The Taiwan Textile Federation brought together two important events for the Taiwanese fashion industry in October: Taipei Fashion Week and the Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show (Titas), a trade fair for innovative textiles and technologies.
Taipei Fashion Week was held from October 11 to 22, 2023 at the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park in downtown Taipei. The location was a former tobacco factory that has now been converted into an exhibition space and design museum. Titas, Taipei Innovative Textile Application Show, was held at the local exhibition center, Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center (Hall 1).
The theme of Fashion Week was “Youth Culture”, embodied by idols from fashion, music and television series. These celebrities were also largely present at the fashion shows, where a whole generation of young, good-looking Taiwanese thronged in a dynamic, free and creative atmosphere. The theme suits a vibrant but serene modern city with architectural masterpieces and malls full of luxury boutiques, housing all the big French and international names in the luxury industry.
“These brands target a local population that obviously has high purchasing power,” said Xavier Latapie & Giulietta Canu, the duo behind B2B platform Moddity. In a single street you can find all the luxury labels within a few meters. There is an atmosphere of easy freedom, tolerance and respect in Taipei, which promises interesting developments in design and fashion in the coming years. The international buyers in attendance also noted a creative, bubbly and positive energy embodied by Fashion Week’s very young audience.
Events on the sidelines of Taipei Fashion Week are intended to boost the local fashion industry
In addition to the seventeen fashion shows by Taiwanese designers, the Taiwan Design Fashion Awards also took place. Twelve selected young fashion designers presented their work on the following topics: Creative Aesthetics, Comfort and Performance, Multiple Functionality and Sustainable Development.
The exhibition “When Contemporary Craftsmanship meets Fashion” created a connection between the world of art, crafts and fashion. As part of a business matchmaking event in the hall of the Songshan Cultural and Creative Park, the collections of several designers were presented so that international buyers could get to know them.
Manufacturing tools, chemical processes and textiles: a 180-degree look at the Taiwanese fashion industry
Titas took place from October 17th to 19th, 2023 with 381 exhibitors at the Taipei Nangang Exhibition Center. The trade fair was aimed at a local audience, but international buyers, brands and manufacturers were also represented. According to the organizers, the future business opportunities created by the fair were estimated at 47 million US dollars (about 44.24 million euros).
The Taiwanese textile industry, with around 4,000 companies and 140,000 employees, is characterized by the production of technical fabrics from chemical fibers for sports and outdoor clothing. This area accounts for 70 percent of the country’s total textile production.
The Taiwanese industry, which has been committed to a transition towards sustainable development and decarbonization for several years, sees itself as an essential partner for the major international brands that have set themselves the goal of “Zero Goals”. To this end, Titas 2023 presented the innovations of the Taiwanese textile industry in three thematic areas: Sustainability, Functional Applications and Intelligent Manufacturing.
The Taiwan Textile Research Institute (TTRI), which supports the transition, was also present at the trade fair and presented the progress of its research on the topics of smart textiles, recycling and business intelligence.
This translated and edited post originally appeared on FashionUnited.fr
