The Poznan Fashion Week, or this year''s second meeting of fashion and business will be held in Poznan from 2 to 4 September 2003. Manufacturers of footwear, bags and furs will be numerous at the trade fair along with clothing and textile companies that have prepared effective presentations. 33% of almost 400 exhibitors are clothing, lingerie and clothing accessories companies, 18% of exhibitors are manufacturers of knitted and woven textiles and tailor accessories, whereas 42% of stands will include footwear, furs and leather accessories and clothes. Manufacturers of shoes, furs and leather accessories emphasize that their products are not only complements to impressive dresses, but an important part of clothing.

Leather climate:
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Since the trade fair is the reflection of what is happening in the industry we should be happy that positive developments are visible in the Polish leather sector. The Poznan International Fair addresses the needs and efforts of footwear manufacturers by preparing a very rich programme of events for this edition of the Poznan Fashion Show. The programme will include not only footwear commercial shows (daily at 11 am and 2 pm in Pavilion 8), but also shows of shoe designs - Winter Trends (daily at 12:30 pm in Pavilion 8). Impressions, i.e. posters presenting trends (Pavilion 5) have also been prepared. The visitors will have the opportunity to see the latest trends in shoe design whenever they want and without any rush.

High quality footwear determines not only the look but also the health of the wearing person. Shoe manufacturers and traders will certainly want to participate in a discussion panel entitled "Fashion, health, technology, profits..." chaired by Professor Zbigniew Karbarz, Head of the Department of Footwear and Clothes Design of Radom University of Technology (3 September, 11 am, Pavilion 5).

One of the biggest problems of the Polish shoe industry is the development of an effective distribution network. This is the source of the idea for a new competition. The aim of the Diamond Company competition is the identification of the best shoe distributor operating on the Polish market and the best distributor of Polish products operating on foreign markets. The same competition will be organized for clothing companies. Awards will be granted separately for clothing and shoe companies. The award ceremony for this competition and the PIF Gold Medal and Acanthus Aureus Competition will be held during the exhibitors'' business evening on 2 September at 6 pm in the Eastern Hall.

Creative cooperation:
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The Poznan Fashion Week is a forum for confronting opinions, exchanging views and experiences of the representatives of the light industry. It is also an opportunity to meet journalists and inform the media about the industry''s challenges.

Media representatives who visit the fair have not only provided coverage of the major developments in the fashion world but have also written about phenomena occurring in the Polish clothing, textile and leather industries. In the period difficult for the sector, journalists actively assist Polish entrepreneurs in struggling with the crisis not only on paper. They present the most recent and the best knowledge about world trends in fashion during seminars, meetings and lectures.

The Poznan International Fair is proud of its good cooperation with journalists and designers in disseminating information about the world design, phenomena that influence the fashion world, limitations to be overtaken by Polish designers and about the situation of the Polish light industry.

The young and the youngest:
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Creation of conditions for discussion and free exchange of opinions is one of the objectives of the Poznan Fashion Week.

The discussion forum is favourable to the creation of new ideas and concepts which are later put into practice during the following trade fair editions.

This is how the idea of Fashion Visions was born. It is a presentation of pictures of apparel designs and models prepared by the students of the Lódz Academy of Fine Arts supervised by Professor Malgorzata Garda (2-4 September, Pavilion 25).
Visions are not only an intention to surprise the visitors by new concepts, but also a promotion of original fashion addressed to users who highly value their individuality. What is also important is the presentation of the best students of the Lódz Academy and facilitation of contacts with them.

Other ways to promote young designers include fashion shows prepared by debuting designers. This edition of the Poznan Fashion Week will include presentations of works prepared by graduates of the Department of Footwear and Clothes Design of Radom University of Technology (daily at 11:20 am in Pavilion 8). Young Radom-based designers prepared varied collections, ranging from leisure wear to evening and wedding dresses. The presentation of collections entered into the Polish competition for designers and tailors "Silver Loop" (presentations - 3 September at 11 am in Pavilion 11; Award Ceremony and finals - 4 September at 11 am in Pavilion 11) is a traditional part of the Poznan Fashion Week programme.