Paris Trade Shows Look to Sweet Spots During a Challenging Market

Alex Wynne

March 12, 2024 at 2:39 PM·9 min read

PARIS — It was a mixed picture for the trade shows here running during Paris Fashion Week. While accessories event Première Classe hailed a bumper 35^th anniversary edition with visitor numbers up 21 percent year-on-year, foot traffic at fellow events Tranoï, which is steered toward the designer end of the market, and Woman, with a more contemporary offer, was slow, according to exhibitors. Neither show releases visitor numbers.

“It’s been a bit calm, but people have been writing orders,” said Antoine Floch, cofounder and director of Woman. “The current crisis is complex and profound, but the energy is there, and there is nevertheless demand for new business,” said Frédéric Maus, chief executive officer of WSN, the organizer of Première Classe.

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Inside Tranoï. Courtesy of Tranoï / Shehan Hanwellage

The difficulties currently faced by high-end retailers, coupled with waning consumer sentiment, were a preoccupation.

“Independent retailers are really struggling everywhere in Europe,” said Floch. “In the U.S., it’s different; business for independent retailers is quite strong.”

One U.S. buyer, speaking off the record, said things were more complicated heading into fall. “It’s difficult going into this season. People overbought last season, so they’re left with a lot of stock.”

Several brands said they were playing it safe with their fall collections to offer a commercial proposition that brands would find it easier to buy into. “The buyers come here to buy product that will sell in their boutiques,” said South African designer David Tlale, showing in the Canex showcase for African designers at Tranoï with a largely black collection full of texture and fabrication details.

“We’ve been shaving off the drama and focusing on ready-to-wear to be more merchandise-driven,” he added.

“Boutiques are holding back, they’re not writing orders,” Tlale continued. “As designers we are directly impacted, nobody buys like they used to.”

Increased costs for everything from labor to textiles to the price of participating in the show are putting pressure on his business, he said.

With buyers scaling back and payment conditions a major preoccupation, cashflow was a concern for many brands showing. “We have had issues with boutiques not paying,” said Pierre-François Valette of Paris-based ready-to-wear label Valette Studio, showing at Première Classe. “It’s tough, but we get by, by being more selective about the boutiques we supply, and retailers also appreciate that selectivity.”

“Brands are going under and there will be more,” observed Paul Alger, international business director for the U.K. Fashion & Textiles Association, in charge of promoting British designers internationally.

At the March round of trade shows, an additional challenge is that many buyers have already allocated the bulk of their budgets during pre-collections in January. “They come here to complete their purchasing,” said Floch. “We want to fall in love,” summed up Geraldine Lisek, manager of Boutique Smile in Geneva.

“I come here to buy special pieces that won’t necessarily sell, but that show the direction of the season,” said Stephanie Bertschinger, owner of the Panta Rhei boutique in Zurich, shopping at Tranoï. “Even in Switzerland, it’s not so easy any more.”

For brands exhibiting, hitting the sweet spot between offering commercially salable collections but still cultivating desire from buyers is increasingly tough.

“We’re looking for something special, unique and different, something that’s a good price, and to tie up the loose ends of the season,” said Elle Scotson, buyer for Jules B, in Newcastle and Kendle, U.K., and online. “The context is difficult, and consumers are buying differently, they’re looking for more multipurpose, safer pieces. People are really cautious, it’s either got to be ‘wow’ or it’s got to be comfortable.”

For independent retailers, she said, it has become increasingly important to source brands that are not available at a discount among bigger players in order to protect margins — an opportunity for smaller brands.

Among the ready-to-wear offer at Première Classe, which traditionally focuses on accessories, Valette said the event was the opportunity to show his growing womenswear offer. “It’s my first time showing separate fits for men and women,” said the designer, who showed on the runway during men’s in January.

Clara Daguin, meanwhile, who designs bridging couture and technology — with LEDs and sound sensors, for example — was present as the winner of the 2023 Grand Prix de Création de la Ville de Paris, showcasing her most recent collection unveiled in January. “It’s a great way of being visible during Paris Fashion Week,” she said. While the majority of Daguin’s work is custom, she also launched a capsule collection of three pieces with reflective stripes with French catalog specialist La Redoute at the beginning of March.

Outside Matter and Shape. Courtesy of WSN

In a neighboring tent to Première Classe, the first edition of design event Matter & Shape, under the creative direction of Dan Thawley, the former editor in chief of A Magazine Curated By, and WSN’s Matthieu Pinet was deemed a success.

Among visitors, Kris Van Assche said, “I’m very curious, because design and fashion are so linked. When someone from fashion starts a design fair, I want to see what it looks like.” Unlike bigger design fairs, he said, “It’s quite intimate, you can actually discover stuff, it’s on a human scale.”

Labels showing included Astier de Villatte, showcasing its collaboration with Sacai for the first time outside Japan, and Charlotte Chesnais, exhibiting her sculptures. “We participated precisely because there was no commercial ambition to the show,” said Astier de Villatte wholesale manager Amel Djendeli.

The next new show in the Paris fashion stratosphere will be further afield; at its opening press conference, Tranoï revealed the launch of a Tokyo edition this September, during Tokyo Fashion Week and in partnership with trade body Japan Fashion Week Organization.

“Japan is our third country in terms of visitors,” said Tranoï chief executive officer Boris Provost. “Tokyo is also a launchpad in Asia for brands, and Japan has a very strong multibrand store scene. What’s missing is a strong international trade show,” he said, particularly since Project Tokyo shuttered last September. Tranoï Tokyo plans to host around 150 brands, half international, Sept. 4 and 5 at Bellesalle Shibuya First.

HIGHLIGHTS AT THE MARCH 2024 PARIS TRADE SHOWS