texfash: Why is the Intertextile event specifically held in Shanghai. What’s special about Shanghai? How important is Shanghai to the Chinese textile-apparel ecosystem, both historically as well as now.
Wendy Wen: Shanghai is a major international trade city with world-class infrastructure, attracting buyers and investors from around the world looking to tap into the Chinese market. It is home to many fairs in the Messe Frankfurt portfolio, and, for textiles alone, we organise seven shows in Shanghai every year.
In the international apparel textile industry, the city has become synonymous with Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics, which over 30 years has become one of the most important events for international exhibitors to access the Chinese and Asian markets, and for global buyers to source domestic products.
The city itself has been a hub for textile manufacturing and trade for many years, and has also emerged as a centre for industry innovation. In addition, neighbouring provinces such as Zhejiang have robust, vertically-integrated apparel textile manufacturing sectors. Therefore, in terms of attracting domestic exhibitors and visitors in the apparel sector, there is no better venue than Shanghai.
Most of the exhibitors, understandably, are Chinese companies. Therefore, for them success would depend considerably on visitors/buyers from outside the country. So, tell us more about the visitor profile of the forthcoming event, and how you are positioning it.
Wendy Wen: A good number of our domestic exhibitors are export-focused, and that is why attracting international visitors from across Asia, Europe and beyond is a key part of what drives Intertextile Apparel’s success. To that end, we promote quite extensively internationally, and separately organise overseas buyer delegations and VIP buyer programmes. At our upcoming Spring Edition, we will welcome seven international buyer delegations, with over 160 delegates led by prominent textile manufacturing and business associations. We have also arranged nearly 300 VIP buyer business matching meetings.
At the same time, many of the Chinese exhibitors primarily focus on the domestic market, and twice a year this show attracts many thousands of visitors from Shanghai, neighbouring provinces, and across the country. Our role is to cater to the diverse needs of over 3,000 exhibitors from China and 24 other countries and regions around the world, and the key is to find the right balance of visitors that will cater to the export and domestic distribution goals of our exhibitors.
In terms of profile, our Chinese and international visitors include garment manufacturers, brands, trading companies, import and export companies, wholesalers, agents, department stores and retailers, e-commerce platforms, various textile associations, and designers.
In what way does Intertextile Shanghai cater to the domestic market in China (and also Hong Kong)? Could you elaborate?
Wendy Wen: As you know, China is the world’s top manufacturer, exporter, and consumer of textiles, and with its rich textile manufacturing history Hong Kong is a hub for international brands and buying offices. Thus, there is a large domestic market that relies on Intertextile Apparel for sourcing and staying up-to-date with the latest trends.
To cater to this wide market, we give a vital platform to international and domestic textile exhibitors covering everything from accessories, sportswear and ladieswear to denim and suiting. To ensure more efficient sourcing, the show has a number of featured zones such as Accessories Vision, Beyond Denim, theDigital Solutions Zone, Econogy Hub, Functional Lab, Premium Wool Zone, SalonEurope, and Verve for Design.
In the International Hall, there will also be group pavilions from the likes of Lenzing, and country and region pavilions and zones from France, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Korea, and Taiwan. It is also home to the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum, where visitors can get a feel for the fabrics shaping the international fashion trends of Spring/Summer 2026. Meanwhile, three domestic trend forums, namely Fashion Focus, Sustainability Fashion Zone, and Technology & Functional, will give buyers a better sense of Chinese trends.
Beyond the show floor, our fringe programme will comprise seminars, forums and panel discussions, focusing on the show’s key pillars: on-trend fashion, functionality, sustainability, and digitalisation. These insightful discussions help make Intertextile Apparel one of the leading platforms for industry players to connect, communicate insights, and navigate challenges and opportunities.
