Pret à Porter Paris focuses on international growth

What is the next logical step for a fashion trade fair that covers 60.000 square meters and counts 1500 participating brands per season? The Pret à Porter Paris, which concluded its 101st edition this Sunday, does not aim to become any bigger, only better and more international in character. The fair's organisation is working hard on its international growth. The percentage of non-French participants has risen from 44 percent to 60 percent in the past five years. Momentarily, the majority of foreign participants come from Italy, Spain, Germany, the UK, Belgium, Denmark, North Korea and the Netherlands. With 44 percent of visitors currently from outside France, the PAPP aims to raise this number to 60 percent within the next three years.

Since two years, organisers of the PAPP have also been organising a smaller, upmarket trade fair in New York called 'The Train'. "It is geared towards the niche market and consists of upmarket brands," says director Hervé Huchet. "A select number of PAPP participants also participate in the New York fair. Reactions have been very positive. It is an ideal way for European brands to gain exposure in the US market. A direct result of this initiative has also been that more US buyers are attending the PAPP, so this has proven to be an effective marketing tool. The same goes for our trade fair in Tokyo; since then more Japanese buyers have been visiting the PAPP."

The success of the 'The Train' has also led to the plans for a second, more commercial trade fair in New York.

The main goal of the fair is to inform buyers about trends and developments in ladies' fashion. "Our mission is to be more reactive and to educate buyers," says Huchet. "We have therefore dedicated a section of the fair to ethical fashion. We found that buyers know very little about this subject and therefore felt compelled to educate them."

In order to strengthen the educative character of the fair, the Boutique Performante was moved to a more prominent location closer to the entrance. Here, the visitor could be informed on purchasing and store management techniques, sales and promotion activities. It proved to be a successful formula, with the workshops achieving full attendance.

Pre-registration for the PAPP rose 16 percent. Huchet warned that this had little to do with the actual number of visitors, which is yet to be revealed, but did signal another successful edition.