Matrade aims to have 300 booths for Intrade 2016

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia External Trade Development Corp (Matrade) aims to have 300 booths for its fashion and lifestyle exhibition, Intrade 2016 from Nov 2-5, 2016, which would also feature the Malaysia Fashion Week (MFW).

Matrade’s Chief Executive Officer, who is also MFW Chairman, Datuk Dzulkifli Mahmud, said the MFW would be driven by young designers from local universities, Muslimah fashion designers and Malaysians in general.

“The 2015 edition attracted over 200 fashion buyers from China, South Korea, Japan, Vietnam, United Arab Emirates, Philippines, Thailand and India as well as visitors from over 50 countries,” he said at the media launch here yesterday.

In 2015, the Intrade featuring MFW recorded a 40 per cent increase in sales to RM126.52 million from 2014.

A total of 1,541 businessmatchingmeetingsbetweenlocal companies and international buyers were arranged.

This year the sales are expected to increase by 10 per cent.

“The third edition of MFW, which is organised by Matrade and Stylo International, is set to host hundreds of local players in the fashion and lifestyle industry as well as buyers from around the world,” he said.

The theme, ‘ Modestyl e (Muslim wear) and Inclusivity’, was adopted to give a strong emphasis on Malaysia’s diverse culture, which is made up of various races.

“The design elements derived from the many cultures in Malaysia would be a strong selling point for local companies as foreign buyers are always on the look-out for the unique thing for them to capitalise on.

“MFW will dedicate a Muslimah fashion pavillion titled, Modestyle, to bring together a large collection of Muslimah fashion by designers from Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, West Asia and others,” said Dzulkifli.

The organiser has teamed up with Modestyle Malaysia as the event’s official e-commerce partner for the Modestyle pavillion.

In 2015, Malaysia’s exports of lifestyle products rose by 12 per cent to RM31.36 billion from RM28 billion in 2014. — Bernama