After a total of five days (including the Showroom Concept), the first fashion trade fair to take place after Germany’s lockdown held as a special combined format for fashion, shoes and accessories came to an end at the Areal Böhler in Düsseldorf. “There was a much higher frequency than expected”, commented Ulrike Kähler, Project Director and Managing Director of Igedo Company. The platform showcased 40% fashion and accessories and 60% shoes from around 300 exhibitors with roughly 550 brands, 54% from abroad and 46% from Germany.

An event in COVID-19 times

According to Ulrike Kähler, holding an event in March 2020 meant that the organisation team already had plenty of practice in fulfilling the official health and safety requirements and was extremely well prepared: “Over the past few months, we further developed, adapted and perfected this concept so we could guarantee that our visitors would feel safe and very much at ease in September 2020”. The safety and hygiene concept was visible in the halls, as well ventilation with fresh air developed in cooperation with the Areal Böhler. Guest management was adapted and provided an exact overview of the visitor frequency within each hall and strictly monitored the numbers of visitors entering and exiting each hall.

Manfred Junkert, General Manager of the Bundesverband der Schuh-und Lederwarenindustrie e.V. (Federal Association of the German Footwear and Leather Goods Industry), congratulated the organiser on their successful industry event, outstanding safety concept and excellent organisation, adding: “Who dares, wins!”. Junkert underlined the need for face-to-face interaction, visible among the 300 exhibitors. 

Future Formats

For the future, Igedo Company is planning to apply this concept to the four usual tradeshow dates per year in Düsseldorf “with the corresponding weighting for each date”, commented Ulrike Kähler. “This event has proven to us that the professional buyers are drawing inspiration from our complete overview of fashion, shoes and accessories, even amid the current circumstances.

New dates for 2021

Subject to possible restrictions caused by COVID-19, Igedo Company is planning the following dates for 2021:

Gallery FASHION & SHOES 31^st January – 2^nd February 2021
Showroom Concept 29^th January – 2^nd February 2021
Gallery SHOES & FASHION 7^th – 9^th March 2021
Possible Showroom Concept dates 5^th – 9^th March 2021