Parisian shows Who’s Next and SIL enjoy buoyant sessions despite complex business environment

Never say never. Despite the fact that the business climate is challenging, in France as in most European markets, the feedback from the recent Parisian trade shows sessions has mostly been positive.

“At times like these, retailers are looking for solutions, and are keen to stay in touch with the market. Our role to offer them alternatives,” said Frédéric Maus, president of WSN Développement, which organised the Who’s Next, Impact, Neonyt Paris, Bijorhca, Salon International de la Lingerie (SIL) and Interfilière Paris shows, held on January 20-22 at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in the French capital.

Of course, “[the show] isn’t on par with the levels reached by Who’s Next 15 years ago. But business is quite buoyant,” agreed several experienced executives, speaking to FashionNetwork.com in the event’s relatively busy aisles. Among the positives, the fact that “it was a very satisfactory session for accessories,” according to Maus. “And there was good interchange between SIL and the other shows. When we took over the event in 2022, we were aiming for exactly this kind of reciprocal dynamic,” he added.

WSN said the shows welcomed more than 40,000 visitors, of which just over half came from outside France. Also, WSN’s figures indicated that one in five visitors to the fashion and jewellery shows also visited SIL and Interfilière, while more than a third of SIL visitors also went to Who’s Next and Bijorhca.

SIL attracts international buyers

Lingerie show SIL was extremely busy on Saturday morning, despite the temperature being quite chilly at some stands. And in the afternoon, the queue to enter the runway show space seemed endless. SIL staged a successful session, with its well-appointed stands and lavish setting, celebrating its 60th anniversary. Once again, it proved to have global appeal, as more than two thirds of visitors came from outside France to browse among the 250 exhibitors. “We made many appointments before the show, for example with our most distant clients, those from the Middle East especially,” said Cecilia Esteves, marketing coordinator at Wacoal. On Saturday morning, all the tables at Wacoal’s 300-square-metre stand were busy. 

“On Saturday, we usually receive visitors from foreign markets, while Sunday and Monday are more for our French clients,” said an executive at Lise Charmel. At Aubade, head of brand and sourcing Samar Vignals could hardly move inside a stand full to bursting, with models exhibiting the brand’s lingerie: “it’s a time for talking with our commercial partners, rather than for receiving orders,” she said. At Chantelle, the opinion was that “Saturday was very positive,” while Monday is traditionally a slightly quieter day.

Exhibitors at the Interfilière show said that the first day was quite busy, although less than expected, while more business was done on Sunday and Monday. “The mood was upbeat, despite the fact that the economic situation is extremely complex,” said Emmanuelle Bonnetin, CEO of Rocle. “And we made contact with buyers from France as well as northern and eastern Europe,” she added.

The majority of exhibitors appreciated this edition’s layout, characterised by a central aisle leading to the runway show space, and a second one home to the trend forums, a successful way to channel visitor traffic.

Exhibitors at Who’s Next, the majority of them hailing from France, noted strong interest from overseas visitors. According to figures supplied by the organisers, a quarter of visitors came to Who’s Next for the first time, with a marked rise in the number of visitors from Canada, China, South Korea, Hong Kong and Australia, proof of Paris’s appeal.

Too many halls

The 1,800 exhibitors at this January’s session were spread across four halls, something that was regarded as a complication by many exhibitors. The layout caused discontinuity in the settings (despite some well-realised sections, like the presentation space at Impact-Neonyt), but above all it interfered with visitor circulation.  

Despite this issue, which meant there were peaks and troughs in activity within the halls, the results were generally satisfactory for apparel specialists. However, it was quite a challenge for an event which many long-established women’s ready-to-wear brands opted not to attend. There was instead a rise in the number of denim exhibitors, which have been rare in the last six years or so.

“We’re making a come-back, we hadn’t exhibited for at least seven years,” an executive from Salsa Jeans told FashionNetwork.com, at the brand’s stand in hall 5. “We’ve been able to present our new visual identity, feature a workshop area to showcase our jeans expertise, and bring the sales team together. Our six agents have all made contact with new potential clients, it was a good session for us,” he added.

The mood was equally positive at Italian brand Siawear, a rookie exhibitor showcasing its athleisure range, and at Dutch brand Mud Jeans, which made useful contacts and received several orders during the event.

There was much enthusiasm at French sneakers brand N’Go Shoes, which recently carried out a funding round and was looking for new clients as well as agents. N’Go Shoes is distributed via 50 retailers in France and around 30 abroad, and is currently undergoing a reorganisation. “It’s a good start to the show, we have just exhibited at Seek in Berlin, and for Who’s Next we decided to remain in the Impact section, because the positioning and brand environment suit us,” said a representative of the brand on Monday.

Toobrands, the subsidiary of footwear retailer Spartoo which operates among others children’s brands Easy-Peasy and Little Mary, exhibited at the show with footwear brands JB Martin and Christian Pellet, in a stand located opposite the entrance to hall 4, home to the accessories section. Joseph Farhat, who heads Toobrands, said that “we were used to regional events, it took some time for us to decide to show again in Paris. It’s special, it feels like we’re playing at home. We greatly enjoyed the show. Many [visitors] were delighted, surprised, and enchanted to see us again.”

Smaller companies, and those positioned in less commercially thriving market segments, were instead less upbeat, having experienced difficulties in attracting visitors. As for emerging designer brands, most of those that exhibited were invited to the event, and regarded it chiefly as a showcase. Their collections were in general at odds with the show’s buyer profile.

As well as useful for establishing commercial relationships, the event was a chance to foster informal collaborations. Unie&Co., a brand of upcycled denim for women and children, began talks with Lee Cooper to salvage their used jeans. Green Lion, a Moroccan brand mostly active in the denim segment, featured sneakers by Zeta, another exhibitor, in its runway show.

The next session of Who’s Next is scheduled on September 10-12, a week later than usual because of the Paralympic Games in Paris. Most exhibitors will be happy to know that the event, celebrating its 30th anniversary, will be based in one hall only, hall 7.

The editorial team