News

The Silk in Lyon – Festival de la soie organizing team is pleased to announce a major development for its event. From this year onwards, Silk in Lyon will adopt a biennial format, offering visitors an even richer and more innovative experience. As a result, Silk in Lyon 2024 will not be taking place, and we look forward to welcoming the general public to the Palais de la Bourse in Lyon from 20 to 23 November 2025 to discover a revamped festival, where silk in all its forms will continue to shine and inspire. This new format is designed to enhance the event’s program and strengthen links with those involved in the silk industry, promising exceptional encounters and discoveries.

A new lease of life for an emblematic event

Since its creation in 2005, Silk in Lyon – an event that brings together the former Marché des Soies and the former ‘Labelsoie’ cultural and heritage festival – has established itself as a not-to-be-missed event for silk lovers, highlighting the history and exceptional expertise of the world’s silk capital. In a changing economic and events context, the organisers wanted to rethink the festival to ensure its long-term future.

Why a biennial event?

Moving to a biennial event will make it possible to :
– Expand the range of exhibitors selling silk fabrics and accessories, with even more traditional houses and designers.
– Develop the cultural and heritage offering, by providing visitors with an even richer and higher-quality program based on partnerships and major exhibitions.
– Continuing to promote textile skills and initiate visitors to textile professions, collaborating with designers and vocational training establishments.
– Welcoming a guest country or city, strengthening international relations, and raising the silk profile. The festival had the honour of welcoming Hangzhou in 2018, Kyoto in 2019, and Como in 2022.
– Establishing a stable economic model.

As Xavier Lépingle, Chairman of Silk in Lyon and head of Holding Textile Hermès, points out, “Our objective since the launch of this festival has been to create a link between professionals and the general public. We want visitors to have a better understanding of the wealth of expertise that goes into creating textile products, but also to be able to participate and touch the material. Silk in Lyon is truly an event for all audiences, a real experience.”

A strong message to our partners and the public

The organisers would like to extend their warmest thanks to all their partners and the loyal public for their unfailing support over all these years. This transition to a biennial event will enable Silk in Lyon – festival de la soie to renew itself and establish a lasting place for itself in the Lyon and international events landscape.

For the city of Lyon, a partner in the event, “Silk in Lyon is a major event for our city, contributing to the enhancement of its heritage and the story of our region, as well as to its international influence and the promotion of our unique silk expertise. We fully support the biennialisation project, which will enable the event to develop and become more sustainable.”

“By becoming a biennial event, Silk In Lyon will be able to welcome and continue to forge links with cities and towns around the world for whom silk is the emblem of a natural textile industry of excellence. It will also be an opportunity to highlight, in a fun and practical way, the jobs and careers offered by the silk industry in the metropolitan area, where numerous training centres and universities provide training for all, with courses ranging from CAP to BAC +5. This event demonstrates and will continue to demonstrate the vitality and adaptability of this sector of economic activity supported by the region, both in terms of the diversity of jobs it generates and the transmission of heritage know-how” Emeline BAUME, vice-president of the Lyon Metropolitan Council responsible for the Economy, Employment, Trade, Digital Technologies and Public Procurement.