January 2023 has been a vibrant month for fashion in Paris. Men’s and women’s pre-collections, as well as commercial and lingerie collections were exhibited in various venues throughout the French Capital. Many UK exhibitors attended these events alongside global buyers and brands. As part of its Global Brands campaign, UKFT coordinated and promoted UK businesses at these shows with the support of the Department for International Trade (DIT). 

Paul Alger MBE, Director of international business at UKFT said:

“It is great to be back in Paris this season with such a diverse group, from heritage and designer menswear and pre-collections to mainstream collections and to see the positive discussions being had by many UK brands with key international buyers. I was especially pleased to see such a strong UK group at the Salon International de la Lingerie and the growth of Welcome Edition and the launch of Rainbowwave’s new interior design group”.

From Paris Fashion Week. January 2023.

Major Show Alignments 

For the first time since COVID, Who’s Next and Salon International de la Lingerie aligned with the other Paris Men’s and Pre-collections shows and showrooms. TRANOI HOMME, MAN, SALON INTERNATIONAL DE LA LINGERIE and WHO’S NEXT started towards the beginning of the “week”, while many of the multi-brand showrooms opened at the same time or slightly overlapped.

As in June, the UK-organised show WELCOME EDITION SHOWROOM in the Marais has continued to grow and now features over 100 brands. 

Kestin Hare at Paris Fashion Week (January 2023)

The return of regular showrooms and buyers

Almost all the regular showrooms are now back in Paris and brands reported an increased presence of Japanese, US and Korean buyers. Chinese buyers were still largely absent.

However, the main UK and international showrooms were all back: 12:24, Awaykin, Emma Jones Consultancy Showroom, LONDONshowROOMS (at Tranoi), Other/ Wise Showroom, Paper Mache Tiger, Polly King and Co, Rainbowwave, Six London, The Alphabet, Tora Tora and Vald. Also in Paris were a number of independent designers taking meetings on a strictly by appointment basis only. These included Marques|Almeida and Edeline Lee. 

Raeburn at Paris Fashion Week (January 2023)

A useful map to find UK brands exhibiting in Paris

As the shows and showrooms are scattered throughout Paris and held on different days, UKFT produced an online map to help buyers and the press to easily find the locations of UK companies in Paris. The creation of the map was was supported by the Department for International Trade and promoted via an advert in Modem Magazine, who acted as UKFT’s media partner for the week.

UKFT produces a map every season for Paris Fashion Week. Follow our Global Brand campaign to be the first to know about the next Brits in Paris Map.

Over 100 companies exhibited at various shows and showrooms in Paris. The largest concentrations of British brands were at LONDONshowROOMS at Tranoi,  Salon International de La Lingerie, Who’s Next and Welcome Edition Showroom.  

Salon International de la Lingerie (January 2023)

An increase in international visitors

Whilst the Paris shows and showrooms do not publish attendance or sales figures, it was clear that international visitor numbers were up compared to the previous year. Asian buyers were especially important to the UK group in most shows and showrooms. US buyers were also very much in evidence. Of the 100 companies showing at Welcome Edition, over half were also planning to show with the same organiser in New York the following week and MAN was doing the same.  

Many of the exhibitors commented positively on the shows and showrooms and some were visibly taken aback at how much more positive retail appears to be in some countries compared with the UK. For many retailers, especially in Asia and the US, there appears to be a rebound in trade. This renewed optimism is leading shows and showrooms to consider and sometimes, actively scout out, new brands for the first time in several years.  

Paris Fashion Week (January 2023)

Dan Connolly, International Business Executive at UKFT said:

“This was my third trip to Paris for UKFT and I can already see that most of the shows and showrooms really understand and appreciate the work UKFT is doing with DIT support to encourage and promote UK brands and showrooms”.  

Paul Alger added:

“There has been a real buzz at some of the shows and showrooms this season. The Japanese seem to be finding their mojo again in anticipation of the return of Chinese consumers to the streets of Tokyo. This is good news for UK brands.”

 

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Salon International de la Lingerie