A Fabric Affair opens its doors online
NYC born workshop for Italian textiles and accessories opens it doors inside the Bsamply Commmunity Network giving its buyers the chance to continue the workshop and source online
Curators of textile craftsmanship, a raison d’être, a purpose, a workshop of artisans for artisans, displaying their exceptional fashion concepts in a refined yet simple context. This is what best describes a Fabric Affair, the NYC-born workshop for Italian textiles and accessories created by Nicola and Riccardo back in 2021.
The idea of A Fabric Affair is not to create a curated tradeshow but rather a physical experience around the products and the industry. Using an open space setting decorated with couches and mini-lounges and served catering throughout, buyers and brands are able to freely interact with suppliers opening up a conversation and building on a new or existing relationship.
A project that today welcomes over 35 Italian suppliers as exhibitors at both its first and second editions, drawing hundreds of leading US-based brands over the course of two days. A project that not only brings the beauty of Made in Italy and Italian craftsmanship to North American brands but that encourages physical interactions and connection between like-minded individuals with a mutual purpose.
The project was in fact conceptualized during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns from the desire to ‘’combine our passion for exclusive textiles with the longing for in-person encounters’’ states Nicola. In a certain sense, a celebration and recognition of the industry in the heart of the United States’ fashion capital. ‘’For many years New York lacked a proper moment of celebration for high-end textile raw materials, its quintessential mixture of art and science that lay behind the scenes of any catwalk. So, A Fabric Affair was born’’ Riccardo shares.
For both Nicola and Riccardo, their story in the industry begins in 2009 working as agents for some of Italy’s most important textile manufacturers. This know-how and of course, passion has allowed A Fabric Affair to create a tight-knit and continually growing community both from the exhibitor side and the buyer’s side. With its 4th edition taking place in January 2024, AFA aims to fulfill the market needs further, opening its door beyond Italy and welcoming textile and accessory professionals from other European countries with a long history of high-end textile craftsmanship including France and England.
To maintain engagement but also respond to the growing demand on behalf of brands, A Fabric Affair has taken a step in a digital direction, bringing its workshop alive in the Bsamply Community Network. A strategic partnership that will allow each of the A Fabric Affair exhibitors including Bonotto, Reda, Tessuti di Sondrio, and Faliero Sarti to digitalize their catalogs in a virtual and dedicated showroom on Bsamply. The partnership will not only give AFA the possibility to expand its brand name and network but a chance for Bsamply too to welcome onto its platform a fresh collection of suppliers, offering its already registered buyers a new selection of materials to source and sample.
With the conclusion of the third edition of the A Fabric Affair that recently took place in New York City this July 19 and July 20, buyers and brands will now be able to continue meeting with suppliers and request order samples from the AW 24/25 collections directly from the A Fabric Affair community in the Bsamply Community Network.
The opening of A Fabric Affair on Bsamply represents Bsamply’s founding mission to connect buyers and suppliers worldwide, simplifying the collection and order process through a single shared space. An exciting new addition to Bsamply that supports the growth of our community network in a more and more international way.