Starting a new round of textile shows, Premiere Vision’s newly hired chief operations officer Igor Bonnet speaks. As Première Vision New York has just taken place in NYC–on January 18 and 19–he explained to The SPIN OFF the first results from its latest US edition and how the show aims to support the international market that faces new changes.
Photo: Premiere Vision
Visitors at the January 2022 edition of Premiere Vision New York
Please, tell us about your new role.
I have recently joined Première Vision as chief operations office. That means I am responsible for the sales and operations of all PV events across the world: PV Paris, PV New York, PV Sport, PV Blossom, PV Denim, Made in France, PV Shenzhen and more.
How was the last edition PV New York?
Over a thousand qualified visitors came to visit the show. This is a good result considering the current situation. Everyone was eager to get back to work and there was a really nice atmosphere at the show, allowing everyone to work in a constructive and positive way. Big players of the American fashion industry, medium range brands along with new emerging designers were present at the show.
Did PV New York meet the expectations of the US market? And how will the organization face its other International shows?
PV New York is an important asset to our international network in order to reach out to the American market with its international suppliers, but also for the American community to access our global knowledge surrounding textiles and fashion industry itself. Even though, we have never stopped operating during the pandemic by having at least one physical show each year (PV NY in January 2020, July 2021 and now January 2022, as well as PV Sport in February 2020), our main objective for 2022 is to get back on track with several events as soon as the travel restrictions are lifted across the world, hopefully before our next July edition in NYC.
Photo: Premiere Vision
Visitors at Premiere Vision New York
What are the novelties that visitors can expect for the next editions of PV's international events?
Our main objective for 2022 is to play a positive role in the recovery of the textile and fashion industry by creating safe places to meet physically while pushing further the digital evolution of our business. PV New York show’s offer have been fully integrated into the Première Vision digital platform, making it easier for everyone to access premium information on a global scale. One of the visible results of this integration is our new brand identity that has been harmonized across all PV events around the world. How are the US apparel market and industry reacting to the present Covid situation?
Like in other parts of the world. Many companies slowed down their development process to focus on inventory reduction and cash flow protection, working in detail on digital assets and online presence. There was a need for creativity, and now we can feel that the American market is eager to discover again the novelties, new trends, new fabrics and so on. The American market is very resilient and is getting back to business. We also see a lot of new promising young-designer brands, and this is very exciting for the future of our industry.
Photo: Premiere Vision
Visitors at Premiere Vision New York
What do you see for the future of the fashion market, considering the present situation?
The fashion market is facing several challenges today: the transition to sustainable development, the timing of the collections, the shortage of raw materials, the logistics issues… We are going through a very interesting period where changes are happening fast, and the whole value chain must adapt to a fluctuating context and to the new expectations of the market. This is creating a world of opportunities and experiments, both in the physical and digital worlds that are more and more integrated into a single platform, creating intriguing synergies. It is still difficult at this stage to figure out what will be the result, but life is about adaptation and constant evolution, so we need to move forward and do the right things, especially when it comes to the respect of the environment and human rights.
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