Functional Fabric Fair Summer 2026 brought together thousands of industry professionals with over 150 global suppliers at New York’s Javits Center.
The event combined sourcing, sustainability workshops, expert talks and networking, highlighting bio-based materials, performance textiles and stronger collaboration across the apparel supply chain.
The event welcomed thousands of industry professionals, including apparel executives, product developers, designers, and sourcing leaders from brands such as ALO Yoga, Brooks Brothers, Calvin Klein, Carhartt, Faherty Brand, Fruit of the Loom, Orvis, Perry Ellis International, Ralph Lauren, Rhone, Tommy Hilfiger, Tommy John, Tory Burch, Vineyard Vines, WHOOP and more.
“This event brought together the leading brands, designers and sourcing professionals shaping the next generation of performance and sustainable apparel,” said Steve McCullough, Event Vice President. “There is no substitute for seeing the materials firsthand, handling them, and having real conversations with the people making them. That’s where sourcing decisions actually get made. As the industry continues to prioritize performance and sustainability side by side, these face-to-face connections are only becoming more essential.”
Day 0 Sustainability Workshop
The Day 0 Sustainability Workshop, sponsored by Hyosung TNC, was curated and facilitated by Eric Brody of Soft Advantage, Todd Copeland of Copeland Consultancy LLC and Kevin Myette of bluesign technologies. The full-day workshop covered foundational sustainability topics, regulatory updates, real-world case studies and interactive roundtables to support supply chain decision-making.
“Having a conference like this before a trade show gives an opportunity to bring together multiple partners of the supply chain and actually have real conversations. It’s time for us to work together,” said Amanda Symm, Founder and Principal of Symm Consulting, who attended and presented a session on Sustainability Certifications: Foundational Information & Evolving Green Claims Validation.
Exhibit Hall & Programming
From July 8–9, the exhibit hall hosted more than 10 Expert Talks education sessions sponsored by CovationBio Xatryx, the popular Trend Forum and the Future Fabrics Expo Innovation Hub, along with networking including a happy hour sponsored by CovationBio Sorona.
Attendee + Exhibitor Quotes
“Functional Fabric Fair is one-stop destination for discovering innovative fabrics, connecting with suppliers, and staying ahead of material trends,” said Jeanine Gaudet, New Balance – Sr. Manager – Material Innovation.
“We had a great experience at Functional Fabric Fair! Every mill and vendor we met with was incredibly knowledgeable, walking us through technical qualities so we could make informed decisions for our end-use needs. We came away with several great new fabric qualities to bring into future orders, and it was a bonus to see trim suppliers on the floor too, giving us a full picture of what’s new and trending. The show was well organized from start to finish, right down to badge scanning, making it easy to follow up with vendors afterward,” said April Miller the Project Development Manager for PVH – Tommy Hilfiger.
“It would have taken me weeks to research everything I learned in the three days that I spent at the Javits Center for Functional Fabric Fair. My takeaway from this summer show is that true collaboration is finally happening in the industry, and it feels like real progress towards scalable sustainability is being made. I think that’s largely due to the conversations between suppliers and brands that are being driven during Day 0. Can’t wait until Portland to see what else is new,” said attendee, Melanie DiSalvo, Founder of A Look Behind the Seams.
“Bridging the gap between textile education and real-world consumer impact is my passion, and Functional Fabric Fair is the ultimate hub for that connection. The incredible momentum behind bio-based materials and low-input, sustainable fabrics on the floor gives me immense hope. We are witnessing a revolution in how textiles are made, and it’s thrilling to see what’s heading straight to our stores,” added attendee Vianna Chan, Founder of Styled by Science.
“Functional Fabric Fair NYC was once again a fantastic event for CovationBio. We used the show as an opportunity to announce the launch of our US manufactured Sorona branded Elastrell-P fiber and the new Xatryx branded bio-PTMEG’s first appearance in the region. The response was excellent, as always, the event was well organized and brought great traffic, giving our team focused, strategic meetings with productive outcomes,” said exhibitor Kiki Chen, Global Market Communication Manager, Sorona Apparel, CovationBio.
“Functional Fabric Fair was a great event for us as an exhibitor. Traffic was consistently high-quality throughout the show, and our team stayed booked with back-to-back appointments. We connected with a strong lineup of top brand customers and left with real momentum heading into next season,” noted exhibitor Bozena Buckley, Marketing Director of Arch Textiles Manufacturing Corp.
“At Functional Fabric Fair in New York City we were inspired by the collaboration between our brand partners, manufacturers, industry experts and newcomers alike. We are really grateful to have this platform to showcase our product, process and the positive impact we are making on the industry at large. We look forward to engaging with our new connections and growing together in the future, because after all, the industry requires radical change today, for a better tomorrow. See you in October at the Portland edition,” says exhibitor Baber Iftikhar, Founder of ColorSorts.
What’s Next
Functional Fabric Fair will continue its 2026–2027 schedule with upcoming events:
- Fall | Portland – October 26–28, 2026 (Day 0: Oct. 26)
- Winter | Orlando – January 27–29, 2027
- Spring | Portland – April 13–15, 2027 (Day 0: April 13)
- Summer | New York City – July 20-21, 2027
Note: The headline, insights, and image of this press release may have been refined by the Fibre2Fashion staff; the rest of the content remains unchanged.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (JP)
