Since GREENSTYLE was founded – we just celebrated our fifth birthday – our format has changed again and again. During the pandemic, we have complied with various new requirements. And alternatives established. Instead of holding our B2C trade fair, we created the Responsible Fashion Summit right at the beginning of the pandemic. A two-day digital conference. We opened a store in the town hall, founded an agency… We surveyed needs, listened, read between the lines and (re)acted to changing circumstances. And always did what was possible and what we thought would reach the most people.
Times and circumstances are changing so quickly that we can hardly keep up. That doesn’t make it any easier. But it is important that you adapt the formats. That you move on. “It’s always been that way” is out of place. And that’s why I would like to stand up for Neonyt Düsseldorf, which will take place for the third time from January 27th to 29th, 2024 as a license from Messe Frankfurt in the Areal Böhler in Düsseldorf.
I take my hat off to the creators. The team around Igedo Exhibitions Managing Director Ulrike Kähler, who has been a trade fair professional for decades. Who loves fashion. And who, when Messe Frankfurt awarded the license for the sustainable B2B trade fair Neonyt, sustainable hub, community magnet, showcase format that grew up in Berlin and ended up stranded in Frankfurt, grabbed it. Because she wanted to bring sustainable fashion to Düsseldorf in order to give this topic a new home here in the established structures of the Orderstandt. Well done, Ulrike. Welcome to the Rhine, Neonyt Düsseldorf!
Short Neonyt history:
Neonyt has its origins in a format called Greenshowroom, which began with 16 (sustainable!) exhibitors in 2009 in the Berlin Hotel Adlon. The format was brought together with the Ethical Fashion Show in 2012 under the umbrella of Messe Frankfurt and transformed into Neonyt in 2019. All signs pointed to new beginnings and changes. Berlin was the fashion capital. Sustainable fashion became cool (until then I was laughed at by my fashion editor colleagues when I went to the “ecos” in Berlin). Suddenly in the front row of the Neonyt Fashion Show: The (German) crème de la crème of fashion editors. The Neonyt was THE “hot shit”. The international hub for sustainability had over 210 sustainable fashion brands from over 20 countries and twice as many trade visitors at Tempelhof Airport in January 2020 compared to 2019.
And then the pandemic came. No trade fairs. Event ban. Suddenly everything took place online. Also measuring. Of course, more bad than good. Fashion is tactile. Emotionally. Everyone wanted to go back to real life. But how?
Messe Frankfurt (organizer of Neonyt in Berlin) has, together with the now canceled conventional fashion trade fair Premium, not only thought about how, but also where. The two leading trade fairs have left Berlin and are planning a joint event for Frankfurt. We don’t even want to mention the term Frankfurt Fashion Week here. Let alone discuss. We don’t have to either. That never happened. The Premium has said goodbye to Berlin again – without having held a single event in Frankfurt.
Evil tongues say: The premium never went away.
What did that mean for Neonyt? Establish an order fair for sustainable fashion alone in a new city that is known for banks and car shows? Long story short: After the XL show in Berlin – I would almost say that Neonyt made a decisive contribution to freeing the topic of sustainable fashion from its dusty corner – Messe Frankfurt was faced with new challenges. License partners were sought for the Neonyt, which last took place in January 2020. And found.
NEONYT Düsseldorf @ Areal Böhler.
“Areal Böhler? That’s far out there!” // Really now? Clear. Tempelhof was also downtown. 😂
“The Neonyt in Berlin was bigger!” // Really now? What a surprise. That was before the pandemic. Before the wars. Before inflation.
“There were more visitors in Berlin!” // Really now? Then just go! You can register here >>>
What I want to say: Igedo has ensured that Neonyt Düsseldorf continues to exist in Germany. In the most difficult times the German fashion (trade) landscape has ever experienced, Ulrike and her team put together a fantastic event. They have a clearly defined curation in mind. This is about style. It’s not that easy to fill halls of this size with stylish sustainable brands. But they did it. Instead of the 200+ labels in Berlin (not 100 percent stylish), over 100 labels followed their call to Düsseldorf in 2023.
New themes are added from season to season: In addition to the typical Neonyt, there are elements such as the Prepeek Boutique for content creators and the associated stage, for example an area for start-ups. The Green Product Award Fashion was also presented for the first time in the summer. And there is also news for the 3rd edition in January that, in my opinion, responds 100 percent to the needs of the trade and the market:
The sustainable Neonyt and the conventional Fashion Rooms, which also runs under the aegis of Ulrike Kähler, will take place under one roof. In a shared hall in the Böhler area. With a STAGE. Together we are more. Together we can reach more people. And synergies can be created together. Just like on the market – inspiration and learnings from both directions.
I am convinced that this is a right and important step. The market has changed. So does shopping behavior.
Therefore: See you at Neonyt Düsseldorf.
Which brands and which talks (moderated by me) can you look forward to from January 27th to 29th, 2024? Stay tuned.
