Press release: 26.10.2024: FashionTEX at the centre of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 program presentation
On 25 October 2024, the city of Chemnitz published its program for 2025, providing initial insights into what guests of the European Capital of Culture in 2025 can expect. This includes also the FashionTEX Festival project, which will be presented for the first time in November 2025 as an innovative meeting place for the fashion and textile industry in the program of the European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025.
The organizer is the European Cultural Forum in cooperation with 11 European fashion universities. As an international project, FashionTEX will be the platform in the textile region of Chemnitz for several months, connect fashion, technology, innovation and sustainability and bring international experts, students, teachers and creative minds to the Capital of Culture region. With a unique focus on digital innovations and sustainable textile solutions, FashionTEX strengthens Chemnitz’s position as a future-oriented location for the fashion industry and has now been presented to the public as a central element of the Capital of Culture year.
Between history and future – FashionTEX as a hub for textile craftsmanship and digital fashion
We were particularly pleased to have Adele Parker on site, an expert in the field of (digital) fashion and textile design, who not only radiated a professional presence, but also represented the international aspirations of the cultural program. She gave attendees a taste of the digital catwalk with 3D avatars planned for the FashionTEX Festival 2025, which delighted those present and generated a lot of interest.
Annett Reeder, Managing Director of the European Cultural Forum, explained to press and television:
‘FashionTEX is much more than a festival – it is a laboratory for the fashion of tomorrow. We are providing a strong impetus for sustainable transformations in the fashion and textile industry, together with leading universities and international partners.With FashionTEX, we are actively shaping a new perspective for the fashion industry.’
In addition to the FashionTEX Festival, the new Makerhubs of the Capital of Culture Region are an integral part of the program. These creative centres combine traditional craftsmanship with state-of-the-art technology and create a creative environment in which researchers, designers, students and textile professionals can work on new projects. The Makerhubs promote knowledge transfer and enable long-term synergies between art, business and culture, making Chemnitz a melting pot for textile innovation in Europe. As early as August 2025, FashionTEX will launch the MAKERHAUS Schneeberg with a two-week residency program in which around 30 fashion students from all over Europe will take part and put their creative designs into practice using the latest technology.
With FashionTEX, the Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025 is setting an example for the fashion and textile industry and opening up a future that focuses on design and sustainability. And in Saxony, as a central hub for digital fashion for the whole of Europe.
FashionTEX team at the press conference in Chemnitz, 25.10.2025 – European Capital of Culture Chemnitz 2025. (Fotos: Chemnitz 2025 gGmbH/Johannes Richter; FashionTEX/Nele Weidner)
The diversity of Chemnitz visible in one place
- 150 projects and more than 1000 events in 2025
- 875 stakeholders involved in the implementation of the program
- Cooperation with partners from 40 countries, 60 % of them from Eastern Europe
- 600 volunteers already involved in the Chemnitz 2025 volunteer program
At the press conference on 25 October 2024, 23 selected projects also presented themselves to a select audience of members of the public, project organizers and the press at the Hartmannfabrik Chemnitz. A dance performance by choreographer Nir de Volff opened the event at 11.30 a.m., before a panel of political representatives from the federal, state, local and European levels discussed expectations, wishes and hopes. In attendance were the Lord Mayor of Chemnitz, Sven Schulze, the Saxon State Minister for Culture and Tourism Barbara Klepsch, the Head of the European Commission Representation in Germany Barbara Gessler and the Mayor of Jahnsdorf / Erzgebirge Albrecht Spindler.
This round showed the high standards that all sides – whether municipal or in the spirit of an open Europe – set for a Capital of Culture and especially for Chemnitz and the surrounding rural area. It was a marvellous start that also matched the goals and expectations of FashionTEX, which is also supported by state, federal and European funds. The 23 projects then presented themselves to the attendees in just under two hours.
