Fabric sourcing at Portugal’s trade show, Modtissimo

day 1

The Modtissimo trade show hosts Portugal’s finest fabric and product manufacturers. But what is going to a fashion trade show really like?

The morning is chilly. I wrap a blanket around myself and bring my oversized coffee mug to the table. It’s not quite 6am. I’ve been awake since the ungodly hour of 4:21am, when the first mosquito bite woke me up. Two more itchy throbbing bumps later, I concede and climb out of bed, coffee and the day ahead now on my mind.

Today is the second and last day of the Modtissimo’s 60th trade show here in Portugal. This year the event is set up in pavilion B of the Exponor. I prefer the layout here. The fashion design students’ pieces are set up better compared to last year where the adorned mannequins were put in a far corner along a marked up wall.

Athens Fashion Club School show student projects mixing cork, knits and woven fabrics.

The Modtissimo fashion trade show is a full event with the typical talks from high-level speakers, gorgeous pieces designed by Portuguese fashion designers made with the upcoming fabric lines displayed at the entrance to the trade show.

To the right are tables lined up and layered with neatly folded fabrics, some with coordinating trims strategically placed on top, highlighting the upcoming fabric lines from the local textile manufacturers for AW 23/24. For those of us in the sourcing sector of the fashion industry, attending fabric sourcing events is easily one of the best ways to spend a couple of days.

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After an hour or so of wandering around looking at the details of every garment, taking photos and video of the dressed up mannequins and touched every last one of the upcoming fabrics, I take my lanyard with my pass folded inside, point the QR code at the attendant and get myself beeped into the exhibitors area. I’ve already shyly hidden in a corner to make a video in both landscape and portrait to later feed the YouTube and Instagram algorithms, respectively. 

As I enter into the vendors area, a wave of humidity and heat lands directly on my face and I instantly regret wearing a blazer, or my President’s Coat as my seven year old calls it. The room is buzzing with conversations. Digital displays are flashing the vendor’s marketing message. I feel eager to start sourcing. And hot.

Damn it’s hot in here.

Centering myself, I peel the black blazer off and hook it around my bag, readjust myself, dab my forehead and begin my journey around the outer walls. Here is where the fabric manufacturers from Turkey are set up, with their many fabric hangers of some of the finest woven fabrics in the world.

Soft woven tencel in colours that only autumn leaves can inspire, shiny jacquard made from viscose and ecovero blends. These shiny jaquards are too beautiful to pass by. With a client in mind, I start pulling hangers of samples off the racks to create a growing pile on the table. The sales rep working for this fabric mill helps me source the fabrics on my spec sheet, while teaching me how to say thank you in Turkish. I gently correct her on her use of thank you in Portuguese (one of the few words I know well here. The rest? Well it’s safe to say it will be a long while before I can volunteer any more Portuguese language services.)

Obirgado? She’s uncertain.

Obrigada, I correct her. Obrigado is for males to say. She laughs and translates their error to her colleague. I encourage her that the Portuguese will never mind, so long as you are trying.

Jaquard fabric left and middle from Masg Tekstil. Fabrics on the right New Life lyocell viscose blend by Yeni Hayat

They offer me a fresh brewed Turkish coffee to go along with a Turkish delight. These small gooey, or so I thought, sugary treats remind me of Christmas in Canada. They would always make their way out of a powdered up bag and admittedly, I would cringe. They were too sweet, too gooey. But not wanting to be rude, or to pass up the opportunity to taste the real thing, I sit down and tentatively pick up the little sugar coated cube. The sales reps are standing over me watching, smiling. Little bits of powder dust my navy blue denim jeans. Did it get warmer in here?

I take my freshly brewed coffee, ready to wash the texture down. One small polite bite. Oh, it’s not gooey at all, in fact, is that a pistachio? Delighted, I pop the last of the Turkish delight in my mouth, the textile vendors eyeing me as they speak with the others visiting their stall. Someone opens a side door and a breeze sweeps through that corner of the building, cooling us as we turn to face the breeze. There is an audible sigh of relief. Was that me?

Back to fabric sourcing, we start going through my selection of fabrics, sipping my coffee down to the dregs. Their minimum order quantities are high, too high for my client, but I make a note of the fabrics and this fabric manufacturer for a future connection. 

As I gather my things, I am handed a basket of handmade pouches wrapped in twine. Choose one, please they say. The pouches are made from their heavier jacquard. Touched, I thank them, teşekkür ederim. 

Orbigada, they smile and I move on to the next vendor.

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