London trade shows keep on growing

In the runner up to London Fashion Week, several trade shows opened their doors to welcome exhibitors, buyers, stylists and press. Trade fair Margin is defending its name as the longest-running and only independent trade exhibition,

European fashion fair Pure London keeps expanding, and Stitch is the one-stop-show when it comes down to menswear.

In its 20th edition this year, Margin featured a selection of streetwear labels and accessories for both men and women, including emerging and established labels such as Silas, Obey, C1RCA Select, Fourstar, Vestal amongst others. The boutique fair took place at the Music Rooms on South Molton Lane, and over the last eight years it proved to be a successful hunting ground for key buyers and press for new design talent.

Mark Bage at York retail Sarah Coggles said: "I love the independence of it, I think Margin's one of the best shows, we never skip it. Because the designers are so young and so fresh, with that naivety comes creativity. Margin's so important at bringing them all together under one roof with the same aesthetic, I think it's one of the most important shows."

For those who are after more menswear, there is Stitch spread over three days, and co-located with Pure Spirit at its new home London Earls Court. For the first time Stitch joined forces with Pure London’s section Pure Spirit. Together with Pure Spirit they offer over 300 brands, and besides the showcases, the event organizes shows, trend presentations, business seminars and events.

Stitch launched with a party hosted at The Den & Centro in association with laddish label Luke and dance brand Destruction Records. The menswear fair showcases budding brands and established companies such as Le Coq Sportif, Lambreatta, One True Saxon, Ellesse, Blue Collar Worker to name but a few. Business platform Vision is the emerging menswear area with designers such as Caroly Massey, David David, Louise Dalton and Forgotten Future.

Managing Directory and founder of Stitch Brian Duffy commented: “Brand wise we have exceeded our expectation. I am looking forward to what will be a successful show for all involved and put the UK firmly back on the international trade show calendar. Along with our co-location with Pure Spirit I am confident we are building the biggest and best UK trade event there has been in many years.”

So far so good, as with 4,000 visitors Stitch reaches a record number of attendees in the first two out of three days. The positive vibe was probably in the air, as only a month ago the following brands signed to Stitch as well; Duck & Cover, Palladium, Fruit of the Loom, Trikki Clothing, Le Coq Sportif, Boxfresh, One True Saxon, Johnny Love, Original Penguin, Ferguson, Amongst Friends, Parabellum, Ami James, Scarlet Rogue, Dickies, Windswep.

Pure Spirit is one of the dedicated areas of Pure London focussing on contemporary and progressive women’s fashion. Several new brands debuted at Pure Spirit, such as Katie Prices’ label Day 22, French womenswear brand Molly Bracken, and Pilar Vidal launched in the UK. Custo Barcelona also made its way to Pure Spirit for the first time, and showed their trademark printed pieces and new diffusion brand Custoline. Further more, we saw denim brands such as Monkee Genes, Kuichi, and Pepe Jeans.

During new initiative Next Generation a selection of eleven winning designers showed their collections at Pure Spirit. Nurturing new talent, the platform celebrates designers in the making chosen by fashion industry experts and editors.

Samantha Bleasby, Event Manger of Pure Spirit said: “With the launch of Pure Spirit in Earls Court we plan to grow this visitor base of Pure, plus welcome a raft of new retailers. Pure Spirit is going from strength to strength. International brands that have never shown in the UK before have recognised that Pure Spirit is the platform for them to gain orders from independents and department stores both from the UK and overseas.”

Started as a national tradeshow in 1997, today Pure London is one of the leading events on the European fashion calendar. Following its success, the fair added several sections to its formula including Pure Accessories, Pure Footwear, Pure Premium, and of course Pure Spirit and Stitch. Like the other fairs, Pure London takes place twice a year and attracts industry insiders with its wide range of exhibitors and trade led initiatives.

Last season the exhibition received 12,500 visitors, and now Pure London is expected to exceed this number with 16,000. The fair wants to keep on moving forward by further developing the experience of attendees with for example eight different catwalk shows, trend seminars, and business interviews. And of course the collaboration with Stitch to enhance its portfolio.

Despite these large events the UK trade season hasn't finished as yet. The Exhibition which coincides with London Fashion Week, sustainable trade fair Esthetica, and all round exhibition Moda at NEC Birmingham are coming up this weekend.

Image: Pure Spirit canvas bags by Andrew Joyce