Extreme weather conditions temporarily suspended the CENTRESTAGE. However, the three exhibition days still attracted more than 7,700 buyers from 78 countries and regions, with most from the Middle East, Mainland China and ASEAN countries.
“CENTRESTAGE brought together fashion brands worldwide and served as an important platform for promotion, trade and exchange in Asia. We actively invited local and overseas buyers to visit the show, including well-known retailers and buyers from France, the United Kingdom, Germany, Japan, Indonesia, and more,” said HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Sophia Chong.
More than 30 fashion shows and events were organised throughout the fair, attracting enthusiastic participation from industry professionals and the general public.
HKTDC partnered with various organisations to host events promoting sustainable development in the industry.
“CENTRESTAGE stays closely attuned to global trends and has infused a substantial amount of digital fashion and sustainable development elements in this year's fair. We also provided valuable platforms for fostering the exchange of ideas, joining forces with the industry to drive innovation.”
Established in 2019, the Hong Kong sportswear brand ARTY: ACTIVE connected with customers from Mainland China in the past, providing clothing design services. It also successfully entered the Malaysian market through another HKTDC event.
“We aimed to promote our brand and expand into the international market. We are pleased to share that among the buyers we met at the fair, eight buyers from Thailand, Korea, Cambodia and Vietnam are planning to place orders, resulting in a total business value reaching seven-digit Hong Kong dollars,” said Founder Gary Tsang.
Rachael Spink, Senior Buyer from Etoile Group, UAE, visited the fair to source fashions for their five Etoile La Boutique outlets across the Middle East, including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Saudi Arabia.
Liu Xinyi, the Head of Buying of Chongqing’s S.N.D Ltd., expressed that her visit to CENTRESTAGE exceeded expectations. The students' works were incredibly stunning and mature.
The HKTDC also interviewed 350 exhibitors and buyers in an on-site survey during CENTRESTAGE to gauge the fashion industry's outlook and product trend views.
The survey revealed that Hong Kong-designed fashion products were perceived to be of the same quality as those in developed markets, and Hong Kong was named as the top choice for physical trade fairs by 85 per cent of respondents.
The rising demand in emerging markets and recovering consumer purchasing power were key business opportunities this year, with more than 60 per cent perceiving fluctuations in the global economy as the major challenge.
Sustainability in the fashion industry was also highlighted as a growing emphasis, with 74 per cent of respondents agreeing that it would be prevalent this year.
