MarediModa will hold its 24th Cannes edition on Oct. 27 to 29 at the Palais des Festivals, presenting 100 collections of fabrics and accessories for beachwear, underwear and athleisure aimed at the Summer 2028 season.

For sourcing teams, that calendar matters: buyers scouting European-milled stretch wovens, knits and trims for beachwear will see the full Summer 2028 offer in one venue, three seasons ahead of retail delivery. The show follows earlier stops this cycle in Milan and Miami, and organizers position Cannes as the flagship.

Claudio Taiana, president of MarediModa, said the event returns to Cannes "following our initiatives in Miami and Milan, confident that we have prepared the year's key industry event to the highest possible standard."

He was less diplomatic about the competition. "Despite improvised attempts to imitate our format, for 24 years the Cannes show has remained the industry's undisputed hub: where collections take shape, where professionals meet, where ideas and visions are shared and, why not, where the industry continues to grow through new experiences," Taiana said in a statement. Read that as a message to any rival fair courting the same beachwear and intimates fabric buyers.

What does the show change for buyers?

The floor plan is the practical answer. Organizers confirmed:

• A dedicated athleisure area, reflecting the segment's share of fabric demand;
• Installations spotlighting studios specializing in exclusive prints and designs;
• Presence of contract manufacturers, giving brands a route from fabric selection to finished garment under one roof;
• Workshops and an "even richer program, with ethics and environmental responsibility at its core," in the organizers' words — a signal for buyers tracking compliance documentation alongside creativity.

Organizers also claim the show's global overview "is truly unique, showcasing the very best of European textile manufacturing." That is a marketing claim, but the concentration of European mills in one building does compress what would otherwise be a multi-country supplier audit into three days.

Trend program and Lycra tie-up

David Shah will present the Spring/Summer 2028 trend-forecasting program for beachwear, bodywear and athleisure, built on five distinct fashion attitudes per category, inspired by music and cultural subcultures. One confirmed direction, "Ocean Vibes," targets community building and regeneration.

The Link 2026, the show's talent-scouting project, will stage runway shows for its young designer finalists — a pipeline worth watching for design teams scanning new print and silhouette thinking.

The Lycra Company joins as an official partner, marking the 80th anniversary of the bikini through its "Designed to Move. Built to Last" project with mills Carvico and Jersey Lomellina. The initiative includes a retrospective exhibition tracing beachwear's evolution and an opening-night show combining live music, imagery and technology to demonstrate garment durability and textile innovation, featuring Lycra Xtra Life fiber.

That partnership is more than ceremony. Lycra, Carvico and Jersey Lomellina supply a substantial share of premium swimwear fabric globally, and the durability framing aligns with brands under pressure to substantiate longevity claims.

What does this change for sourcing calendars? Not much structurally — Cannes remains the fixed October appointment it has been for 23 prior editions. The variable to watch is whether the ethics-and-responsibility program translates into verifiable mill certifications, or remains, for now, a well-staged intention.