British brands head to Hong Kong’s The Hub show

British fashion brands including Barbour, John Smedley, Henri Lloyd and Three Floor, are among the shortlisted names invited to attend the inaugural three-day fashion trade show The Hub in Hong Kong, which aims at connecting international

brands with Asian retailers.

The invite-only show, which opens on August 28 at the Asiaworld Expo, will host more than 100 “respected international brands” that have been “carefully vetted”, and a third of the selected companies will be from the UK.

Split into four categories heritage brands such as Barbour and Realm & Empire will sit alongside US streetwear brands including Married to the Mob and Ezekiel, while Contemporary British brands PPQ and young fashion label Forever Unique will rub shoulders with denim brands including Yamane, Take Five and Skull Jeans.

Commenting on Barbour’s invitation, Simon Harris, head of international sales, Asia, said: "The Hub offers an ideal platform for us to explore expansion opportunities in Asia. There is no other exhibition that offers the same assurance of an invitation only guest list as The Hub and no other city that offers a reach across Asia like Hong Kong."

British brands including Barbour to showcase at invite-only The Hub

Other British names attending the tradeshow include luxury swimwear brand Orlebar Brown, womenswear label Madeleine Thompson, Aq/Aq, which has been rebranded from Aqua, knitwear brand Alan Paine, handbag and accessories label Bracher Emden, men’s accessories brand Penrose, contemporary label Belle Sauvage, and jewellery designer Louisa Richwhite will debut her line Violet Darkling.

Around 42 percent of exhibiting brands originate from Europe including a number of well known names such as Spanish label Desigual, Swedish accessories label Sandqvist and watch brand Daniel Wellington, as well as Dutch denim brand Blue Blood.

The show, which will be biannual, is expecting to receive up to 1,000 buyers from all major markets including Lane Crawford, Harvey Nichols, Club 21, ImagineX, Bluebell, YGM, Metersbonwe and 10 Corso Como.

Additionally, the tradeshow has also invited over 15,000 business operators from throughout the region that are involved in retail and distribution and are looking to partner with international brands to develop their business in Asia.

The Hub will take place at Asia World Expo in Hong Kong from August 28-30.

Image: Barbour AW13