Digital platforms are becoming the new global catwalks for fashion and design companies in the Mexican state of Guanajuato, where the fourth edition of its Fimoda fashion industry fair was inaugurated on Thursday.

"We have Amazon, and Trendy Folk, which showcases some of the best products made by Mexican and Latin American designers, as well as Novica, created in association with National Geographic, which provides value to handicrafts," Pedro Azael Nieto Ramirez, head of international promotion for the state's Cofoce foreign trade agency, told EFE during the inauguration of the event in Leon, Guanajuato's most populous city.

"These platforms are being used at the sales stands to help the companies take advantage of this new channel, namely e-commerce, so that they can sell their products online," Nieto said.

Fimoda seeks to promote the creation of partnerships between Guanajuato fashion and design companies and more than 40 distribution firms from countries such as Canada, Spain, Guatemala, the United States, Japan, Germany, Peru and Argentina.

"Some 1,000 business meetings have been arranged. We hope that sales will surpass the 260 million pesos ($13 million) that were made last year," Nieto said.

The two-day fair will be attended by world-renowned designers, such as Spain's Agatha Ruiz de la Prada, who will participate as a member of the jury for the "Creare" International Fashion and Design Contest, in which more than 1,300 designers registered to compete and 200 were selected as finalists.

This contest represents a crucial opportunity for young Mexican fashion students and designers to showcase their products at an international level.

Fimoda is a gathering place for fashion and design companies specializing in a wide range of products and accessories, including sweaters, jeans, jackets, T-shirts, dress shoes, tennis shoes, safety shoes, boots, wallets, handbags, and suitcases.

"We like to say that Guanajuato can clothe you from head to toe," the official from Cofoce said, an agency that heads a strategy to consider Guanajuato producers as a "fashion cluster."