The Paris fairs and showrooms, which take place parallel to the fashion week, benefited this season from a laxer organized and newly sorted show calendar. Visitors therefore had a bit more time buffer to visit them. The concept store Colette, which previously announced its closure in December 2017, became a public magnet in the city center. The very closely situated fairs such as Tranoi, Man/Woman and Paris sur Mode Tuileries/Premiere Classe Tuileries benefited particularly by this stream of visitors. Designer Sandra Chagnaud from the German-French label Happy House, who exhibited in the tent of Paris sur Mode Tuileries, confirms: "From the very first day, there was quite a good flow in the fair. I already have done the trade fairs in New York and Milan but in Paris you can find the most international clientele. Especially smaller boutiques came to my stand and bought."
What was new?
Accompanying Tranoi's already existing menswear collections and women's precollections locations in Carreau du Temple and Palais de la Bourse as well as their womenswear locations at Carrousel du Louvre and Palais de la Bourse the organizer added a new concept called Tranoi Week to its portfolio. In the art gallery VNH in the Rue Vieille du Temple, Tranoi installed a hybrid between trade show, showroom and art gallery, where 35 French and international brands showed their collections. The Tranoi location on the stock exchange (Palais de la Bourse) was enhanced by a cooperation with the Chambre Syndicale: the fashion shows of Christian Wijnants, Lutz Huelle, Véronique Leroy, K-Fashion Project, Anne Sofie Madsen and Liselore Frowjiin took place under the pompous columned entrance. Dutch designer Frowjin, one of the winners of the Hyères Festival, also received her own stand at the Tranoi location in the Louvre as part of the "Curated by" program.
Paris sur Mode Tuileries, a supporter of the festival in Hyères, also reserved a special space for the winners of the new talents festival: an exhibition around the entrance area of the end at Place de la Concorde showing the most important looks of the young designers was evidence of the fair’s commitment to young talents. On top it featured special offers, such as the shirt brand Kilomètre, which showcased its new limited edition shirt inspired by Paris and Chicago.
Like its big sister Who's Next, the Premiere Classe Tuileries nourished its offer this season with, for example, a vintage store.
There was also some news at the Berlin Showroom: For the first time the German fashion showroom space cooperated with its partner organizations, the Afa Agency from Austria and Mode Suisse from Switzerland, to an overarching event called the Dach Showroom. Brands from the three countries exhibited in a building opposite the Carreau du Temple, in the middle of the Marais district. A total of 25 brands were shown on the light-flooded floor, eleven of which are from Germany. Arne Eberle from the Berlin Showroom was very satisfied with the new concept: "The rooms are much nicer and there are more visitors than last season. The proximity to the concept store Broken Arm has animated the days and also given us a new clientele." His Swiss colleague, Camille Boyer, agreed: "We are showing in Paris for the first time and we are very happy. We have made sure that labels from the three countries are mixed to create a single unit."
Fashion trends seen at the trade shows:
Ethno
The theme of ethno-fashion remains a strong movement with floor-length dresses, Ibiza patterns and Ukrainian embroidery à la Vita Kin. This is also reflected in the knitting, where colorful knitwear in the style of Missoni is predominant.
Brands: Nadia Dafri, Léonie, Brit Sisseck, Miranda Konstantinidou, Ada Kamara, March011, Delfina Anjuna, Sleeping Gypsy.
Bast
Within the framework of the ethno-trend, bast fibers have come back into fashion. The classic straw hat is also back. Some street style stars have already worn bast bags and baskets this summer. Correspondingly to this demand, the offer of different models is quite large. The Aranaz brand from the Philippines, for example, produces bast bags in factories that employ single mothers and uses old craftsmanship techniques.
Brands: Elliot Mann, Maria La Rosa, Bertini, Eric Javits, Karakoram, Guanabana, Viola d'Ora, Mühlbauer.
Espadrilles
The Basque shoes, a trend from the ’80s, were seen a lot at the trade shows. The traditional shoe is being reimplemented with wider soles and elaborate embroidery as well as fabric combinations. French label Amrose has adopted this trend and embroiders the fabric in Iran with typical regional patterns.
Brands: Naguisa, Castaner, Ball Pagès, Espadrilles, Manebi.
Navy theme and gingham patterns
The nautical theme with its signature blue and white stripes will continue next season, bringing the gingham pattern back into fashion. Italian brands such as Jejia and Neul show blouses and dresses in this style or use the famous “Vichy pattern” as an eye-catcher for combinations.
Brands: Majestic Filatures, JuliaJune, Ne quittez pas, Purotatto, Christophe Sauvat, Mont St Michel, Maison Labiche.
Retro swimwear
Swimwear for summer 2018 frequently uses prints from the ’50s to ’70s in patterns and gives new color to female swimwear. Cuts are quiet classic.
Brands: Frida Querida, Sisyu, Mimi à la Mer.
Denim
Beyond the usual jeans brands more and more designers are relying on denim fabrics for high-quality collections. Maria Grazia Chiuri has been working on the theme for two seasons now at Dior and set a trend. Sandra Chagnaud from Happy Haus uses bio cotton denim for minimalistic and straight jeans dresses in midi length and jumpsuits. A similar style is adopted by Alexandra and Ségolène Jacmin from the label Façon Jacmin, a young brand from Brussels that uses Japanese denim exclusively.
Filigree jewelry
Filigree jewelry is back in fashion and combines rigid and moving elements into very modern forms. The statement earring remains one of the most important pieces of jewelry in the trend area and is now implemented in multiple forms, usually in the combination of several elements together. For example, Danish designer Charlotte Lebeck creates an earring from several differently sized creoles, which can be used all together or individually.
Brands: Quiet Quiet, Christina Sanchez, Talkative.
Also interesting:
For more information on trade shows check out DFV Group’s expocheck.com.
