Colombia

As one of the biggest events to be held in Latin America, PI Apparel Medellin this year is significant both for the region itself as well as the overall global context in which it is set to kick off on Wednesday. Two people in the thick and thin of things set the tone: Carmen Caballero, President of ProColombia, and Monica Afonso, Conference Producer at PI Apparel.

About a decade or so ago, Colombian textile giant Fabricato was fast receding into oblivion and irrelevance, and many doubted if the company could live to see its centenary in 2020. But Fabricato turned it all around. Sales Director Giorgio Lignarolo sheds sheds more light on how Fabricato did it.

Key players from the Latin American Colombia and US will converge in the salubrious city of Medellin on 18–19 October for PI Apparel to explore the technologies and practices changing the face of the Colombian fashion industry.

It's difficult to predict the future with certainty, but Colombia has the potential to become a more robust exporter. Abundant natural resources, a growing manufacturing sector and measures by the government to improve the country's competitiveness, make it easier for companies to export goods. However, the success of these efforts will depend on multiple factors, Craig Dempsey, Chief Executive Officer of the Bogotá-based Biz Latin Hub tells texfash.com in the concluding piece of this WireFrame series on Colombia.

Spearheading the promotion of the textiles & fashion industry of Colombia is ProColombia, under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism. The organisation's expansive mandate includes boosting international tourism, foreign investments and non-traditional exports. Carmen Caballero, ProColombia's President, tells texfash.com how the country is working to ramp up its textiles & fashion industry.

As the demand for near-shoring slowly gathers steam both for reasons of political compulsions and logistics issues, there is one country that is ready to make the best of it: Colombia. The country is both steeped in traditional textiles and is just as modern in its approach to environmental issues. But, can Colombia live up to the promise that the future holds? The first of a three-part WireFrame series from texfash.com.