The Buyers Are Back: Paris Trade Shows Breathe Collective Sigh of Relief (2023)

PARIS — Trade show operators here could breathe a sigh of relief: the buyers were finally back in town.

Things were pretty much back to normal for both Première Classe, which once again filled two tents the length of the Tuileries (as well as a third showcasing resortwear event Splash), and Tranoï, back to two floors at its historic Bourse venue, over four days during Paris Fashion Week.

Both American and Japanese buyers returned in force. “I wasn’t expecting so many Japanese buyers,” observed Tranoï president Boris Provost.

“The Japanese buyers are really pleased to be back, they couldn’t go on without traveling; it’s so important to them to get a sense of the production, the materials and the cuts,” said Woman director Antoine Floch.

The context was favorable for both brands and buyers, as most retailers stuck with tried and tested labels during the pandemic, observers said.

“Our business is about touch and feel,” said David Sahlin, cofounder and creative director of Danish label Rue de Tokyo, showing at Woman.

“I’ve missed it,” said Nathalie Maebe, owner of concept store Par Terre near Ghent, Belgium. “I’m always looking for new brands each season and you cannot find new brands when you don’t travel. I find my new brands at fairs.”

Demand from American buyers was high, exhibitors said. “The strong dollar is very advantageous for them at the moment,” said Floch.

“I have quite a lot of new American customers, they are more willing to buy more from European collections, in euros,” said Panos Papandreou, owner of the Monochrome multibrand showroom in Monaco, showing at Tranoï.

“It seems like there’s a lot of creative leadership coming out of Paris, it feels much busier than New York Fashion Week did,” said Charles Arnett, business development consultant for hemp specialist Jungmaven, showing at Woman. “With the dollar the way it is, it’s probably cheaper to come to Paris than to go to New York.”

Le Bon Marché’s style director Jennifer Cuvillier agreed about the creativity on show. “The fashion, accessories and resort shows were extremely rich in summery creativity with significantly more exhibitors than last season, with international labels coming back and a renewed mix,” she observed.

At Première Classe, some 350 brands were present, about a third of which were newcomers. Footfall was down around 7 percent compared with September 2019, said Frédéric Maus, general director of the fair’s organizer WSN Développement, although this was more because retailers are sending smaller delegations to Paris than in the past to reduce costs. “The number of companies attending was equivalent to pre-pandemic,” he said. “It was really dynamic.”

Increasingly the trade show operators are aiming to drive traffic by drawing in buyers with events and fashion shows. For the second time Tranoï hosted a show featuring South Korean labels Lie, Kumann, and Ul:Kin, in partnership with Seoul Fashion Week, on the steps of the Palais Brongniart (there was also a showroom for nine Korean designers inside the show). New trade show/showroom hybrid Together staged the first on-calendar presentation for Vincent Garnier Pressiat, meanwhile.

For Tranoï, structuring a space twice the size as last season’s edition was the biggest challenge, Provost said. Brands were grouped in thematic zones, with visitors circulating through the space. There was an area for African brands in partnership with incubator Canex, with exhibitors including South Africa’s Rich Mnisi, and specific areas for accessories, resortwear, contemporary brands and young labels.

Woman hosted a smaller edition with 31 labels in a showroom in the Marais, which Floch said was a strategic move to be closer to contemporary showrooms and in line with feedback that the show had become too big. “It was what both buyers and brands wanted,” he explained.

Continuing with a smaller event is also a means of offering support for independent brands in the current inflationary context, he said. “By reducing the cost of attendance, we are able to support brands,” he said. “We’re all in the same boat, we’re all independent businesses.”

This was also part of the premise of Together. Created by brand development agency Plan 8 founder Rafael Jimenez, the event, hosted in partnership with Double magazine, aims to home in on the essence of current trends. “We feel there is a need to create a new editorial setting that reflects the taste of Paris of the season,” said Jimenez. “We want to create an observatory of trends and an efficient platform for brands to broadcast their message.”

The event showcased 15 brands bridging contemporary, designer and accessories.

Brands showing included AsOne by Three as Four, which staged its relaunch; Foo and Foo; Netherlands-based sustainable cashmere label So Good to Wear, which is a not-for-profit operating its own goat farm in Nepal; Thom Browne-backed designer Luchen; India’s No Grey Area, which splices heritage motifs with sportswear silhouettes; swimwear and jewelry designer Charlott Vasberg, and eveningwear specialist Julia Clancey, who was pressing reset on wholesale.

The event was also the showcase for the launch of Consequences, a collaboration between nonprofit artist space and publishing house Goswell Road and Plan 8 on a limited-edition range of T-shirts featuring sketches from Richard Torry.

There was also a technology partnership with fashion tech federation Newfoundation with the launch of tokens intended to allow new forms of shared ownership through open-source software to help creators fund their brands.

Foo and Foo’s Elizabeth Hilfiger, hot off her label’s first New York runway show and showing during women’s collections in Paris for the first time, said how important it was to show buyers — the brand had appointments with several European and U.S. department stores — they are still in business in a context where many brands have dropped off the radar. “We’ve shown that we’re here to stay,” she said.

While the context is complex for smaller brands, there was a lot of creativity on show. Several returnees were showcasing a revamped positioning after wholesale essentially dried up during the pandemic.

“Before COVID-19 we were selling to Harvey Nichols, Liberty and Galeries Lafayette,” said Yasu Michino, founder and designer of leather goods label Michino, at Première Classe. “Now we are starting again. It’s almost like starting a new brand.” Thankfully, business has remained strong in Asia, allowing the Paris-based Japanese designer to stay afloat, he said.

“We stopped doing women’s wholesale because we couldn’t produce, we couldn’t deliver,” explained Esteban Saba, founder and managing director of U.S.-based Håndvaerk, showing at Woman. The brand has taken the opportunity to press reset, shifting from a loungewear focus to a collection of minimalist ready-to-wear pieces and sourcing fabrics in Europe and Japan (it previously bought mainly in Peru), favored by the strong dollar. Footfall at the stand had been brisk, Saba said. “We’ve been able to see some amazing stores, including some U.S. stores we didn’t see in New York.”

French jewelry maker Atelier Paulin chose to take stands at Première Classe and Tranoï to ensure maximum exposure as it reactivates wholesale. “The past two years have been up and down,” said co-founder and chief executive officer Matthias Lavaux on the label’s stand at Tranoï. “We had to close our boutique in the East Village [in New York] and we’ve managed to stay afloat thanks to e-commerce. We’re reactivating international now. The show’s been great; the Japanese, South Korean and U.S. markets, including the East Coast, have been very dynamic.”

Among brand revamps, Marie Marquet of MiniMe Paris was at Première Classe after six years away from wholesale. After several years offering upcycling workshops at her atelier and online customization tutorials, she was ready to present to buyers once more with a range of one-off pieces made to order, including tie-dyed felt hats with upcycled accessories as well as ready-to-wear pieces made from repurposed denim and bags crafted from Malhia Kent tweeds or old Adidas T-shirts.

“Customers buy an idea, a concept, rather than a finished product,” she explained.

The hats are offered at a price of 200 euros — she leaves retailers free to choose their own markup, she said. “People are coming back to craftsmanship and unique pieces,” she commented. “The reaction has been incredible.”

“The period is favorable for summer collections with a resort spirit and a joyful, colorful offer, with the highlighting of craftsmanship from various regions and countries,” said Le Bon Marché’s Cuvillier. “This links in with consumers’ search for craftsmanship and products with a story.”

Alexandra Senes, a former editor of Jalouse magazine who created her Kilomètre Paris label six years ago, agreed. “We’re benefiting from the trend for limited edition products,” she said.

She was pleasantly surprised by demand at Tranoï. “I really thought it was has-been to do a trade show,” she said. The brand offers shirts and now baskets embroidered with motifs featuring a range of travel destinations — it began with one-off pieces made with 19th-century white dress shirts and has since expanded, but cultivating rarity remains a focus.

Nevertheless, rising prices and supply chain difficulties were a concern for many.

“Everything takes longer, the suppliers have no stocks, and this is what the clients don’t understand,” said Munich-based designer Susanne Bommer, a longtime Tranoï exhibitor. “Fabric is 30 to 40 percent more expensive.”

“Labor costs are going up between 10 and 15 percent, and our production costs are 25 to 30 percent higher than pre-pandemic,” said Håndvaerk’s Saba. “We have a small price increase set for spring 2023, but way below what we need to cover the margin loss.”

Rue de Tokyo works mainly with European fabrics, but sourcing has been an issue, said Sahlin. “The raw materials are really difficult to get, especially woolen fibers,” he said. “Also, people in Europe don’t want to work in factories any more, and [mills] are downsizing, trying to have less customers and produce more high-end garments.” He continued, “Sourcing prices are up by around 30 percent, we are trying to absorb that in our margins.”

On the retail side, this is also having an impact. “I buy a little less from my most expensive brands,” said Par Terre’s Maebe. In such a context, upping creativity to stand out is key to attracting buyers in an inflationary context, Papandreou believes. “In this case, they are willing to pay a higher price. In other cases, they are being very sensible.”

Highlights at Première Classe, Tranoï Woman and Together

JN. Mellor Club

Category: Leather goods

Showing at: Première Classe

Winners of last year’s Ville de Paris Grand Prize, Karine Arabian and Franck Blais take deadstock leathers from the big houses and transform them into accessories and decorative objects, creating one-off pieces like a striking tote adorned with a series of pebbles collected in the city and covered with pieces of skin in colorful hues.

Pricing: Bags 260 euros to 455 euros wholesale.

Laetis Design

Category: Leather goods

Showing at: Première Classe

The daughters of an Armenian Turkish family of leather manufacturers, sisters Letisya Hisarli and Alin Evihan respectively studied product design and business and marketing before deciding to launch their brand. With padded leather pieces in quirky shapes — one standout was shaped like a pyramid, for example — it was their first trade show as they open up for wholesale. Current stockists include Wolf & Badger and Vakko in Istanbul.

Pricing: Average retail price 750 euros.

Alkemeya

Category: Fine jewelry

Showing at: Première Classe / Precious Room by Muriel Piaser

Playing with the precious stones her grandparents brought back from their life in South Africa was the inspiration behind trade show newcomer Daphne Tsitsiliani’s collection, inspired by alchemy, the “keme” in her brand’s name representing the fertile soil around the Nile, a motif evoked in the hammered surfaces of certain pieces in her delicate collection.

Pricing: 600 euros to 12,000 euros at retail.

Mussels and Muscles

Category: Jewelry

Showing at: Première Classe

Austrian Lea Koehn studied fine art before deciding to launch her costume jewelry label, using stones, glass and recycled silver to be as sustainable as possible. Highlights included glass ear cuffs and a quirky three-prong ring.

Pricing: 20 euros to 80 euros wholesale.

10.03.53

Category: Leather goods

Showing at: Première Classe

Leather specialist Luca Colosimo, who cut his teeth at brands including Gucci and Isabel Marant, launched his own label two years ago. “I wanted to get away from an imposed style and the unbearable schedule,” he said. Through a strong focus on research and development, he aims to reinvent classic bag shapes, by removing metallic parts for example, and turning technical features into design signatures.

Pricing: 250 euros to 680 euros retail.

Violette Stehli

Category: Jewelry

Showing at: Première Classe

Hyères Festival alum Violette Stehli has turned her childhood passion for collecting stones, shells and animal bones into a brand concept. After moving around a lot as a child, such mementos were her way of staying grounded, she explained. She now molds such items in silver or vermeil, turning them into striking jewelry pieces. Stehli also offers a made-to-order service where customers can send their own memories — baby and cat’s teeth and a crow’s foot are among her creations — to be transformed into jewelry pieces.

Pricing: 200 euros to 600 euros retail, around 1,000 euros for a made-to-measure piece.

Maison Maes

Category: Vegan leather goods

Showing at: Première Classe

Former finance executive Romain Boubert and graphic designer Géraldine Saquy launched their high-end vegan line in May, with classic esthetics and equivalent quality to the main luxury houses. Made with cactus leather — the manufacturing of which consumes nine times less energy and emits 20 times less carbon dioxide (the cacti are carbon positive) — the duo plans to introduce new materials, like mycelium, for future launches.

Pricing: 890 euros to 1,490 euros at retail.

Jacquote

Category: Ready-to-wear

Showing at: Première Classe

Footwear and home furnishing designer Philippe Model debuted a new rtw line of silk, cotton and jersey pieces in simple shapes with prints taken from his colorful woven furniture.

Pricing: 210 euros to 530 euros at retail.

Loraine Holmes

Category: Ready-to-wear

Showing at: Tranoï

Chilean designer Loraine Holmes, a newcomer at Tranoï who launched her label six years ago, takes her inspiration from the landscapes of her homeland, offering a sporty yet feminine wardrobe of denim and leather pieces mixed with transparent prints and quirky knits.

Pricing: 190 euros to 700 euros at retail.

Carré Y

Category: Jewelry

Showing at: Tranoï

A former director of Thomas Sabo, Yacine Challal created his Carré Y genderless jewelry brand in 2014. The energetic designer is seeing strong demand for his fun costume pieces made from recycled steel and brass, especially since he created the crown and scepter for “Drag Race France” earlier this year. His latest collection has a “punk rock bondage” theme.

Pricing: Average retail price 59 euros.

Jolie Su

Category: Hats

Showing at: Tranoï

After initially launching her brand as rtw, Alexandra Sulzynska turned her hand to hat making. She hopes to protect what she calls “a dying craft” in the process, working with Ecuadorian straw using a traditional weaving technique recognized by UNESCO and incorporating leather banding and deadstock ribbons on her minimalist designs.

Pricing: From 195 euros to 330 euros at retail.

Bonastre

Category: Leather goods

Showing at: Woman

Fernando Bonastre is the designer behind Lemaire’s distinctive bags and has recently created collections for Marine Serre and Jacquemus. He is pressing reset for his own label, launched in 2011, with a genderless positioning to be implemented from next season. Bestsellers in the lineup, made from naturally tanned leather sourced from the food industry, include the “Bon-bon” crossbody bag.

Pricing: 395 euros to 750 euros at retail.