Mare di Moda, a stretch fabrics and clothing trade fair, returned to Cannes for its 21st year last week. The picturesque backdrop of the French Riviera could not entirely make up for the woes of the industry that were hotly discussed at the trade fair – from overstocks to rising raw material prices – but in front of the film palace that was converted for the event, the view of the French Riviera was right, and the weather was extremely mild for November and palm trees blowing in the wind already reflect the summer season, which is the focus of the trade fair.
From November 7th to 10th, over 110 European companies will present their range of beachwear, underwear and athleisure fabrics and accessories for summer 2025. In the exhibition halls, the summery mood persisted thanks to colorful decorations and a full program, despite a relatively quiet edition. While some exhibitors spoke of a decline in visitors, others reflected on a lively and busy trade fair, a sentiment shared by the organizers.
“At a time when the international trade fair system is undergoing profound changes, we confirm ourselves as a reference for the high-end swimwear, underwear and athleisure sectors with an increasingly qualified offer, supported by a very selective choice of our exhibitors,” said Claudio Taiana, President of Mare di Moda.
No swimwear boom
According to Taiana, the exhibitors at the trade fair produce exclusively in Europe, which means that there are no discussions about the price and quality level at the trade fair itself, and yet both prices and the current economic challenges are a topic at almost every stand. While many predicted a travel boom following the easing of pandemic-related lockdowns, this is not necessarily true for the swimwear and stretch fabrics sector. People started traveling, but clothing is not a priority right now, said Elisabetta Bianco, a print and textile designer at the textile company Maglificio Ripa, founded by her great-grandfather.
“Last year there was an upswing, but now things are a little slower because companies have been buying too much – especially in terms of athleisure fabrics, as this sector was very strong during the pandemic,” said the textile designer. This confirms a trend that has been increasingly discussed. But slowing growth in the athleisure market alone is not the only reason companies are now having overflowing warehouses, said David Kaitiff, managing director at Friedmann, an English stretch fabric wholesaler.
“Last year, the buzzword in the industry was logistics; you couldn’t get anything, no matter how much you wanted to pay, because the goods couldn’t be delivered.” Now the tide has turned, because back then companies ordered more out of necessity , when they were able to sell at the end due to inflation. A cause that now has a rat’s tail and is only reinforced by rising raw material prices. Circumstances that mean that industry giants like the Carvico Group, which was represented in Cannes with both the fabric producer Carvico and Jersey Lomellina, can look back on one of the most challenging years in their more than fifty-year company history, like Romina Barelli, Marketing and Communication Manager of the Italian company company told.
However, Kaitiff puts the contractions that are repeatedly discussed at the trade fair into perspective and emphasizes that they by no means simply reflect the trends in swimwear or the stretch fabric sector. “It is more a reflection of the general malaise of all economies, or at least all European economies,” said the Englishman. It is therefore important, especially in times like these, to set up the sourcing line in such a way that a certain price structure and limits are not exceeded, says Thomas Merkel, managing director of the textile printing company InnoTex Merkel & Rau GmbH, one of the few German exhibitors at the trade fair. However, price increases are currently almost unavoidable.
“Our customers are mainly medium-sized, we have a very good relationship with our customers and we also find an understanding of the situation there. And we have found a very transparent solution for the increases that are unavoidable, especially in connection with energy costs,” said Merkel. “Every week, at the end of the week, our customers receive a table in which we prove that we have actually used more energy costs, since we have no interest as a supplier in unnecessarily burdening our customers with price increases.” The price increase at InnoTex is currently three cents per linear meter. This amount is both sellable and traceable.
Sustainability can still be expanded
Things are a little different with the more sustainable fabrics that are given priority at the trade fair – at least in the official event program of the Mare di Moda organizers. While the trade fair’s event program with lectures focuses heavily on sustainability, there are divided opinions at the exhibitors’ stands.
All trade fair visitors and exhibitors would probably agree that the topic is an important one, but while many customers are already asking about recycled materials, the brands that actually buy the sustainable materials are still in the minority, says Bianco. “It is still a question of price, because nowadays there is still a difference and end customers are not yet ready to pay for it,” explains the textile designer. More sustainable fabric alternatives at Maglificio Ripa cost around 50 cents extra per kilo, but there are also surcharges for processing and possibly dyeing the fabrics. The bottom line is that the sustainable variants cost up to 20 percent more than their conventional counterparts.
The fact that demand on the end consumer side does not yet correspond to the norm is also confirmed by Kaitiff, who came into contact with a wide range of end consumers as part of his professional career. “I spoke to world championship gymnasts and asked them exactly the same question: When you choose your leotards, do you think about using recycled fabric?” The answer, according to the textile entrepreneur, was usually a resounding no, because of the performance the material is still clearly in the foreground.
All roads lead to Lycra
The Lycra Company is nevertheless very committed to sustainability. There was no way around the company, which was represented as an official partner of Mare Di Moda in Cannes. Red arrows on the floor of the exhibition hall led to the Lycra Lounge, a “space for relaxing and networking” amid the hustle and bustle of the exhibition, while the talk “Let’s talk Circularity” by Alistair Williamson, Vice President, Apparel, Europe, Middle East, Africa and South Asia, presented both the company’s sustainability goals and new fiber technologies.
The fiber manufacturer presented new products including ‘Adaptiv Xtra Life’ fibers for swimwear and ‘Adaptive Black’ fibers for athleisurewear. A sustainability-focused fiber technology called Qira, developed in collaboration with Qore, received particular attention. Qira is the first organically based elastane, made from 76 percent renewable, inedible corn.
Williamson also confirms that sustainable decisions and technologies must be economically viable in order to appear attractive to companies. Nevertheless, switching to organically sourced fibers, which involves costs for Lycra, is the right step. The extent to which this technology and its additional costs will actually be accepted by customers when it is planned to be introduced in 2025 remains to be seen, but according to Williamson, demand is already enormous and offers hope for a sustainable future for the Lycra Company and the market for stretch fabrics .
FashionUnited was invited to visit Mare Di Moda in Cannes.