On July 23-24, Reed Exhibitions, in partnership with PERFORMANCEDAYS,launched Functional Fabric Fair, held during MRKET Days at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City.

PERFORMANCEDAYS has been held in Germany for the past 10 years and showcases functional technologies in fabrics. Historically, it has been attended by outdoor brands that use thermal technologies, reflective materials and other functions in their products.

“About a year and half ago, I was at the show in Germany and I noticed sportswear brands were attending in addition to the outdoor brands,” explained Steve McCullough at Reed. “I knew that the show should come to the U.S. and specifically New York, because this is where fashion meets function.”

Attendees of the Functional Fabric Fair included teams from large brands such as Target, Ralph Lauren and others. The 1,159 attendees from 29 countries had the opportunity to experience the breadth of technologies available through exhibits and complimentary showfloor education that focused on trends and teaching designers how to incorporate those trends.  

Exhibitors brought everything that today’s fashion industry is buzzing about, from thermal threads to 4-way stretch fabrics, to anti-order technologies as well as products that improve sustainability throughout the production process such as waterless color systems and recycled down options.

“Everybody’s looking for something extra to put into their products,” McCullough said. “Mainstream adoptions of these technologies will be immediate.”