trade shows, showrooms worth visiting between runway shows

Paris is buzzing with the womenswear fashion week once again. Besides the runway show programme, Paris Fashion Week, one of the French capital’s main annual events, features a plethora of trade shows and showrooms, like Tranoï, Première Classe and Sphère, presenting the latest collections by French and international labels to buyers and fashionistas. FashionNetwork.com has drawn up a list of trade shows and showrooms worth visiting between runway shows.

Sphère

The Sphère showroom, operated by the French Fashion and Haute Couture Federation (FHCM), is back at Palais de Tokyo in Paris with a directional selection of labels. 

Sphère is presenting the new women’s ready-to-wear looks for the Fall/Winter 2024-25 by six highly creative labels. Austrian designer Florentina Leitner with her romantic, sustainable collection; French designer Lucille Thièvre, with her frilly lace dresses; Parisian designer Alphonse Maitrepierre, with his poetic yet geeky wardrobe. The other three labels are new entries at Sphère: Didu, the slightly subversive label by Chinese designer Di Du; Charles de Vilmorin, the label by the eponymous young French prodigy, who first featured on the fashion week’s official calendar in 2021; and London label Paolina Russo, part of a collaboration with Copenhagen Fashion Week.

​When: from Wednesday February 28 to Tuesday March 5 2024
Where: Palais de Tokyo, 13 avenue du Président Wilson (Paris, 16th arr.)

Tranoï

Parisian trade show Tranoï is staging a highly international womenswear session, as 92% of its exhibitors hail from outside France. The event is held as usual at the Palais de la Bourse, and is scheduled from February 29 to March 3.

Tranoï is showcasing 180 labels with a genuinely multinational flavour. Peru is one of the countries under the spotlight, with 10 exhibitors like Ana G and Amarena (the latter with its handbags woven from toquilla straw) celebrating their country’s craftsmanship heritage. Africa is also represented, with names like renowned South African designer Rich Mnisi and the Ivory Coast’s Lafalaise Dion. Among other exhibitors, the label by British artist Simeon Farrar, specialised in cutting-edge printing techniques; Spanish label Mimii with its oversize accessories; and 15 labels from France, including Possery – the sister label to ​Giorgio & Mario – with an all-leather, highly colourful wardrobe entirely produced in Paris, and designer Armine Ohanyan with her techno-couture looks.

​When: from Thursday February 29 to Sunday March 3 2024
Where: ​Palais Brongniart, 16 Place de la Bourse (Paris, 2nd arr.)

Saudi 100 Brands

Emerging Saudi Arabian designers are present in Paris during the womenswear week at the Saudi 100 Brands showroom.

As it did last summer, this collaborative initiative is promoting new Arabian fashion talent, and was first organised in 2021 by the Saudi Arabia Fashion Commission. Among the 15 labels featured at the showroom: Ashwaq Almarshad with its airy, romantic dresses; ethical label Abadia, which works with local women artisans; The Dropped Collection; and Charmaleena with its sophisticated jewellery.

When: from Thursday February 29 to Saturday March 2 2024
Where: Les Cordeliers, 15 rue de l’Ecole de Médecine (Paris, 6th arr.)

Première Classe

The Première Classe trade show, a must-see event dedicated to fashion accessories, will host 350 exhibitors at the Jardin des Tuileries on March 1-3.

Among the French and overseas exhibitors presenting their new accessories for the Fall/Winter 2024-25: British milliner Stephen Jones with its bold, dandyish hats; Domestique, a brand of fine functional handbags and leather goods, entirely made in Paris; and a selection of ready-to-wear labels like Clara Daguin with its techno-inspired looks, and menswear labels Igor Dieryck from Belgium, and Pierre-François Valette from France. In an extremely festive winter session, Première Classe will celebrate its 35th anniversary at Maxim’s restaurant, and will hold in parallel the first edition of object design show Matter and Shape, featuring among others grunge-inspired furniture by Rick Owens and jewellery creations by French designer Charlotte Chesnais.

When: from Friday March 1 to Monday March 4 2024
Where: Jardin des Tuileries, ​place de la Concorde (Paris, 1st arr.)

Woman 

The Woman trade show (the womenswear counterpart to menswear event Man) will start on March 1 at its habitual venue in rue de Lancry in Paris.

Woman will feature some 20 womenswear and accessories labels presenting their collections for the Fall/Winter 2024-25. Among the exhibitors: New York brand Bags In Progress with its silver lamé micro totes; the contemporary wardrobe of Thessaloniki-based Greek label Esthé, with its sheer organza tops and jackets; family brand Håndværk, launched 11 years ago in the USA, with its enveloping knitwear; and Japanese label Toujours, with its jackets and tops inspired by traditional kimonos made in Japan.

When: from Friday March 1 to Sunday March 3 2024
Where: 14 rue de Lancry (Paris, 10th arr.)

Tomorrow

The Tomorrow showroom is back in Paris during the womenswear fashion week, and will be held on March 3-11. 

Tomorrow will host an edgy, contemporary selection of womenswear labels in two venues, at 5 rue de la Boétie and at 21 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Among the labels: Ester Manas, led by designer duo Balthazar Delepierre and Ester Manas, which showed on February 27 its creative, poetic and inclusive collection; Berlin label Ottolinger, with its streamlined, radical looks; and Parisian label Coperni, celebrating its 11th anniversary this year, which will stage one of its spectacular shows on March 4 in the French capital. 

When: from Sunday March 3 to Monday March 11 2024
Where: 5 rue de la Boétie (Paris, 8th arr.) and 21 rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine (11th arr.)