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Introduction
The fashion trade shows, in essence, are a fair where fashion professionals come together to do business. At this trade show, suppliers display their collections for the upcoming season, and buyers get an essential overview of the forthcoming exhibitions and trends. Trade shows are essential events in the fashion industry that boost the new season for brands and retailers. Fashion trade shows begins to boost off the new season
Exhibitors and Visitors
Fashion brands are the exhibitors at fairs. Booths on the show floor are staffed with representatives, such as brand sales teams or sales managers. They present their brands’ new groups for the upcoming season, often for the first time. Therefore, the fair’s visitors are mainly retailers, fashion store owners, and department store buyers. But other fashion professionals, such as trend spotters, journalists, and general retail industry professionals, also attend.
The Benefits of Attending Trade Shows
Top Reasons Retailers Attend:
- Traditionally, orders are written at trade shows. However, today, this is done less and less on the showroom floor and more regularly by appointment through the new buying/selling season, for instance, in the fashion label’s showroom or retailer’s shop.
- Discovering [new] fashion brands
- Discovering collections/trends
- Gaining inspiration
- Networks
- Stay current and hear/see what’s going on from other industry professionals. The significance and usefulness of fashion trade shows are sometimes questioned, but they remain one of the most critical touch points in the fashion industry.
- Visibility of the fashion brand and collection. The fair should offer an opportunity to showcase the brand and products. The brands have their entire marketing story: the look book and other things ready before the show.
- Face-to-face meetings with possible and existing customers, partners, media, suppliers, and industry contacts
- At the show, fashion brands show their new collections for the upcoming season using their sample collections. In addition, they often present a selection of their best fashion items, colors, and fabrics on the stand. They also provide pricing information when requested.
How long does a fashion fair last?
Typically, a trade show lasts for limited days. Trade fair participation certainly comes at a price. For example, fashion brands want to rent a booth from the fair trade organizer. Exactly how much this cost is repeatedly not revealed by the establishments. But the investment, sometimes reliant on the stand size, is usually thousands of euros at a reliable fashion trade show.
A fair trade visit is less expensive, costing tens of euros per person. Usually, it is only fashion industry professionals attend these events.
Well-known Fashion Trade Shows
Pure London and Moda trade shows, operated by the Hyve Group, are two of the UK’s most significant fashion and accessories trade shows. Both occur twice yearly: Pure London Moda. Other foremost European trade shows contain
- Who’s Next in France,
- Pitti Uomo in Italy,
- CIFF in Denmark,
- Modefabriek in the Netherlands.
All these fairs focus mainly on women’s and men’s fashion in the medium and medium-high segments.
Some fashion brands, especially the big-name ones with bigger budgets, travel from one fair to another during the fair season. Such a brand like Lois Jeans might be at Modefabriek in Amsterdam and Revolver in Copenhagen.
Pure London is one of the leading fashion trade carnivals in the UK. Exhibitors from 31 countries joined the latest show in July, the first in-person, standalone version since the opening of the epidemic. The fair showcases gatherings months before they are accessible in shop booths.
The February 2023 edition of Pure London presented the new season collections. The FW23 shopping timeframe for vendors to buy these collections mainly happens to start three months of the year, i.e., January, February, and March. After traders place their orders with the fashion brands, the outfits are produced before being carried to retailers between July, August, and September. Finally, sellers will sell these autumn or winter collections to customers until the clearance sales in December and January. On the other hand, the July 2023 edition of Pure London will showcase the new collections. Timing of fashion trade shows
When is the Fashion Trade Show season?
Fashion trade shows begins to boost off the new season. Usually, there are two seasons in the fashion industry: spring or summer and autumn or winter. Hence, fashion trade shows have two editions: summer and winter.
The trade fair season occurs in January or February (winter) and July or August (summer). Afterward, the fairs, the new vending season for style brands, and the new buying season for sellers start.
Conclusion
Fashion trade shows are exceptional events where fashion designers and brand owners showcase their new fashions to potential customers and retailers, and these events take place worldwide. So when you’ve started your clothing line and need to get ready to show it off to the world, you’ll want to join and display it at one or more trade shows to market your brand.
