Belo Horizonte – The introduction of looks for the upcoming spring-summer season is officially open. The 10th edition of Minas Trend Preview started this Wednesday (25th) and will continue until the 28th in Belo Horizonte, the capital of the state of Minas Gerais. Promoted by the Federation of Industries of the State of Minas Gerais (FIEMG) and partner organizations such as Sindicato do Vestuário de Minas Gerais (the Minas Gerais Clothing Industry Union), the event features 180 exhibitors in the clothing, footwear, purses, children’s wear, jewellery, and costume jewellery industries.
A total of 250 brands are showcasing their new products for the 2012-2013 spring-summer season. The fair is expecting to receive 15,000 visitors from across the country and will be 20% larger than its preceding edition, held last November, in terms of business generated.
In addition to Brazilian businessmen and buyers, Minas Trend Preview is being attended by guests from Canada, the United States, France and Italy. According to Minas Gerais Clothing Industry Union president Michel Aburachid, sales at the event among textile mills alone are expected to exceed 20 million reals (US$ 10.6 million). “Not to mention the deals that will be closed afterwards as a result of the fair,” he says.
According to Aburachid, Arab buyers and visitors are welcome in future editions. “We must promote this partnership, we must bring the Arabs to Minas, this is a target of ours,” he says.
Minas Trend Preview gained strength especially because it shows what people will wear in the spring-summer season before any other event in the country. That and the power of Minas Gerais fashion, to be sure. The state accounts for 30% of the Brazilian clothing industry, with hubs specializing in specific products such as lingerie, women’s wear, knitting and sleepwear, for example.
Along the halls of the fair there are booths of manufacturers from different areas of the country, but those from Minas prevail. There are medium and large enterprises, including better known brands such as that of designer Ronaldo Fraga, an illustrious son of the state.
Rogério Lima, a member of this team of local entrepreneurs and the owner of a namesake purse brand, explains that Minas Trend Preview has helped him build his company. “I had always produced for third parties, and after I established my own company five years ago, I decided to exhibit here,” he says. “At the fair, I was placed on the same level as other manufacturers. It is a very important display,” he explains.
In addition to the booths, the event features parades and courses in fashion and design for its participants, among other topics.
The Minas Gerais clothing industry comprises 7,000 enterprises which account for 200,000 job positions. In 2011, the industry posted 1.4 billion reals (US$ 744 million) in revenues, according to the Minas Gerais Clothing Industry Union.
*The journalist travelled to Belo Horizonte by invitation of the Minas Trend Preview. Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
