Paris’ Parc des Exposition has hosted the last edition of Premiere Vision held on 8-10 February 2022 hosting textile, accessories and leather industry companies’ s/s 2023 collections.

Photo: Premiere Vision
Trend area
“This is the edition of the restart for the industry,” commented Gilles Lasbordes, managing director of PV. “We are happy as we are hosting 1098 exhibitors, of whose about 1,000 physically present at the show and 90 through our Digital Platform. There are 30% exhibitors more than in September 2021 when we hosted about 750 ones. Unfortunately, we still cannot welcome exhibitors and visitors from China, Korea and Japan, but we hope we can go back to pre-pandemic levels with our show in 2023…”

Photo: Premiere Vision
Gilles Lasbordes managing director PV.jpg
Despite this the physical show remains an indispensable tool for getting back to normality and running business. “Today, more than in the past, companies have to discuss and find agreements with their clients and the best and easiest way to do it meeting face-to-face,” continues Lasbordes. “In days when costs - and products - are growing and a company’s offer needs to be always more sustainable, insiders need to speak with each other, discuss, try to find negotiations and increase their achievements in terms of environmental friendliness,” he added. “By meeting here, they can do it.”
PV wants to meet its customers’ needs, too. For this, the next edition will not take place in September, as in the past, but in July 2022, as the production of collections is requesting anticipated production timings. For its July 2022 edition, PV will host again Maisons d’Exception, an area dedicated to expert artisans. Along with novelties, the show will also organize a new event - Fashion Rendez-Vous - scheduled for September 2022 in Paris’ Carré du Temple, near the Marais. “It is a new smaller-size additional event that will host about 200 exhibitors and is meant to meet the needs of companies and brands that continue to need to get in touch with manufacturers later,” added Lasbordes.
Are trends still existing?
The show’s trend forums appeared more essential and down-to-earth than in past seasons, though not less inspiring. “There has been a significant change in recent seasons,” commented Desolina Suter, newly named fashion director of the show. “Right after the pandemic, only six months ago, we noticed that companies wanted to offer strong fashion statements and a series of very new ideas stating the desire to come back to normal life again. Now, for this season, we notice that there are many new aspects emerging from fabrics and materials but caring also to offer products that can last longer and guarantee longevity to products…in-keeping with the sustainable cause to avoid that pieces are worn for a few weeks or months and then thrown away,” she added.

Photo: Desolina Suter
Desolina Suter, fashion director, Premiere Vision
Learning sustainability from nature
Nature is asking to be protected, but is also offering solutions. It emerged from exhibitors participating in the Smart Creation Area of the show. Among them, Nova Kaeru, presented BeLeaf, special huge leaves from a widespread plant from Brazil, Elephant’s Ear. These leaves are treated and - to a certain extent - tanned to be used as an alternative to leather.

Photo: Premiere Vision
BeLeaf by Nova Kaeru
The company Frumat from Trentino Alto Adige, an Italian region where they cultivate apples and use them to produce apple juice, has found a way for recycling waste from this industry, including skin, seeds and other remains, and uses it to produce a material very similar to leather used for sneaker uppers and accessories. Banana skins and pineapple leaves are also used by Bananatex, a Swiss company that produces another alternative fiber similar to cotton used for backpacks, t-shirts and jackets.
Also zipper and button specialist Riri has developed a series of sustainable products including zippers whose ribbons are made with hemp, linen, silk and certified organic cotton along with man-made ones obtained from recycled nylon and bio-based polyester.
Science-based solutions
The Swiss company Helixa can provide DNA-based solutions that provide full marking and traceability of fibers. The marker it uses is invisible to the naked eye and does not affect the product properties in terms of quality. It is also harmless for humans and the environment, GMO-free and GOTS and Oekotex Standard 100 compliant.

Photo: Maria Cristina Pavarini
Fibretrace scanner on Acatel fabric
Within this project they also developed a special Good Earth Cotton knit that uses a bio-based finishing process made of 85% vegetable ingredients, 92% of these being biodegradable and complete with full Fibretrace traceability.
Naia, a family of cellulosic fibers from Eastman Group, has presented an enlarged selection of Naia Renew, a filament and staple fibers produced from 60% sustainably sourced wood pulp and 40% certified recycled waste plastics. As part of this strategy, it has introduced fibers for three new segments - T-shirts, loungewear and sweaters - and, among its aims, it has set the new target to offer 50% Naia Renew fibers out of its total offer by 2025.

Photo: Maria Cristina Pavarini
A dress made with Naia Renew
During the last PV edition, it launched Polygiene Odor Crunch, a treatment that removes environmental odors such as cooking fumes and cigarette smoke from textiles.
Denim is on the scene
Denim is constantly involved in offering its own idea of ecofriendly solutions. Among others, Evlox is offering 80% of its collection made according to eco-friendly criteria, while it also uses alternatives to organic cotton such as hemp, bamboo and linen. The company has also presented a pair of jeans from its Re_Design Collection made with 100% recycleable denim and accessories.

Photo: Maria Cristina Pavarini
A jeans from Re_Design Collection by Evlox
Calik Denim bets of offering fabrics made with 100% recycled cotton denim, of whose 80% is from pre-consumer denim waste and 20% post-consumer.

Photo: Maria Cristina Pavarini
Calik Denim fabric made with 100% recycled cotton
How circularity can be beautiful
Among companies committed to producing new textiles from secondhand and preconsumer ones, there is Imbotex. This Italian enterprise is specialized in producing responsible paddings made from noble fibers including silk, wool, yak, alpaca, camel, cashmere, vicuña, but also plant-based fibers like hemp, nettle, lyocell, kapok, organic cotton, PLA. It can also offer paddings made from recycled fibers such as polyester, silk, cashmere and camel, alone or blended, recycling companies’ preconsumer production waste or post-consumer recycled items, like, for instance, cashmere sweaters. Among those that have started collaborating with Imbotex there are Max Mara, Loro Piana, Montura, Pontetorto and Maloja.

Photo: Imbotex
Recashmere by Imbotex

Photo: Maria Cristina Pavarini
Armor by Manteco
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