Pure London lead up

Pure London, the bi-annual leading UK trade event, founded in 1997, and a must on any fashion types calendar, kicks off this Sunday (13th) until Tuesday (15th). It sees over a thousand British and International fashion brands across mid to

high-end womenswear, menswear, footwear and accessories exhibit their collections to the eagle eyes of industry insiders; buyers from independent, department, multiple stores and online outlets, and agents, distributors and suppliers. There are also daily catwalk shows, presentations, seminars and trend reports held by field experts. This year, Pure Spirit, an initiative aimed at younger design talent and retailers alike, and Stitch, menswear, will run alongside Pure London at a separate Earls Court venue to accommodate space for more designers.

FashionUnited caught a few moments with communications director, Kate Stafford, to find out what to expect from this Spring’s event, how the philosophy behind Pure keeps developing, and what she’s most looking forward to over these few days.

FashionUnited: What differences can we expect from Pure 2011? How has it changed since the beginnings?
Kate Stafford: Pure London has grown from a small national show to be one of the key events on the European fashion calendar. The show has doubled in size in the past 5 years to 14.500 sqm today. Over the years the following sections have been launched, which have added to the success of the show; Pure Accessories, Pure Footwear, Pure Spirit (Young Fashion), Pure Premium (higher end) and Stitch (menswear). The exciting growth of the Pure brand will benefit the current visitor base, whilst creating an even stronger identity with young fashion retailers.

FU: How you aim to keep moving the event forward now it has a place on the international fashion radar?
KS: For August and beyond we will continue to give focus to a better experience for brands and buyers. Continue to increase the offering to premium retailers as well as the directional offering for Pure Spirit and young fashion retailers.

FU: Why do you think it still is essential to local retailers who are essentially competing against big names?
KS: It brings to them the most established, newest and most exciting brands in the marketplace with eight catwalk shows a day. In addition, Pure London offers a comprehensive range of free trend led seminars and interviews on how retailers can keep their business running smoothly and successfully given by selected guest speakers.

FU: How did the idea for new menswear section, Stitch, come about?
KS: Stitch further strengthens this offer for buyers who will now have over 1200 brands to source from. Bringing Stitch to Earls Court and co-locating with Pure Spirit will further enhance London’s reputation as a key influencer within menswear and womenswear.

FU: What are you most looking forward to about the upcoming February 2011 event?

KS: Pure Spirit will certainly offer something new to the fashion calendar. In August 2010 Pure London welcomed over 12,500 visitors. We plan to build on this existing visitor base, plus welcome a raft of new retailers, to see visitor numbers to both events exceed 16,000. Top international and UK brands showcasing, include Custo Barcelona, Molly Bracken, Firetrap, Pepe Jeans, Numph, Vacant, Desigual alongside a new initiative ‘Next Generation,’ celebrating the most talented designers of the future. A range of branded catwalks, which can been seen three times a day and a jam packed timetable of seminars with key industry figures will keep me on the run!