SHANGHAI – Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics opens the spring sourcing season in China in March 2026, focusing on sustainability, performance and AI. Organisers say the Spring Edition will “leverage” momentum from this year’s shows and sharpen its focus on “what’s next” for the supply chain.
“Intertextile Apparel has proved time and again to be unmissable, and our fairgoers regularly echo that sentiment,” said Ms Wilmet Shea, general manager of Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd. “As the industry undergoes a period of change, the fair’s breadth, scale, business connections and focus on ‘what’s next’ are more important than ever. The upcoming Spring Edition will leverage our renewed focus and carry forward the positive momentum of our 2025 shows. With fashion as a cornerstone of the fair, we will continue to place a greater emphasis on AI and innovation, while growing our sustainable and performance-related offerings.”
The show will again focus on sustainability through its Econogy Hub, which organisers say expanded by more than 60 per cent between the 2024 and 2025 Autumn Editions. Next spring the zone will adopt an open-booth layout with seminar and display areas and will host innovative suppliers alongside testing and certification bodies. An Econogy Finder will guide buyers to sustainable exhibitors across the fairground.
Organisers are also pushing digital and automation themes. The Innovation and Digital Solutions Zone will highlight AI use cases in textiles, with claims that tools are already reducing waste, spotting defects earlier and optimising stock to avoid surplus. Previous participants included AiDLab, HKRITA and Shima Seiki.
Market positioning will target fashion and function. Trend features return at the Intertextile Directions Trend Forum, Bespoke Performance, The CUBE and the Econogy display. Exhibitors in Accessories Vision, Beyond Denim, Essential Suits and Shirts, Premium Wool Zone, SalonEurope and Verve for Design are expected to court younger customers as Chinese-style looks move into overseas markets. Functional Lab will track the shift in athleisure towards more utilitarian, performance-driven styles.
“Every year we bring new concepts, innovations, and technologies to Intertextile Apparel,” said Ms Karen Yang, global marketing communication leader, Textile, Eastman Chemical (China) Co Ltd. “The buyers at Intertextile Apparel are excellent. They are forward-thinking and eager to try new things. That’s why we choose this platform to debut our latest innovations and fabrics, and this year we were very happy to launch Naia On The Move at Intertextile Apparel.”
“As opposed to Europe, it’s a lot nearer to fly to Shanghai from Singapore, and many leading European and Japanese suppliers come here,” said Ms Eileen Tay, creative director at Elizabeth Little LLP. “China is the biggest hub, and Intertextile Apparel really serves all the purposes I have. All the exhibitors have warehouses in China, so it’s also very easy for our manufacturers to get the stock.”
The fair is co-organised by Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd, the Sub-Council of Textile Industry of CCPIT and the China Textile Information Centre. It will run alongside Yarn Expo Spring, Intertextile Shanghai Home Textiles Spring Edition, CHIC and PH Value at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai. The Spring Edition takes place from 11 to 13 March 2026.
