Sportswear Pro was announced by Fespa at its 2019 show in Munich last week, and will take circa-3,000sqm of floorspace at the IFEMA, Madrid, from 24-27 March. It will focus on the design, production and decoration aspects of the sportswear manufacturing process.

The offshoot show was developed to build on the success of Fespa’s Print Make Wear area, which showcased the possibilities of textiles printing. According to Fespa group exhibition manager Michael Ryan, 80% of textile printers are active in sportswear.

Ryan, who is event manager for Sportswear Pro, said: “As part of the Fespa Census in 2018, we looked at the trends coming out of the industry and as a result we are introducing Sportswear Pro to showcase pioneering tech in sportswear.

“It is all about sustainability, automation and customisation and will support the manufacturers and producers of activewear garments. While textile printing will continue to be showcased as part of the main Fespa show, this show will focus on other aspects of the process including bonding, knitting, embroidery and laser appliqué.

“Europe is the second largest apparel manufacturer behind China and year-on-year manufacturing is undergoing localisation within the marketplace. Demand is huge and growing, with a value of $250bn [£197bn] in 2020.”

He concluded: “The time to change is right now and the tech is there so let’s take advantage of it. Madrid is the ideal place to launch this [event] as it is so well-connected.”

Sportswear Pro is set to house around 80-100 exhibitors, according to Ryan, and is preliminarily being billed to take place every two years, co-located with every other Fespa Global Print Expo.