With around 4,500 visitors from home and abroad and 515 exhibitors, the trade fair for performance textiles in Munich has once again shown that its concept hits the nerve of the industry. From October 29th to 30th, the industry leaders in the segment presented their innovations for the fall/winter 2027 season.
It was almost a bit eerie: it was rare to feel such a good atmosphere at a trade fair in recent years. The 35th edition of the Performance Days spread a lot of energy, innovative solutions and the willingness to move the industry forward. Marco Weichert, CEO of Performance Days, was enthusiastic about the result: “We see ourselves as hosts and want to offer our exhibitors, sponsors and visitors two days full of inspiration, education, new ideas, material innovations and a valuable, relaxed working atmosphere. I think we have succeeded in this brilliantly.” For him, success is proof that he is on the right path and motivates him to “continue to work consistently on our concept and quality.”
In fact, the trade fair does some things differently than other organizers: For example, there is a waiting list of around 150 exhibitors who would like to take part in the trade fair. “But why should I show 30 exhibitors in the same category, only the best are really interesting,” says Weichert, explaining his approach. Although the trade fair is growing in terms of exhibitors, this is primarily due to new segments being added. Most recently, for example, by adding the footwear segment. All awards and the design of the trend forums are selected solely based on internal quality criteria; no one can “buy in” there. If there is no particular innovation in an area, no award will be given.
Focus topic: Textile-to-Textile Recycling
As always, the trade fair had one main theme in terms of content and visuals. This time it was about “Textile to Textile – the Role of Recyclers”. Various workshops and lectures were dedicated to this topic and aimed to promote collaboration between brands, producers and recyclers along the circular value chain. The focus was on the panel discussion “T-REX: Creating a Blueprint for a Circular Textile Ecosystem in the EU”, where representatives from Fulgar, Adidas and BASF spoke about the results of the EU-funded T-REX (Textile Recycling Excellence) project. The T-REX Blueprint was presented – a strategic document that provides concrete recommendations and best practices for a more closed, circular textile system in Europe and shows how textile circular economy can be implemented economically and practically. “Textile waste is a key resource – we just have to use it. Recycling technologies are there, the first solutions are working. Now it’s time to scale, network, act,” explained Anna Schuster, Head of Sustainability Performance Days at the trade fair.
Fibers of the future: First cooperation with Future Fabrics Expo
What was new was the collaboration with the Future Fabrics Expo from London, Weichert’s “personal favorite trade fair,” as he said at the press dinner the evening before. The area clearly showed how textiles of the future can be created. Amanda Johnston, Chief Design Officer Future Fabrics Expo: “Our goal is to encourage the industry to explore the variety of sustainable material alternatives in the performance sector – and to replace traditional fibers such as virgin polyester or conventional cotton, which still make up the majority of global fiber production.”
On display there, for example, was the new Nanoloom fiber made from graphene, one of the strongest and lightest materials in the world. Graphene is essentially carbon and can be produced by converting biomass waste. Nanoloom has integrated it into biodegradable polymers and developed functional fibers and yarns that are 100 percent recyclable and biodegradable. As an initial application, the fibers are intended to replace elastane as they are more stretchy and stronger than traditional stretch fibers. A plant for the industrial production of the fibers is currently being built in Europe.
Another innovation comes from Fibarcode. The company has developed a method for incorporating information into the fiber cross-section to permanently authenticate textiles, ensure traceability and provide information for recycling at the end of the life cycle. The data is retrieved via a cost-effective, portable scanning system. All conventional polymers are suitable as fibers, including recycled, bio-based and biodegradable synthetic fibers.
Wool & Innovation: Demand is increasing
In addition to the new format, the Wool Area, which has expanded further, also scored points. “The demand for wool is increasing, which has led us to pay even more attention to the area,” said Astrid Schlüchter, Senior Communication Manager of Performance Days. One of the highlights of the Wool Area is the new material from Flytec. The material consists of 88 percent recycled wool and twelve percent silk and uses a special spinning process that gives the fibers a strong crimp and brings out their scale structure to its best advantage. This creates an ultra-dense textile surface with a permanently windproof, breathable and water-repellent function – without any chemical additives or microplastics.
New material architectures at Primaloft and Polartec
But classic providers such as Primaloft and Polartec have also presented their innovations. Primaloft, specializing in synthetic insulation materials, presented UltraPeak, a new type of synthetic insulation with architecturally constructed fibers that bring warmth, loft and feel to the level of down – but is made entirely from recycled materials. The fiber architecture forms an internal framework that traps air and efficiently retains heat. The fiber is produced using PURE technology, which was introduced several years ago and reduces CO₂ emissions by over 50 percent. Primaloft only completely switched its premium insulation to Primaloft PURE in January 2025. Further products are to follow in the coming seasons.
The fleece specialist Polartec presented Polartec AirCore, a new, air-permeable and PFAS-free laminate with a nanofiber membrane that is both weatherproof and highly breathable. The softshell material consists of an upper and lower material with a membrane placed in between and achieves a water column of 6,000 millimeters – according to the definition, waterproofness starts at 10,000 millimeters. According to Polartec, it covers 90 percent of all areas of application. The nanofiber membrane allows a controlled airflow through which moisture and heat are actively dissipated from the inside to the outside. This creates a dry microclimate, even during intensive exercise. “Making waterproof fabrics is easy,” said Ramesh Kesh, senior vice president at Milliken & Company and business leader at Polartec, during the presentation of the new fabric. “It is more difficult to produce a water-repellent, comfortable and breathable fabric without PFAS.”
Cooperation with Beams and Utah State University
Despite all the futuristic ideas, the trade fair also had something nostalgic to offer: For the first time, the Japanese trend retailer Beams exhibited at the trade fair and presented individual pieces from its extensive archive of outdoor clothing. The historical parts were supplemented by a collection of historical outdoor magazines or brand catalogs collected by Utah State University from around the world.
