In a market increasingly driven by the speed of information and new forms of consumption, the BFSHOW Arena has established itself as one of the most important spaces at the trade show, bringing together specialists, content creators and industry leaders to discuss the paths of fashion and footwear in the digital age. At the 5th edition of BFSHOW, held November 10–12 at Distrito Anhembi in São Paulo, the audience followed a program that addressed seasonal trends, the impact of TikTok Shop on the e-commerce revolution, the power of content as a sales driver, and even the strategic role of sales representatives in connecting industry and retail.
Kicking off the program at the space were Luana Lanzini and Luana Savadintzky, co-founders of Fashion Directions. With the talk “Trend Line: Bets and Inspirations of the Season,” the duo of specialists presented the Winter 26 Shopping Guide, made available by BFSHOW, and led an immersion into the colors, products and inspirations that will drive buyers’ decisions for Fall/Winter 26 and provide an early look at what is coming for Spring/Summer 26/27.
Next, Eric Chien, Head of Fashion, and Gabriela Cleim, Fashion Account Manager at TikTok Shop, presented the panel “From feed to sale: real stories of how content sells footwear on TikTok Shop.” The platform, which started in Asia and quickly expanded to several countries, has seen more than tenfold growth in the number of active monthly sellers. It has also become one of the main search tools among young consumers – averaging 4 million searches related to fashion per week.
Among the purchasing formats, standout features include short videos, livestreams, product showcases and the “shop tab,” which bring the entire sales funnel together in one place. “Technology has deeply influenced the way people shop. Today, content and sales blend together,” noted Gabriela Cleim. “On the platform, users are more likely to be the first to discover new products and trends, as they complete the entire purchase journey within the app itself,” added Eric Chien.
The panel also featured the participation of Mariana Santos, Head of Style and Fashion Buyer at Lumiss, and Rubem Xavier, CEO and founder of Armazém dos Chinelos. They shared their experiences as Brazilian brands on the platform and agreed that the secret lies in making the consumer’s shopping journey something fun. Rubem highlighted the impact of going viral on operations: “From one day to the next, you can have 4,000 additional orders to deliver. The key is having strong partners and suppliers who can keep up with the pace.” Mariana, in turn, emphasized the value of authenticity: “One video sells more than a perfect photo. Consumers want to see what’s real, they want to feel part of the community.”
Content that inspires and converts
On the second day of talks, Steal The Look, one of the largest shoppable fashion content platforms in Brazil, presented the panel “How to inspire, connect and sell through content.” Laís Miranda, People and Education Coordinator at the brand, showed how content is the main link between inspiration and conversion. According to her, 83% of TikTok users have already purchased something they discovered on the platform, and 87% of Instagram users take some action after viewing fashion content.
For the footwear sector, the potential is even greater: the average conversion rate in footwear e-commerce is higher than in segments such as beauty and gaming. “We read market movements and translate them for our audience in a didactic and agile way, and that’s how we’ve realized that content is what makes a brand be remembered before the purchase and chosen at the moment of purchase,” Miranda emphasized, highlighting the importance of combining storytelling with real-time trend analysis.
According to the specialist, the trend bets being tracked for Fall/Winter 2026 include cow-print animal patterns, berry tones, revisited classics (such as blazers, pumps and loafers), and earthy browns, which remain on the rise.
The power of presence
Closing the program, Ricardo Prado, mentor for sales representatives and founder of R8 Educação, delivered the talk “The link that moves the market: how to align industry, sales reps and retail to turn relationships into results.”
With a career spanning decades in the sector, Prado highlighted the role of the sales representative as a vital link between industry and retail and warned about the risk of losing in-person connection in an increasingly digital market.
“Retail is overwhelmed by new platforms and trends. Technology does not replace the sales representative, it only transforms their role. Those who are still working as they did in 2019 are being left behind – the differentiator now is knowing how to use the time we’ve gained to our advantage and not giving up direct contact with the customer,” he said. For the mentor, the sector’s future depends on clear commercial leadership, real technological integration and the formation of strategic partnerships. “When industry, sales representatives and retail grow together, the market explodes,” he concluded.
