The fair will boast a wide and impressive range of leathers for all applications – from upholstery and automotive to leather goods and footwear as well as the latest innovations from the leading chemical giants that serve the sector.

It is an ideal sourcing platform for China’s huge leather sector with around 23,000 visitors expected, most of them from the main leather manufacturing provinces of China and who can have access to the latest innovations from the west aimed at the global tannery sector.

In order to ensure that ACLE is more than just a trade fair or a sourcing platform, there are several technological, fashion, educational and topical events taking place alongside the trade fair for both buyers and exhibitors.

The Leather Naturally Zone is powered by Leather Naturally, an industry campaign to inspire and inform designers, creators, and consumers about its beauty, quality and versatility. Located in Hall E1, it is an interactive area which comprises of various zones, each with its own theme.

The Leather Trends Space is an inspiration for leather goods designers and manufacturers. It will illustrate the colours and materials trends for Spring-Summer 2019, using leather samples curated from ACLE exhibitors looking to the styles and colours of the future.

Designer Workshops – Young designers are invited to attend free workshops presented by experienced trainers from the Footwearists, Netherlands (for footwear), Style ModainPelle Academy, Italy (on leather goods) and Mattori Studio, Italy (on leather garments). Designers will be guided to develop their own products and share their experience with their peers.

Iconic Sneakers Display – Ever wondered what are the materials behind classic sneakers like Nike’s Air Jordan, Reebok’s O’Neil, Adidas Originals, Converse’s Chuck Taylor and Mizuno’s baseball glove? In this area visitors will see these famous models displayed alongside their original leathers, with information such as the leather types, tanning process and treatments.

Several Asian artists are invited to ACLE to express their art on leather at Leather Reborn inside Hall E1. Decorating leather has become an art form in itself, and these young artists who used to draw on canvas will experience painting on large pieces of leather in this area.

The Technological Innovation Trend Forum in Hall E3 aims at illustrating the 3 main themes of the Shanghai Shake-Up conference.

Conference
The Shanghai Shake-Up which will offer vision, inspiration and information about materials innovation in a pragmatic way. It combines topics for leather and non-leather from surprising yet highly relevant angles, offering a roadmap to future growth for the sector.

It will be a wake-up call to the industry to look at and take advantage of the new opportunities available to the leather industry presented in three sessions: Streetluxe, Leather Lab and Made to Move. For the speaker lineup and more information please visit Shanghai Shake-Up Conference webpage.

There will also be three interesting seminars:

Microbial Control Solution in Leather Application
Date: 30 Aug 2018 Time: 10:00 – 11:30 Location: Hall E3

Instilling Confidence in the World’s Oldest Material
Date: 30 Aug 2018 Time: 14:00 – 15:00 Location: Hall E3

SATRA Leather Assessment
Date: 31 Aug 2018 Time: 10:30 – 11:30 Location: Hall E3

The Anniversaries Year
2018 is a year of celebration both for ACLE and the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA) – the former celebrating 20 years and the latter 30 years. There will be Gala Dinner, held as part of the ACLE anniversary celebrations on 29th August at Kerry Hotel, where long-term exhibitors will be presented with awards by the Organisers. The gala dinner will be sponsored by USHSLA, CICB, LIA, Acexpiel and CNC and ALPA.

2018 also marks the 30th anniversary of the China Leather Industry Association (CLIA). Driven by the country’s economic policies, China has become a leading component in world leather industry. The quality of leather is in line with the international standards. Since its inception, the CLIA actively promotes standardisation to improve the country’s leather quality, with the introduction of “Genuine Leather Mark” to promote the branding of locally produced leather. The association also works closely with the various regional leather clusters to enhance their competitiveness.

The CLIA, as one of the organisers of ACLE, develops the exhibition and helps to enhance local enterprises’ competitiveness in the international market. The fair also helps in transforming and upgrading the industry to meet environmental standards.

To commemorate the CLIA’s 30th anniversary, the association will hold a series of symposiums: On August 28th, companies and individuals who have made great contributions to the development of the industry over the last 30 years will be recognised at the committee member meeting, and on August 29th, at ACLE, a special area has been set up to showcase the achievements of China’s leather industry in the last three decades.

The 2018 edition of ACLE will therefore be a completely rounded event consisting of a central trade fair, seminars, a major conference on future opportunities in the leather sector, workshops, the celebration of leather in the Leather Naturally Zone and, last but not least, the anniversary Gala Dinner.

See you in Shanghai!