ITE portfolio director on what to expect from July’s edition of Pure

London trade show Pure will be returning to the UK capital from July 21-23, bringing together more than 700 brands showcasing the latest fashion trends.

This edition will be putting a special focus on ethical fashion through its Pure Conscious section, as well as brands targeted towards Gen Z consumers. Earlier this week, ITE Group, the parent company of Pure, Moda, Scoop and Jacket required, announced that fashion designer, social entrepreneur and TV commentator Patrick Grant, and global head of couture at Vivienne Westwood, Brigitte Stepputtis, will be keynote speakers at Pure’s upcoming edition.

FashionUnited spoke with ITE Group’s new portfolio director Martin Arnold about his new role, and what we can expect from this July’s edition of Pure.

How are you finding your new role as portfolio director at ITE Group?

I’m enjoying it. I feel like I’ve got a distinct advantage in that I’ve come from within the fashion industry and I’ve been going to these shows for a number of years so I know what they do and what they offer. I genuinely feel very privileged to now be leading them. They’re really important events in the calendar and so I feel a real responsibility on myself that they stay that way and that I keep them relevant and exciting.

Is it hard to weigh up the needs of all the shows [Pure London, Scoop, Jacket Required, Moda]?

Well Pure is the biggest so that one takes the most focus and the most amount of my time. It’s also one that’s continually evolving and improving every season. Fashion obviously moves quickly, so we really want to make sure that we’re absolutely at the vanguard of that. We’re doing that by creating new sectors and continually introducing new content that educates and inspires the industry. For example, we had Katherine Hamnett as one of our speakers in February - a legendary fashion designer and a massive sustainability pioneer. Those sorts of names really pull people in and give them something more than what they might get at a standard trade fair.

What type of new and exciting content can we expect to see at this July’s Pure London?

We have some new big names lined up for this summer edition, which is great. We also identified a huge opportunity and potential for growth in women’s streetwear, so we’ll be launching a women’s Streetwear area within the Gen Z young fashion section which will feature brands including Minga London, Bench, Cipo & Baxx and Ragged Priest.

What about Pure Origin and Conscious, what can we expect to see there?

Our sourcing and manufacturing section Pure Origin will feature loads of new designers and manufacturers. That area is really picking up pace, which is really exciting. Our sustainable and ethical section Pure Conscious will be a lot bigger, too; it will be taking up more floor space and feature more brands. We’ll also be continuing our partnership with the UN and their Conscious Fashion Campaign. In partnership with them we launched our Power of One campaign. That's continuing into this season we will be putting a lot of focus around it.

What types of trends do you think we might see for the upcoming Pure London July show?

We collaborated again with leading colour authority Pantone Color Institute to reveal that the overarching theme that’s driving the SS20 colour forecast is ‘The Sea.’ So that will be reflected in many of the main colours in brands’ collections. You can also expect resortwear to be a big thing this summer and we have some exciting new and returning designers from Egypt, Dubai, Greece, Morocco and France to keep an eye on.

Do you plan on growing the Menswear section of Pure?

The menswear market is booming right now - it's actually probably a little bit more robust than womenswear at the moment so it’s definitely a focus. We also have menswear tradeshow Jacket Required which serves a certain element of the menswear market but Pure Men definitely has its unique look and feel.

Have you seen the effects of Brexit on the trade shows or the fashion industry as a whole?

Brexit is like a fog hanging over everybody. It comes up a lot but in all honesty you just have to get on with it because nobody really knows what’s going to happen. The one thing that we all know is that London and the UK is one of the most important fashion markets in the world so if people aren't doing business here then they’re missing out on a huge part of the market.

Photo courtesy of ITE Group