PFB opens in Busan on October 29: six AI zones, a vintage sneaker archive and forum guide

Between a shoe design and the factory lie material scanning, pattern-making, sampling, sizing and aftercare. PFB 2026, the Passion Fashion Busan international footwear, textile and fashion exhibition taking place at BEXCO on October 29–31, turns that process into an AI pavilion visitors can explore in sequence. The exhibition has yet to open, and the published spatial image is a planning illustration. Its focus is helping footwear and clothing professionals relate abstract AI tools to their everyday work.

Six zones follow a product’s life cycle

The AI pavilion is divided into six stages: product planning and design; digital materials and patterns; smart production and manufacturing connections; personalization and digital sales; content and marketing; and product management and provenance. Guidance, consultation and a small presentation area occupy the center, with suppliers positioned at the relevant stages. This arrangement helps visitors identify the bottleneck a tool addresses, rather than treating a generated campaign image, a completed work instruction and an actual manufactured garment as the same achievement.

The design section includes Faddit’s design editor and z-weave garment simulation. Materials examples include NunoX’s 3D textile scanning and CA PLANET’s UTTU digital pattern-making platform. In manufacturing, The Fashion OS takes design data into technical drawings, work instructions and bills of materials, alongside on-demand production and 3D-printing solutions.

Fitting, insoles and product passports extend beyond the purchase

The sales section looks beyond product images to connecting goods with their users. Fitco uses purchasing history and body data to support size recommendations, while Human Performance Lab presents foot analysis and customized insoles. The marketing section includes AI fashion visuals and 3D digital-content tools. The final management zone turns to shoe care and digital product passports, or DPPs, linking materials, production history and environmental information. These tools serve different purposes: size recommendations should not be read as medical diagnosis.

The accompanying talks follow the same industry chain. The trend seminar on October 29, 13:30–16:30, begins with consumer insights from Trend Korea 2027 co-author Kwon Jeong-yun before covering enterprise AI strategies, footwear development and brand research. The Smart Fashion Forum on October 30, 14:00–16:30, focuses on manufacturing transformation, the journey from design data to physical products and DPPs. A separate special talk is scheduled at 13:00 that day, so related activities do not all begin at 14:00.

When to visit: exhibition registration and seminar applications differ

PFB takes place in Hall 2 of BEXCO Exhibition Center 1, with announced opening hours of 10:00–17:00. The two days of seminar activities offer free advance applications, but seminar booking and exhibition admission registration are different steps. This does not mean every activity requires no registration or guarantees a seat. The advance guide also lists a global panel on October 31, 10:30–11:30, and an awards ceremony at 13:00–15:00. Any programme changes remain subject to the organizer’s latest instructions.

For sneaker enthusiasts, the guide previews the +82-051 Sneakers Exhibition at B29, bringing together vintage shoes from global brands, brand histories and the story of Busan’s footwear industry in an archival display. A visit need not revolve solely around purchasing machinery or software. Brand planners, designers and manufacturers can first identify their questions, then schedule a talk and the relevant demonstration zone on the same day. The accompanying 2025 seminar photograph illustrates the event format rather than this year’s proceedings, while the 2026 spatial illustration does not depict a completed installation.