Updated November 2026.
Activewear and sportswear trade shows 2026–2027: the short answer
To meet activewear garment factories in person, the biggest single event is the Canton Fair in spring 2027, where clothing, including a sportswear and casual wear section, is shown in Phase 3, 1–5 May 2027. For fabric, go to Performance Days in Munich (17–18 March 2027), its US sister show Functional Fabric Fair, or Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics (10–12 March 2027). In Europe and the US, Texworld, Première Vision and SOURCING by Informa put fabric suppliers and garment makers under one roof in January and February 2027.
The shows at a glance
Dates checked on 11 November 2026 from each organiser’s site; check again before booking flights.
| Show | City and venue | Next dates (as the organiser lists them) | What you meet there | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canton Fair (China Import and Export Fair), 141st session | Canton, Guangdong: Canton Fair Complex, Pazhou | 15 April–5 May 2027 in three phases; clothing is Phase 3, 1–5 May | Garment factories and trading companies; sportswear, underwear, fabrics, garment accessories | Buyers comparing many Chinese suppliers in one trip |
| Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics | Shanghai: National Exhibition and Convention Center | Spring Edition 10–12 March 2027; Autumn Edition 1–3 September 2027 | Fabric mills and accessories suppliers | Brands choosing fabric before a sewing factory |
| Performance Days | Munich: Messe München | 17–18 March 2027; 27–28 October 2027 | Functional fabric, trim and component suppliers | Product developers specifying performance fabric |
| Functional Fabric Fair | Orlando, Portland, New York | 27–29 January 2027 (Orlando); 13–15 April 2027 (Portland); 20–21 July 2027 (New York) | Functional fabric mills, finishes, trims | US brands and developers |
| Texworld and Apparel Sourcing Paris | Paris-Le Bourget, Halls 3 and 4 | 25–27 January 2027 | Fabric and trim suppliers; clothing manufacturers | European brands wanting fabric and a garment maker in one visit |
| Première Vision Paris | Paris Nord Villepinte, Halls 5 and 6 | 26–28 January 2027 | Yarns, fabrics, accessories, private-label garment makers | Brands whose collections start from fabric |
| Texworld and Apparel Sourcing New York City | New York: Javits Center | 19–21 January 2027 | International textile manufacturers and suppliers | US East Coast brands |
| SOURCING by Informa (Sourcing at MAGIC) | Las Vegas Convention Center; New York: Javits Center | Las Vegas 16–18 February 2027; New York 7–9 February 2027 | Apparel manufacturers, fabrics and trim, packaging | Small US brands, first-time founders |
| ISPO | Amsterdam: RAI Amsterdam | Leaders’ Summit 2 November 2027; Expo 3–4 November 2027 | Sports brands and retailers; fabric trend awards | Brand and retail networking, fabric trends |
Left out: ISPO Shanghai, whose site lists its 2027 edition only as “July, 2027”, and CHIC (Shanghai) and the Jinjiang footwear and sports industry expo (Fujian), whose 2027 dates we could not read on the organisers’ own sites.
For the other channels (marketplaces, agents, referrals), see where to find an activewear manufacturer.
Show by show
Canton Fair: Phase 3, 1–5 May 2027
The China Import and Export Fair is organised by the China Foreign Trade Centre group, which is affiliated to China’s Ministry of Commerce, and held at the Canton Fair Complex in Pazhou, Canton, Guangdong. The organiser’s notice for the 141st session, dated 2 November 2026, says it is scheduled to open on 15 April 2027 in three phases: 15–19 April, 23–27 April and 1–5 May. Its section list puts men’s and women’s wear, sportswear and casual wear, underwear, textile raw materials and fabrics, and garment accessories in Phase 3. The autumn 2026 session closed on 4 November.
Two lines in that notice matter to a buyer. Where a section is split into product zones, exhibitors must sign up for the zone matching their main category, the one making up more than 60% of what they show, so the sportswear zone is a sensible place to start. And trading companies exhibit too: one that books three or more booths in a section can exhibit jointly with a non-trading company that supplies it, with third-party proof of the supply relationship. The booth sign alone does not tell you who sews the garments.
Intertextile Shanghai Apparel Fabrics: March and September 2027
Messe Frankfurt’s Shanghai fabric fair runs its Spring Edition on 10–12 March 2027 and its Autumn Edition on 1–3 September 2027, both at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (Shanghai). It is a textile, fabric and accessories exhibition: you meet mills and trim suppliers, not sewing factories. Go if you want to pick your own nylon-spandex or recycled polyester and hand the factory a mill name and article number. Zhejiang, next door, holds the seamless knitting and fabric-trading clusters on our China activewear manufacturing regions page.
Performance Days, Munich: March and October 2027
Performance Days bills itself as the functional fabric fair of Munich. The next edition is 17–18 March 2027 at Messe München, then 27–28 October 2027. Entry is free for visitors, and one registration covers both days. Exhibitors show performance fabrics, trims and components, and The Loop, its online platform, keeps exhibitor profiles and sample requests open between fairs. The same organiser lists Functional Textiles Shanghai by Performance Days on 18–19 November 2026 (flagged as a changed date) and 8–9 March 2027.
Functional Fabric Fair: Orlando, Portland, New York
The US show, an RX event powered by Performance Days, lists three 2027 editions on its site: 27–29 January at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, 13–15 April at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, and 20–21 July at the Javits Center in New York. The Performance Days calendar shows Portland as 14–15 April, so confirm before you book. Exhibitors are fabric mills and branded technology companies, with finishes, trims and accessories.
Texworld and Apparel Sourcing Paris: 25–27 January 2027
Messe Frankfurt France holds this pair at Paris-Le Bourget, Halls 3 and 4, with a free visitor badge. Texworld is the fabric side, described by the organiser as international weavers with textiles, trims and accessories; Apparel Sourcing is the garment side, with clothing and accessories manufacturers. Activewear fabric is mostly knitted, so filter the exhibitor list for knit and stretch before you go.
Première Vision Paris: 26–28 January 2027
The January edition is at Paris Nord Villepinte, Halls 5 and 6, with a free e-pass. Three of its nine areas matter here: Fabrics, which the organiser says serves sportswear among other markets; Accessories; and Manufacturing, clothing companies and manufacturers that develop private-label collections.
Texworld and Apparel Sourcing New York City: 19–21 January 2027
The winter edition is at the Javits Center, alongside Apparel Sourcing NYC. Its Innovation Hub covers high-performance fibres, the corner to check first for activewear.
SOURCING by Informa: Las Vegas and New York, February 2027
The sourcing show at sourcingatmagic.com lists Las Vegas on 16–18 February 2027 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and New York on 7–9 February 2027 at the Javits Center, Level 3. The floor covers apparel manufacturers, fabrics and trim, and packaging. The organiser pitches the New York edition at East Coast brands looking for anything from small batches to full-package production, which makes it a reasonable first show for a US founder.
ISPO: now in Amsterdam, November 2027
ISPO started in Munich in 1970 and moved to Amsterdam in 2026. The next edition is at RAI Amsterdam: Leaders’ Summit on 2 November 2027, Expo on 3–4 November 2027. The organiser describes it as primarily a professional B2B event for brands and retailers; its Textrends award picks fabrics, membranes and trims. For a founder hunting for a sewing factory, ISPO is a lower-yield trip than the fairs above; for meeting retail buyers it is the stronger one.
What to bring
1. A tech pack, or two or three reference garments you can leave with a supplier. A phone photo starts a conversation; a garment with measurements gets a quote. See our activewear tech pack guide. 2. Target quantities per style and per colour, not just a total. Factories usually set custom minimums per style per colour (ours are), while a stock style with your logo is often counted across the whole order. 3. Fabric targets: composition, weight in g/m², and whether a stock fabric will do or you need a custom knit or colour, which brings the mill’s own minimum. 4. Your size range. For seamless styles, ask early: the knitting machine’s diameter limits how far up the size chart a style can go. 5. Business cards with a WhatsApp number or WeChat ID. Chinese suppliers often follow up on WeChat. 6. A way to log booths. Photograph each booth number next to the card and the samples you handled; by the third hall they blur together.
At the booth: questions that sort factories from traders
| Ask | A factory usually answers | Be careful if you hear |
|---|---|---|
| Where is your factory, and can you walk me round the sewing floor on a video call this week? | An address and a live walk of the line | “Our partner factory”, or photos only |
| What is your minimum per style, per colour, for my fabric? | A figure tied to your style and fabric | A low headline number that rises once you send styles |
| Which steps are done in-house? | Cutting, sewing, printing and QC in-house, outside dyers named | “We can do everything” |
| Whose name is on the business licence and export licence? | The same company as the booth and the factory address | A different name with no explanation |
| How long is a first sample, and what does it cost? | A lead time and a fee, often credited on the order | Free samples with no date attached |
| Can I visit after the fair? | A date and the person who will meet you | A showroom address only |
The product range on the booth is a good tell. An activewear factory shows leggings, bras, sets and shorts in a few fabric families it actually stocks. Leggings beside umbrellas and phone cases usually means a trading company. That is not a reason to walk away, but it changes who you pay and who answers for quality; our page on trading company vs factory lists the documents to ask for.
Pair the fair with a factory visit
A booth gives you a conversation and a bag of samples. The floor tells you whether those samples came from that company. The usual pattern is to shortlist three to five suppliers at the fair and visit one or two in the days after, so book that time before you fly. Our practical setup for a China factory visit covers visas, payments and data.
Mind the calendar. If you meet Chinese suppliers at a January show, follow-up slows over Chinese New Year. Our own factory closes from five days before New Year’s Eve to the 15th day of the first lunar month, roughly 31 January to 20 February in 2027; see our Chinese New Year lead-time page.
Buyers who come to Canton for the fair, or to Jinjiang in Fujian, about an hour from Xiamen, can arrange a visit to our floor in Xiamen. More on the city: activewear manufacturing in Xiamen.
If you are talking to YOUMEGA. We make activewear in our own facilities: cut-and-sew and quality control in Xiamen, Fujian, and seamless knitting in Yiwu, Zhejiang, on Santoni 17–21″ machines. Minimums: stock styles with your logo from 100 sets (mixed colours and sizes), full custom 300–500 pieces per style per colour. If you are in China for one of these fairs, you can arrange a visit to us in Xiamen.
YOUMEGA is itself a manufacturer; this page does not rank or recommend other companies.
FAQ
When is the next Canton Fair, and which phase has activewear?
The 141st session is scheduled to open on 15 April 2027 in three phases. Clothing, including sportswear and casual wear, underwear, fabrics and garment accessories, is in Phase 3, 1–5 May 2027, according to the organiser’s notice of 2 November 2026.
Is ISPO still held in Munich?
No. ISPO moved to RAI Amsterdam in 2026. The next edition has its Leaders’ Summit on 2 November 2027 and its Expo on 3–4 November 2027.
Can I find a low-MOQ factory at a trade show?
Yes, but booth staff quote minimums loosely. Ask for the minimum per style, per colour, for your fabric, and whether it applies to a stock style with your logo or a full custom development; those are very different numbers.
How do I tell a factory booth from a trading company booth?
Ask for the business licence, the factory address and a live video walk of the sewing floor, and check that the company names match. The Canton Fair lets trading companies exhibit, even jointly with the suppliers behind them, so the booth sign proves little.
Do I have to go to a trade show to find a manufacturer?
No. Shows are fast for comparing many suppliers at once, but referrals and direct factory websites work too. If you write to factories before the fair, our note on sending a better activewear inquiry helps you get comparable answers.
Planning a sourcing trip to Canton or Jinjiang and want to add a day in Xiamen? Send us your dates and styles.
