LONDON — A clutch of British trade shows is spreading its wings and seeking new locations next year, while others are making adjustments and additions to their current spaces.
The Natural History Museum will remain the home of London Fashion Week in February, despite organizers having to turn away accessories exhibits because of space constraints.
“We’re certainly there for February,” said Hilary Riva, chief executive of the British Fashion Council. “We’re committed to that and I think going forward we’d like to keep some, if not all, of fashion week there.”
For the September show, the exhibition space was increased to 21,528 square feet from 18,299 square feet, but the space has reached its limit, Riva said. Thus, the same number of exhibitors, 211, are expected at the Feb. 12 to 16 show.
“At some point we will probably have to move elsewhere,” Riva said, noting that no single space is large enough to host London Fashion Week, so multiple venues may be necessary.
Londonedge, which includes the more urban streetwear of Londoncentral, is expecting the same number of exhibitors, about 180, in 21,000 square feet of space at its show Feb. 4 to 6.
Although Londonedge has not outgrown its venue at Olympia 2 yet, organizers are taking the show’s alternative and club fashions across the pond to New York’s Show Piers for the first time July 18 to 20.
“Whilst we do get some American buyers and some Canadian buyers, we’re never really going to get huge numbers of Americans over here because of the distance,” organizer Carole Hunter said. “It’s just kind of there waiting to be done.”
About 70 percent of the floor space at Londonedge New York is expected to go to American exhibitors. “Gradually I would expect that to build and grow so that European exhibitors put themselves in front of the American buyers,” Hunter said.
Off-Price will stick with Olympia for its March 18 to 19 show, as well, and also is making plans to move outside the U.K.
“Despite the fact that we’re developing a European show here in London, we’re getting evidence that the buying market in Eastern Europe is growing
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tremendously, so I think there’s room for another show,” said event director Buzz Carter. “It’s exports that people want. That’s where they see there’s real growth to be had.” Carter would not provide many details, only saying that they are looking at a “northern European city.”
TBC, which showcases denim and streetwear collections, is making a move of its own, back to its original venue at The Old Truman Brewery on Brick Lane. “We’re going home, in essence,” TBC partner Mark McCann said about the Feb. 11 to 12 show.
The show moved to Tobacco Docks, where the July event was held, because the site on Brick Lane wasn’t up to standards. But improvements have been made, McCann said, and now there’s “more of a buzz in the area in Brick Lane.” The return to The Old Truman Brewery should provide about 20 percent more space, or 150,000 square feet total. This will give TBC room to hype accessories, an area where McCann said they’re looking to expand. “We never really promoted it,” he said. “But this season we’re looking to push it heavily.”
Contemporary streetwear show The Park will
occupy a space with TBC at the Old Truman Brewery, but The Park’s show will run one day longer, from Feb. 11 to 13. The Park will have double the amount of floor space than at its former venue at Foubert’s Place in Soho, with a total of 6,350 square feet. “The whole purpose of bringing the shows together is to make it a lot simpler for buyers and press,” said McCann.
Simon Holmes, organizer of The Park, agreed. “It’s a nightmare for buyers to run around London to make it to both shows.”
Intimate Body and Beach will push its new accessories area as well. The July 29 to 31 event will be held in its launch spot at National Hall in Olympia, rather than at Earls Court as it was this summer. The total floor space will be about 21,528 square feet.
“When people go into a retail establishment now, they’re looking for more than a swimsuit or lingerie,” said Robert Thomas, managing director for Oyster Fashion Events. “There’s growth in [the accessories market] so we’re hopefully doing the right thing.”
A strategically placed accessories area worked out well for Moda in August, event director Nick Cooke said. Moda placed its footwear section in between the men’s wear and women’s wear areas and will continue this at the Feb. 18 to 20 show at NEC Birmingham.
“It worked particularly well for men’s wear, actually,” Cooke said. “Accessories does seem to be booming because, I think, in a fairly difficult retail climate, accessories seem to be saving the day.”
Most organizers agreed the retail climate over the past 18 months has been shaky, explaining the stagnant numbers at some recent shows. But confidence that the market is on the upswing and that show participation will increase was also evident. “I think all trade shows this year obviously haven’t had their best year,” said Carter of Off-Price. “Trade shows have not been delivering the excitement, just reflecting the market, [and have] been kind of flat. But I think next year will be very different.”
In an effort to help retailers with their businesses, Carter said Off-Price is planning to introduce new seminars in March. “We’re going to really shake those up,” he said. “A lot of retailers are desperate [to know] how to get more customers, how to do better business and how to market themselves.”
Cooke also has heard from retailers that practical seminars at Moda, such as presentations on buying strategies, would be beneficial. “Retailers don’t really have time to spend out of their shops, so when they do come to our show, they want to get as much as they can out of it,” he said.
Harrogate Lingerie and Swimwear will offer a seminar on the Saturday before its Feb. 25 to 27 show at Harrogate International Centre. The seminar will be aimed at people setting up a new retail business or in the early stages of owning a shop and will help them avoid common pitfalls, said exhibition director Janie Fox.
The Harrogate show is always larger in February compared with its August event, Fox said, with buyers gearing up for the following Christmas and Valentine’s Day. Hoping to attract a more “highbrow audience,” Harrogate saw a lot of success with its new catwalk show in August and will bring it back for the Feb. 25 to 27 show at Harrogate International Centre.
“I don’t think it’s doom and gloom,” Fox said about the retail outlook. “I just think it’s a tough marketplace because, like with everything, there’s just more and more choice. The people who will survive into the future are the people who buy cleverly.”
Representatives from both Pure and Premier Kids were positive about their trade shows for the upcoming season. Pure’s floor space increased to a total of 113,021 square feet at the August show, and marketing manager Athena Louca said she is expecting another increase in its accessories section, which will take up an entire floor at Olympia Feb. 11 to 13. The number of visitors at Premier Kids increased by 6 percent at the July show, event manager Olga Carola-Downing said. She expects more than 400 brands at the Jan. 28 to 30 show at NEC Birmingham.
A recent addition to British trade shows has been the inclusion of works by ethical fashion designers. Londonedge’s Hunter said she received positive feedback after launching Bass Couture, an exhibit of organic and fair trade merchandise in September, and will bring it back in February.
“I think they need somewhere that isn’t quite as formal as other exhibitions are, maybe a little bit off the wall, a little bit off of center,” Hunter said about the Bass Couture exhibitors.
London Fashion Week also found success with a similar venture called Estethica. The showcase for ethical designers was very well received, said Riva of the BFC. She is in discussions to bring Estethica back in February. “This is about aesthetic and about building ethics into the aesthetic,” Riva said of Estethica. “They’re not there just because they’re green. They’re there because of the things they’ve incorporated into the design, and the design is strong.”
Riva said that, while everyone in the industry is cautious about the retail market, there does seem to be strength at “the upper end.” She said tourism in London has been very good for luxury designers.
“It’s not a market for the fainthearted,” Riva said. “But as always, it’s probably when you get the best sense of it. You get winners and losers in a market like this.”