact with all relevant stakeholders. And they have told us in no uncertain terms that it is essential that Neonyt be expanded not only as a marketing and business platform but also with regard to its impact on sustainability in the order business. We now plan to take account of all this and develop the brand accordingly.”

In future, Neonyt will be held as a licence event at the same time as the FASHN ROOMS in Düsseldorf. The organisers claim this will make Neonyt part of a wider event with at least 600 international brands in attendance.

The strictly sustainable offering at Neonyt will be held alongside the Agencies & Premium Brands (Showroom Concept), Avantgarde, Design & Contemporary and Accessories & Shoes segments of Fashn Rooms. Messe Frankfurt says this will benefit exhibitors and trade visitors because Fashn Rooms in Düsseldorf is also renowned for its content-creator segment, which is in line with the community DNA of Neonyt and offers significant potential.

Messe Frankfurt also highlights the international and multi-disciplinary Fashionsustain conference will be held concurrently with the Fashn Rooms in Düsseldorf in January 2023. Messe Frankfurt is planning more international spin-offs from the conference, which has already been held outside of Germany before the pandemic.

The January 2023 event is taking place in cooperation with Igedo Company, which organises trade shows in the fashion sector. This means Igedo will take immediate responsibility for the operative planning and implementation of Neonyt in Düsseldorf.

Schmidt says: “We are delighted that the Igedo Company is joining forces with us. Neonyt and its cross-sector community are in very good company in Düsseldorf, which will be of great benefit to the trade-fair landscape and the sustainable textile and fashion scene – this is where expertise and professionalism meet innovative spirit and stability.”

Igedo Company’s managing director Ulrike Kähler and managing partner Philipp Kronen adds: “We are, of course, very pleased to have the opportunity to work intensively on Neonyt’s next stage of development. At the same time, this not only reinforces the position of Düsseldorf as a fashion centre but also shows the extremely high regard in which the Igedo Company is held by the sector even 73 years after being founded. Now, we must roll up our sleeves and work together closely to achieve the next targets set for Neonyt in Düsseldorf.”

The first direct to consumer event for Neonyt called ‘Neonyt Lab’ took place in June and Messe Frankfurt says it plans to hold more events of this kind in Frankfurt.

It adds: “The internationalisation of the brand and the decision to hold Neonyt as a B2B event in Düsseldorf in the future will by no means result in a lack of commitment to Frankfurt. With its local fashion and design community and numerous creative centres and sustainability movements, the metropolis on the Main River is ideally placed to boost the mega-theme of sustainability and to ensure consumers play a direct role in the fashion debate.”