From 17 to 20 January 2023, the 78th edition of Intermoda was held at Expo Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. 1,400 stands, more than 1,000 brands, and 600 exhibitors integrated the exhibition floor, with constant participation of national manufacturers, as well as a strong presence of foreign firms: placing this fair among the most relevant in the world for the fashion industry.
The fair concluded this edition with a historic growth of 20% in its registration. In this way, expectations were exceeded for this first edition of 2023. During the four days of activities, Intermoda managed to gather 45 thousand square meters of the following figures: 1,400 stands, more than a thousand brands, and 600 exhibitors from 15 countries.
The 20% increase in buyer registration ranged from more than 23 thousand national and international wholesalers, the latter originating from 22 countries. The above in a total of 12 pavilions segmented in different markets: Woman, Man, Accessories, Footwear, Store, Gala, Children, International, Trending (designers and collectives), Emprende IM (enterprises with commercial lines), Chou Room (urban fashion).
Activations for an evolving industry.
With 39 years of history, Intermoda is characterized by its constant innovation. It offered an activation program that included: Metaverse (environments 3D through VR viewers), Augmented Reality (wall where converge technology and even insects), Videobooth 360° (swivel cabin), and Photo Spot (space to capture and share photos in the style of a campaign fashion).
All fashion with multiple designers 90 Mexican and foreign designers were present thanks to the most creative platforms of Intermoda: Trending, Fashion Space, and the expected return of the catwalks. With a surprising production of fashion, Fashion Space saw the presentation of collections by Lydia Lavin, Benito Santos, Pepa Pombo, Sinergy, Peche, Barabas, Jannette Klein Universidad, Colectivo Made in Michocán, Mayorca, Fashion Group Mexico, Paulina Luna, among others.
One of the innovations presented at Intermoda was the Manufacturers and Maquila Pavilion in Mexico, which represented an effective business modality for Mexican production companies by bringing them directly to new customers. This reaffirms the commitment to offer both the exhibitor and the buyer a platform to link what has been done in Mexico in an international way.
Dialogues Among Leaders was another of the new proposals that were presented, where a space is opened to talk about business, sustainability, exports, innovation, design, and fashion to keep entrepreneurs informed about the most relevant issues of the industry.
Specialized conferences.
Again, top speakers shaped IM TALKS, a knowledge day that offered 12 conferences and 1 panel: "The Age of Service" by Oso Trava, "Business of fashion, emotion, and public relations" by fashion marketing specialist Chucho Martínez and "To internationalize you must be creative", taught by Pepa Pombo, founder of the firm with the same name. Luxury, branding, and retail design, among other items, were part of this program.
Intermoda is the new stage to highlight successful women in the fashion industry
During the 4 days of the fair, the focus of standing out the great work that various women in the Latin American fashion industry have done was notorious. Although during the inauguration of the fair, there were no women in the presidium, Intermoda has for the first time in its history the first female CEO: Elena Hurtado. In addition, the most important fashion shows were in charge of two women, the opening catwalk by the designer Lydia Lavín and the closing catwalk by Paulina Luna.
During the IM talks, two internationally recognized businesswomen talked about how they started in the fashion sector and how they have made their brands grow and internationalize. The first one was Carolina Vázquez, the founder of the Ragazza brand, which is the leading company of dresses with spectacular embroideries made by hand, for fifteen years celebration, the brand behind the most important innovations in this category. Ragazza has a presence in Mexico, the USA, and Central and South America.
The second one was, Pepa Pombo, Pepa Pombo who is a Colombian designer who has managed to position herself in the fashion industry with a unique homonymous firm since 1978. The hallmark of the house is the vibrant colors, graphic motifs with natural elements such as flowers and birds, and a perfect fusion between a classic style with a current one. The construction of the pieces is impeccable and is achieved with traditional artisan processes. The firm has boutiques in Colombia, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Spain, and the United States.
One of the most anticipated catwalks was of the company Synergy, Nadia Tamez, creative director of the technology company Sinergy, explained to EFE that they brought together various brands to create these designs as a new way of dressing and interacting with technology, one of the brands which Sinergy collaborated with was Salim, high-end upcycled clothing by the designer Elizabeth Salim. It is important to note the presence of Lucy Lara, a renowned fashion journalist who celebrated 10 years of experience with the book of her "The power of clothes", and who was also the curator of the Trending catwalk, in which Críptica BioFashionTech clothing with technology and Palo de Yucca hats participated. Without a doubt, women were the protagonists of this edition.
An approach to global trends
Buyers and exhibitors found in Trend Zone a space to know, as well as confirm the most relevant trends in the fashion sector. Through an exhibition that included finished products, textures, colors, and useful information to make better decisions about creative processes, as well as the manufacture and sale of fashion.
The area was strengthened by the dynamic workshops and workshops of Mindset by Trend Zone; the themes were: Sustainability, innovation, metaverse, and trends, the who were in charge of voices belonging to companies, firms, or projects that included Rowzwear (3D design software that works with brands like Nike, Adidas, Puma, and New Balance), Recolecto (a company focused on recycling garments with different objectives) or Print Fanatics (new technologies for the development of textile printing.
The closure was in charge of the designer Paulina Luna, who, through a catwalk, presented her collection "Pre-Fall 2023", characterized by achieving the experimentation of each piece, where symmetry, asymmetry, lines, oversize, elegance, sophisticated touches, and a little androgynous, can be found in every creation.
