As the doors close on a successful AW20 season at Moda, the heart of UK fashion and the National Footwear Show, its organisers Hyve Group plc have committed to the show’s long-term future at the NEC Birmingham securing future dates which are aligned with all of its key sector buying calendars.

Adam Gough, Event Director at Moda said; “Following this season’s date clash with Micam and change of dates, we felt the industry needed a clear commitment from Moda to a long-term future that works effectively for the majority. Moda is one of the UK’s longest standing fashion trade shows, with a massive 59% of visitors attending the show for over 20 years, so we’re really pleased to return to our traditional date line from SS21. Despite local and global turbulence in the market, Moda plans to stand strong acting as a bridge between the UK, the EU, and the rest of the world. All of the team will continue to strive to provide the best possible platform for our exhibitors and experience for our visitors.”

Designed to bring the entire fashion community together, the new look Moda layout saw the show’s Neighbourhoods brought to life. Moda Woman showcased the best of womenswear including occasionwear, ready-to-wear, and young fashion. Moda Accessories will be refreshed for SS21 with an exciting line-up of leading accessories, jewellery and lifestyle brands. Moda Boutique, the new premium edit was a big hit amongst buyers and will return for SS21. Moda Footwear saw the UK’s largest gathering of footwear brands with a comprehensive edit of contemporary, classic, sport, and fashion footwear. Little Soles launched this season and was a must-visit for children’s footwear buyers. New for SS21, Moda Made will align the entire footwear supply chain bringing suppliers and manufacturers together with brands and buyers.

Dedicated Speed Networking sessions over the three days saw over 2000 meetings and introductions between brands and buyers facilitating new relationships. David Barber, Sales Director from exhibitor Charles Birch Ltd said; “I do a lot of orders at speed networking, more than at my stand. Thank you for doing it. It is amazing.”

Steven John Bruce from William Bruce Footwear store added; “We have been coming to Moda for a very long time. I think the speed networking is very good. We actually joined the session last year as well. It got even better this year. I met a mix of people and products. We had a great time!”

Other exciting new buyer initiatives for the AW20 season included The Club which brought relevant buyers with strong buying power to the show, and an exclusive hosted dinner and Retail Safari to Selfridges Birmingham guided by Joanna Kinsey, Customer Experience Manager of Selfridges, including a walk through Selfridges new concept, networking, and insightful discussions on customer loyalty, sustainability, new loan programmes, live events and new brands at the Birmingham store.

Corinne Smith from Logues store in Galway, Ireland said; “Moda is the key show for our fashion buy, we come every season. We’re part of The Club and really enjoyed the benefits including the convenience, and all the amenities the team offer. Added extras like the Speed Networking are fab, we met some great new brands, and we loved the Selfridges Retail Safari – it was a real eye opener to get insights into how it all works and the networking was really useful.”

The Selfridges Experience content session with Joanna at Moda earlier in the day delved into Selfridges’ customer service initiatives including insider insight into how they build memorable experiences, explore new retail concepts, and build a loyalty programme based on value not level of discount.

A compelling line-up of footwear, accessories and womenswear brands filled Halls 6, 7 and 8 with many commenting on the quality of buyers in attendance. Exhibitor Matthew Rowley from Jayley Collection said: “It is a privilege to be part of the Moda woman's catwalk, showcasing our fabulous new collections. We’ve had a fantastic show with a record-breaking number of orders, serving many long- term customers, opening new strategic accounts including leading department stores and stunning independents. We’re really pleased with Moda this season.”

The National Footwear Show launched the new season collections from over 150 brands. Ashley Cummings, UK Agent from exhibitor Fly London said: “We’re pleased with the quantity and quality of buyers at the show this season. The industry needs to stand together to build a compelling offer for buyers and The National Footwear Show at Moda is making a huge effort to support us.”

Moda continued its collaboration with De Montfort University for a second year running.  The History in the Making Footwear Design Competition is an exciting initiative showcasing incredible young talent and the future of footwear design.

Lisa Govier, Director of Footwear at Moda said at the Award Ceremony on Sunday evening: “We’re delighted to be collaborating with De Montfort University once again with our “History in the Making” footwear design competition. A big thank you to De Montfort for bringing this exciting initiative, which showcases some incredible young talent, to life. The History in the Making brief is set for all final year students, as the last task in their degree. They were asked to design and develop a range of footwear that interprets the broad spectrum of 'heritage' incorporating fashion influences, materials and colour trends for the Autumn/Winter 20 season. The creative output and craftsmanship was staggering and this season.”

Finn Taberer was announced winner. The judges said Finn designed a shoe that is credible and that they could see on the marketplace, what consumers are looking for in the current climate, with a focus on sustainability that is important to Moda and increasingly important to the fashion industry and society as a whole.

Moda SS21 takes place on the 2nd – 4th August at the NEC Birmingham, offering the industry the ultimate environment for buying, networking, trends, and inspiration.