With “Texpertise Focus AI“ Messe Frankfurt will place the opportunities and challenges of artificial intelligence for the textile and apparel industry at the center of its international textile trade fairs.
Background
The textile and clothing industry is facing a profound transformation - technologically, ecologically and socially.
Artificial intelligence (AI) plays a central role in this: it is changing processes, enabling new business models and offering solutions to the key challenges of our time.
Whether along the value chain, in terms of sustainability or in dealing with specialists and skills - AI is opening up new perspectives for the industry.
Our approach
As the global market leader in textile trade fairs, Messe Frankfurt sees it as its duty to actively provide a platform for this transformation. With “Texpertise Focus AI – Artificial Intelligence at Messe Frankfurt’s international textile trade fairs”, we will, from 2026 onwards, place the opportunities and challenges surrounding artificial intelligence in the textile and apparel industry at the centre of our international events.
Our aim: To provide guidance and highlight the potential for a responsible use of AI in the textile and clothing sector.
A Stage for AI Innovations from the Industry
Our trade fairs are international communication platforms where companies from across the entire textile value chain are already presenting AI-based solutions tailored to the industry. We bring together established global players, start-ups, research institutions and service providers – thereby fostering cross-sector exchange and the development of new collaborations.
Curated Knowledge Transfer at Our Trade Fairs
With curated content formats, we create spaces for inspiration and dialogue. Through panels, talks, guided tours and interactive special areas, we present concrete application examples and examine current developments in AI usag in cooperation with our industry partners. Our formats are practical, relevant and tailored to the specific needs of the sector.
People at the Heart of Digital Transformation
In an increasingly digital world, personal encounters at our events remain the key to exchange, inspiration and collaboration. At the same time, artificial intelligence is fundamentally transforming the working environment in the textile and apparel industry, creating new roles, requirements and opportunities. Our events offer our conceptual and content partners an ideal setting in which to engage directly with their target groups and support them in expanding their knowledge base.
What we do
Building on our approach to making AI a visible and tangible driver of the future, we will be strategically developing our international textile trade fairs from 2026 onwards.
Knowledge Offerings
We will expand our content formats at trade fairs to include sector-relevant topics relating to AI, in collaboration with our conceptual and content partners. Depending on the event, this may include lectures, discussions and guided tours, as well as interactive formats such as 1:1 conversations, masterclasses and live demos that enable direct exchange on solutions and best practices. These offerings will also include formats tailored to young professionals.
Orientation
We will bundle our content partners’ AI-related activities at our trade fairs under the label “Focus AI”. In doing so, we aim to provide guidance for interested visitors and enhanced visibility for exhibiting companies offering AI-based solutions for the textile and clothing industry. We will prominently communicate the corresponding formats in our trade fair programmes, making access to the topic even more intuitive.
Internationalisation
Together with our subsidiaries and license partners, we will roll out the thematic focus on AI across our international textile trade fairs worldwide. Regional characteristics and specific challenges of the respective markets will be incorporated into the design of the AI-related focus areas in order to ensure relevance and acceptance. At the same time, we will ensure that global innovation impulses are shared and made accessible across trade fairs and countries.
AI within the Messe Frankfurt company
Messe Frankfurt is making a conscious and targeted use of artificial intelligence to strengthen its position as the first choice for business encounters. We regard AI as a tool to empower our employees to responsibly drive innovation and efficiency across all areas and to offer our customers an even better service.
