Momad February '19 expressed its commitment to quality fashion, design and foreign markets
The Fair, organised by IFEMA, welcomed 15,250 professionals, of whom 25 por ciento were from abroad, in an edition distinguished by its good commercial atmosphere
Momad, Fashion in Madrid, displayed its commitment to quality, design and foreign markets at its recently-concluded event, held from 8 to 10 February at IFEMA-Feria de Madrid. The Fair, organised by IFEMA, welcomed 15,250 visitors, of whom 25 por ciento were from abroad, illustrating its growing importance and influence in the international arena. At this edition, distinguished by its good commercial atmosphere, the fair reinforced its role as the largest trade and trends forum for the Fashion sector in the Iberian Peninsula, where nearly 800 brands presented their offerings for Autumn-Winter 2019-2020 and Spring-Summer 2019.
After having acted in recent years as the umbrella brand that encompassed the Momad Metrópolis and Momad Shoes shows, Momad has evolved as a brand and, as of this latest edition, has gone on to become the benchmark fair for professionals in the field of Fashion and Clothing, where footwear and accessories brands that wished to become associated with fashion retailing were also present .
Design was one of the highlights of this edition, in which Hannibal Laguna and Devota & Lomba presented their Prêt a Porter collections and the creator Miguel Marinero also took part. A commitment by the show to creation, enhanced by the attraction of higher quality brands such as Emme and Marella, from the group Max Mara, Cupid Killer and Weill. These two commitments were very warmly received by the professional visitors.
Leading firms participating in this edition included Vila and Object, from the Best Seller group, Corty Bennett; Weill; Md'M; Pati Conde; Lion of Porches; Lola Casademunt; Fyord; Gloor; Mercedes de Miguel - which this year is celebrating its 30th anniversary - ; Alba Conde; Veneno en la Piel; Celop; Nekane; Vidorreta; Calzados Victoria and Kickers.
This Momad event also made strides in its objective of contributing to the expansion of Spanish fashion’s presence in foreign markets. The fair thus organised a
large International Buyers programme, which contributed to the promotion, revitalisation and internationalisation of the exhibiting companies. In total, professionals from 36 companies from Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Panama, Peru, the Dominican Republic, China-Hong Kong, Slovakia, Greece, Ireland, the Czech Republic, Russia, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar and Turkey visited the fair.
Sustainable Fashion takes hold
The commitment to Sustainable Fashion was also reinforced in this edition of Momad with an increase in the surface area of the stands of the exhibitors in the Sustainable Experience space, in which some thirty companies participated with their offerings in fashion, footwear and accessories. The high attendance of professionals in this section confirmed this fashion segment’s strong progress in the national and international market.
As in previous editions, Momad also continued to promote innovative solutions with unique value for the Fashion industry in the Momad 4.0 area. In addition, as an innovation, it included the "Brands Connection” space, where the exhibiting brands had the opportunity to project their multimedia content and visitors were able to enjoy an interactive experience.
In turn, the Momad Catwalk hosted 10 parades over the three days of the fair, which attracted large audiences. Among others, the catwalk hosted the presentation of The Extreme Collection, the Ibiza Moda Adlib fashion show and the parade of Amse, the Sustainable Fashion Association of Spain.
Also, at a conference during the fair, the international Trends Agency Nelly Rodi shared the key points of the new Fashion season with visiting professionals. During the fair, the 10 finalists of the 2nd National Swimwear Fashion Award for new talents, ModaEspaña 2019, were announced.
The fact that the Momad venue and dates coincided with those of the Bisutex, MadridJoya and Intergift fairs led to valuable interactions among all the fairs and gave visitors the chance to visit all the pavilions of the venue with a single pass.
High attendance at the conferences
In parallel with the business activity, Momad included a large programme of conferences at the MOMAD Forum, that were very well attended, and in which the new strategies of the fashion business based on Digitalisation and Sustainability were analysed, in addition to holding a large number of training activities, workshops and events. The MOMAD Forum devoted its first day to Momad 4.0 and the second to Sustainable Fashion.
Among the speakers taking part in the Momad 4.0 workshop, Carolina Pérez of Instore highlighted "the importance of implementing technology at the points of sale for the customer, for example, in window dressing, to merge the physical store with the online store, since shopping often begins in the online environment and is completed in the physical store". Mónica Casal from Tandem Up in turn echoed the impact that digital formats and marketplaces are having on online sales, since "71 por ciento of the internet user population purchase online, and 99 por ciento of them do so in marketplaces”. According to Casal, Europe is the third-largest e-commerce region in the world and has more than 220 marketplaces. "Spanish brands have to be aware that there is a large market beyond the Pyrenees, since this country only accounts for 5 por ciento of online sales, while the United Kingdom, France and Germany account for 60 por ciento," she said.
On the second day, devoted to Sustainable Fashion, Belvis Soler, from the Sustainable Fashion publication Luxiders Magazine, explained that more and more "stores with responsible and sustainable attitudes and concepts" are emerging, and revealed that, according to the latest studies, 4 out of 5 consumers assess social or environmental sustainability when deciding between one garment or another. In her speech, Marisa Fatás from Kalon Madrid revealed a project that provides information on places devoted to responsible and fair consumption, and Ignasi Eiriz from Ethical Time explained how to facilitate consumer searches for ethically and sustainably produced garments.
Social networks, effective formulas to reach the final consumer
The Momad fair also promoted an activity with influencers, and the installation of a television studio, in which interviews were held with a large number of exhibitors and leading figures of the event during the three days of the fair. Both were revealed as effective formulas for reaching the final consumer. Thus, within the framework of the "Momad Wardrobe" activity, four well-known influencers - Patricia Valley, Sandra de La Porte, José Lamuño and Jes, created outfits for wearing on different occasions, using clothes from the stands of the fair. To do this, they toured the pavilions in search of the most up-to-date garments to define what will be in fashion and the brands that showcase them. The outfits were uploaded to the social networks of the show and the participating brands were tagged.