Pure London to focus on French brands

Womenswear tradeshow Pure London is to play host to more than 35 sought after French brands as the show announces that France is to be the ‘country focus’ at its upcoming autumn 14 edition. The French brands, will span across womenswear,

accessories, footwear and lingerie, and will be housed in the both the newly-formed Agenda section, geared to bring together the best in understated sophistication with fashion-forward hero pieces, as well as throughout other areas of the show.

Brands that will be showcasing their Autumn/Winter 2014 collections includes contemporary womenswear brand IKKS, Paul & Joe will be showcasing its line of bags, while brand Lilith, which combines art and fashion, will also be exhibiting. There are also a number of returning brands including renowned French brand Petit Bateau, who will be marking their sixth consecutive season at Pure London.

Making their Pure London debut this season, contemporary womenswear brand Fuego Paris will be showcasing its range of knitwear and prints, while cotton brand Blanc du Nil will also show at the event with the intention of finding partners in the UK and developing the brand here.

Other French brands include Grace & Mila, a brand inspired by Princess Grace Kelly, accessories brand Nat & Nin, classic womenswear brand Bleu D’Azur, contemporary womenswear brand Eva Tralala, and Parisian designer Léo Guy, known for his feminine suits, evening gowns and knitwear pieces.

Pure London highlighted a number of French brands last season, but this is the first time the show has had a dedicated country focus, a move which show organisers i2i Events hope will help both French brands in achieving export with UK retailers as well as providing British and international buyers with a selection of the best French brands in the market. Going forward, organisers are looking to nominate a different country to focus each season.

Pure London rebranding sections for AW14 show

In addition to the country spotlight, the February 2014 edition will see the tradeshow returning with a “fresh brand vision” following investment from i2i Events. The event will feature five re-edited sections: Aspire, Agenda, Allure, Spirit and Footwear & Accessories at the heart of the show, which will bring together premium brands, emerging designers and trusted sector expertise as the organisers look to create a “focused and inspirational” buying experience.

Commenting on the new look show, Julie Driscoll, portfolio director of fashion and jewellery at Pure London’s parent company, i2i Events Group, said: “The five distinct areas of Pure London have been tailored to meet the needs of buyers ranging from independents through to major multiples and etailers.

“Buyers visiting Pure London will find the show easy to navigate and the collections will be edited in such a way that they can see, at a glance, the over-riding trends in each section.”

An area that has received significant interest is the Spirit section, which is almost full, and will see more than 100 young fashion brands presenting their forward-order AW14 and short-order SS14 collections. This includes New York-based brand DKNY, which will be showcasing its line of contemporary loungewear and nightwear. Other debut brands include fashion brand Kuccia, which is stocked in Topshop, and Russian fashion designer Kira Plastinina, who was dubbed the world’s youngest designer when she showed her first collection back in 2007. Over 9,000 fashion buyers attended Pure London for its August 2013 edition, making it the UK’s largest trade event, and organisers claim that more than 152 million pounds of orders were placed at, or as a result of attending, the event. It is hoped that the refreshed up-coming edition will do even better. Pure London’s autumn 14 edition will take place at London Olympia from February 9 – 11 and will be the tradeshow’s 35th edition.

Image: Petit Bateau SS14