MIAMI —June 04, 2014 — More than 700 international fashion buyers from at least 35 countries are expected to attend Colombiamoda 2014 in Medellin, Colombia, from July 22 to 24, 2014. Colombiamoda is Latin America’s largest fashion event, consisting of runway shows and business meetings with industry heavyweights from around the world. The event is a partnership between Inexmoda, Colombia’s Institute for Export and Fashion, and Proexport Colombia, the government agency charged with promoting trade, investment and tourism.
“Colombiamoda is critical for the growth of Colombia’s fashion industry, from the sale of designer pieces to our high-quality raw textiles,” said Proexport President Maria Claudia Lacouture. “Colombian entrepreneurs will have the opportunity to share their products directly with international buyers, resulting in long-term supply deals that will allow both parties to benefit from Colombia’s free trade agreements and premium products.”
The goal of July’s event will be to further globalize Colombia’s economy and utilize the country’s FTAs. In order to do this, a number of targeted conferences, business meetings and subsector events will be included in the Colombiamoda program. Additionally, Proexport will debut a new online tool that allows buyers and exporters to secure meetings in real-time.
Buyers have already been confirmed from the U.S., Canada, Ecuador, France, Chile, Japan and others, representing global companies such as Under Armour, Galeries Lafayette and Perry Ellis International. Among the products on display will be jeans, sportswear, formal styles, underwear, kids’ clothes, uniforms, swimwear and shapewear.
Building on the incredible success of past events, Colombiamoda will expand this year to include industrial uniforms and safety clothing, as well as two new pavilions: household textiles and technical textiles.
Buyers from the U.S. and Canada have had great success at Colombiamoda in past years. For example, there were 43 percent more Canadian buyers at Colombiamoda in 2013 than the previous year, generating business expectations of more than US$5 million. These expectations benefitted from the lowered tariffs of the Canada-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, which came into effect in 2011.
Similarly, Colombia exported $256,807,091 worth of fashion-related goods to the U.S. in 2013. Thanks to the United States-Colombia Free Trade Agreement, the countries have a symbiotic trade relationship, with Colombia also importing $243,324,116 worth of fashion-related goods from the U.S., according to Inexmoda.
Posted June 5, 2014
Source: Proexport Colombia
