Messe Frankfurt is starting the international roll-out of Neonyt in Paris.
The fair for sustainable fashion will start in Paris from January 21 to 23 as a “preview edition”, announced Neonyt on Thursday. The trade fair organizer Messe Frankfurt acts as the licensor of Neonyt, which is organized in Paris by WSN Développement, a Parisian trade fair organizer that is also behind formats such as Who’s Next and The Salon International de la Lingerie.
Neonyt alongside Who’s Next and Impact in Paris
Neonyt Paris is to be held in the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles conference center and will increase market coverage out of France by opening up new “catchment areas for exhibitors and buyers,” according to the statement. It is to take place twice a year, in January and September, parallel to Who’s Next. In addition, the Impact trade fair, which sets fashionable and ecological accents, will be located in the “direct vicinity” of the Parisian Neonyt. As a result, Neonyt should also benefit from the two already established trade fairs and the interest of international dealers and buyers.
“We are very proud of our new partnership with WSN Développement. It now marks the first groundbreaking milestone in our strategic internationalization path,” said Olaf Schmidt, Vice President Textiles & Textile Technologies at Messe Frankfurt. “As a fashion location, Paris is highly attractive, trend-setting, hip in the fashion industry, increasingly docked to southern European markets and therefore for us – and our community in mind – the right choice of location for our first international license location.”
Return to the roots
Strictly speaking, it is not the first time that Messe Frankfurt is represented with a green fashion event in Paris. In 2010, the fair organizer acquired the French Ethical Fashion Show, which has been held in Paris since 2004. Due to a lack of demand, the fair was moved from Paris to Berlin after a canceled 2012 edition, where it was then held finally managed to find success. The Neonyt ultimately emerged in 2018 from the Fusion of Ethical Fashion Show and Greenshowroom. In addition, Messe Frankfurt is currently represented in the French capital with textile fairs such as Texworld Evolution Paris and Texcare France.
In August, Messe Frankfurt issued the first license for Neonyt to Igedo Exhibitions, which will bring the trade fair to Düsseldorf for the first time from January 28th to 30th in the event halls of the Areal Böhler, where the company is also organizing the Oder event Fashn Rooms.
“Together with the licensed Neonyt in Düsseldorf, the new location Paris will represent a symbiotic market presentation and addition to our location portfolio,” says Schmidt. “From now on we offer buyers, the labels and our growing and committed community the opportunity to open up new markets and to internationalize their customer relationships even more.”
The Neonyt took place in Berlin until January 2020 and was then to become part of the ‘Frankfurt Fashion Week’ together with the Premium Group trade fairs. The project was interrupted by the pandemic and before there was a joint event with a fashion week in the Main metropolis, the Premium Group trade fairs Seek and Premium returned to Berlin in July. The first edition of the end customer event “Neonyt Lab” of the sustainability-oriented fashion fair was then held in Frankfurt in June, which will remain on the Main.
This post was updated at 1:16 p.m. on December 8 with background information on Messe Frankfurt’s commitment to green fashion.