Festival

Immerse yourself in the future of the fashion and textile industry: Experience how AI and digital tools are enabling 3D designs, virtual collections, and sustainable processes. Companies and experts will share practical insights into successful projects and the opportunities that are opening up for the future.

Your added value:

  • Concrete insights into AI applications, from 3D simulations to smart textiles to personalized shopping experiences.
  • Inspiration for your own pilot projects – e.g., with Clo3D, virtual fashion shows, or digital materials.
  • Strategies for building digital competency and securing long-term competitive advantages.

Highlight: A spectacular fashion show – both physical and digital – followed by an awards ceremony honoring the most innovative ideas and designs from young, up-and-coming designers.

Find out more about our mission now and download the information folder here.

Get your tickets! Ticket sales start on September 15, 2025

Ticket Explorer 1

9,- €
  • Full access on November 6, 2025
  • All festival themes & exhibitions
  • Entrance to the dress rehearsal at 6:00 PM
  • Access to the Bruno Banani Lounge
  • Students only €5 / Schoolchildren free
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Ticket Explorer 2

9,- €
  • Full access on November 7, 2025
  • All festival themes & exhibitions
  • Access to the Bruno Banani Lounge
  • Students only €5 / Schoolchildren free
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Ticket Premium

29,- €
  • Full access on November 7, 2025
  • All festival themes & exhibitions
  • Entrance to the fashion show at 8:00 pm
  • Access to the Bruno Banani Lounge
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Exhibitors

Our exhibitors will showcase the latest developments in digital fashion, AI, and smart textiles—from intelligent, sensor-based fabrics to practical applications with Clo3D, demonstrating how technology is transforming the fashion and textile industry.

the exhibitors:

Vizoo is a global leader in material digitization. With its xTex technology, fabrics are quickly and consistently transformed into digital materials. Visitors to the exhibition space will experience how digital materials form the basis for efficient, sustainable processes in design, prototyping, and marketing.

In the Digital Fitting Lab, Hohenstein combines decades of fit expertise with cutting-edge 3D technology. Virtual avatars and simulations help brands optimize fits early on and develop collections faster, more cost-effectively, and more sustainably.

BOTSPOT stands for precise 3D scanning “Made in Germany.” Photorealistic 3D models of people, clothing, and objects are created in seconds – the basis for virtual fitting, digital fashion, and many other applications.

Julian Blockschmidt presents a best-of of his 3D works and invites the audience to participate: Wearing Rococo gloves, visitors control an avatar in real time – and experience how virtual fashion and live animation merge.

The Digital Mobile Classroom DigiMoK stands for digital education, creativity, and innovation. It combines technology with learning and opens up new spaces for ideas – from the classroom to digital textile design. At the FashionTEX Festival, the glass classroom will be presented as part of the European Capital of Culture 2025 – demonstrating how education, fashion, and digital innovation converge.

Threads of Unity – An Exhibition on Textile Memories and Visions of the Future at the FashionTEX Festival. The exhibition connects the present of young designers with the memories of an entire generation. It showcases jackets designed and sewn by young people – unique pieces created in joint workshops with designers, tailors, and artists. Each piece speaks of creativity, a spirit of experimentation, and the search for a unique language in fashion and design. At the same time, the exhibition offers a look back: In striking portraits, former textile workers who worked in spinning mills, weaving mills, and clothing factories in the GDR speak. Their stories reflect the importance of the textile industry for the region and reveal how closely work, identity, and everyday culture are interwoven with textiles.

This creates a dialogue between past and future: between artisanal tradition, critical reflection on fashion and sustainability, and the questions of how we want to design clothing today and tomorrow. Concept and implementation: Sandra Cienkowski, Emma Kirmse, Valentin Mici

Speaker

Inspiring speakers will demonstrate how AI and digital tools are revolutionizing the textile world. From smart fabrics with sensors and virtual fashion designs with Clo3D to sustainable high-tech solutions for sports, health, and industry – experts will provide exciting insights into the future of the industry. Practical examples will demonstrate how visions become reality and which strategies companies, designers, and students are already successfully using today.

Our speakers:

Martin Semsch

Martin Semsch

Martin Semsch, founder of Vizoo and pioneer of material digitization, developed innovative fabric scanners after his time at Adidas, which are now industry standards. He presents how digitization and sustainability are shaping the fashion industry.

Vanessa Fuhrmann

Vanessa Fuhrmann, an expert for digital fashion innovations at Hohenstein Laboratories GmbH, creates realistic 3D prototypes in the Digital Fitting Lab and tests fit and material performance. At the FashionTEX Festival, she will demonstrate how brands can use digital designs for development and marketing.

Timothy Erley

Timothy Erley, founder and CEO of botspot, will demonstrate at the FashionTEX Festival how full-body 3D scanning technology creates digital twins of clothing and people. This high-end technology opens up new avenues for virtual fittings, design processes, and digital fashion – efficient, creative, and sustainable.

Julian Blockschmidt

Julian Blockschmidt, 3D artist and creative director, combines creativity and technology. Using motion capture and 3D design, he develops visual experiences for brands such as Adidas, Sony Music, and Coachella that reconnect fashion, music, and digital culture.

Thomas Schmidt

Thomas Schmidt is a media and skills expert and, together with the agency Helliwood, develops educational initiatives and programs in the field of digital media within the Association for Youth and Social Work (fjs). He brings together topics such as AI, coding, robotics, and digital design in schools, preparing young people for the future.

Program

The program will be announced here shortly.

Show

The grand finale of the FashionTEX Show will take place on November 7, 2025, at 7 p.m. – a spectacular competition showcasing the innovative achievements of European fashion schools. This will put the young generation of designers and their visionary designs in the spotlight and demonstrate how creativity, fashion, and technology are shaping a new future.

A special highlight of the evening will be the ceremonial award ceremony for the European Prize Next Generation, which will honor outstanding talents and pioneering ideas.

The participation of the fashion label bruno banani – an international fashion brand with roots in the region – will add further appeal. Together with young designers from the surrounding area, this will create a unique bridge between global brand presence and regional creativity.

The FashionTEX Show will thus become a showcase for inspiration, innovation, and the fashion of tomorrow.

Location

Walls with over 150 years of history
Where history meets the future: “die fabrik” in Chemnitz is more than a building – it is a living monument to Saxon industrial culture.

Opened in 1867, the former Sächsische Strickmaschinenfabrik Kappel initially produced clothing and machine tools. Just a few years later, in 1886, the first tulle machine was built here – a pioneering piece that carried the factory’s reputation far beyond the region. Later, typewriters were added, and during wartime, armaments were manufactured. During the GDR, the factory became the heart of VEB Schleifmaschinenbau Karl-Marx-Stadt, where high-precision machines were manufactured for the entire world.

Today, this historic industrial monument is being revived. Its imposing walls breathe the spirit of more than a century and a half of innovation, change, and energy – creating space for creativity, encounters, and new ideas. A place that preserves the past and shapes the future.

Award

Under the motto “Fashion for Future”, the European Cultural Forum is seeking Europe’s boldest young talents – visionaries who are pursuing digital, sustainable, and unconventional paths and thus redefining the fashion industry.

We are looking for ideas and projects that demonstrate what the future of fashion looks like:

  • Outfits developed with 3D tools,
  • Virtual collections and digital avatars,
  • Smart materials and textiles with technology,
  • Immersive runway experiences and interactive concepts,
  • Innovations that radically rethink fashion

The award is more than just a prize:

It is a signal to the future: Creativity meets technology – creating a new fashion reality. From sustainable high-tech solutions to game-changers in design and production, the next generation demonstrates how visions become reality.

Application deadline: October 1, 2025

Who can apply?
Do you not only work with 3D software but also turn your digital designs into real clothing?
Do you demonstrate that digital and physical fashion go hand in hand – virtually animated and physically tailored?
Then you’ve come to the right place!
We’re looking for creative talents from across Europe who are rethinking fashion and creating digital twins of their designs – whether you’re studying, continuing your education, or conducting research at a university.
What matters is not your degree, but your idea.
The fashion of the future should be visible, wearable, and sustainable – both digitally and physically.
If you combine design and technology and develop new, sustainable approaches to fashion, show us how you’re shaping the future with digital tools.

Apply now – because fashion needs new perspectives.

How does the competition work?

A panel of experts from the fields of fashion, technology, and sustainability will select the most compelling projects from all submissions. The main criteria are:

  • the quality of the design,
  • the innovative use of digital tools,
  • and the ecological or social potential of the idea.

Several finalists will be nominated and invited to the final event. There, they will present their digital designs, concepts, or collections – as part of an exhibition and a public event.

After the presentations, the jury will award the Next Generation Digital Fashion Award. The evaluation is based not only on the submitted project, but also on how convincingly the idea and vision are communicated in person – both in discussion and on the runway.

How is the evaluation done?

When selecting the finalists, the jury will pay special attention to the following criteria:

  1. Idea and Concept
    Is there a clear creative idea? Does the project take an innovative or future-oriented approach?
  2. Use of Digital Tools
    How effectively and creatively were digital tools such as 3D software or animations used?
  3. Design and Execution
    How convincing are the outfits in terms of shape, material, and realization – digitally or physically?
  4. Target Audience
    You clearly communicate who your fashion is intended for – e.g., consumers, companies, or digital applications. The presentation is clear, accessible, and understandable – for example through simple animations or well-prepared visualizations.
  5. Future Potential and Impact
    Your idea has potential for the future: it can be transferred to other fields – such as gaming, online shopping, or education. It can also be developed further or scaled, and shows ways fashion can be rethought – digitally, sustainably, or socially relevant.

How can I participate?
Submit your entry no later than October 1, 2025, via email to: julia.braun@fashiontex.eu

What do you need to submit?

Two outfits – one physical and one digital (or both in both forms). For each outfit, please include:

  • 10–15 well-lit photos
  • Front, back, and detail views
  • Digital: Rendered, high-resolution images in portrait format, with transparent or no background

You can upload your files via Google Drive, WeTransfer, or any method that works best for you.

What happens next?

The jury will review and evaluate all projects by October 15. If you are selected as a finalist, you will be notified in time.

On November 7, 2025, you are invited to Chemnitz to take part in the FashionTEX Festival. There:

  • You’ll present your project in a personal conversation with the jury
  • You’ll showcase your physical outfit on the runway
  • You’ll present your digital animation on the big screen

For the animation, you will receive technical specifications after nomination to ensure a consistent and professional presentation.
The animation must be submitted by November 2, 2025, 11:59 PM.

Jury

Digital fashion and AI are among the most exciting fields of the future: They enable new creative expressions, sustainable production methods, and data-driven design processes. The winners of the European Next Generation Award are selected by an expert jury. Each member contributes their own expertise, ensuring a diverse assessment of innovative projects.