The UK presence was particularly strong this season, with the UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) promoting more than 140 British brands exhibiting across Paris from 26 June to 2 July. Through its Discover British Brands initiative and map, supported by the Department for Business and Trade, UKFT was able to provide an essential navigation tool for buyers, editors and agents, highlighting British exhibitors across trade fairs, showrooms and independent locations.
British brands demonstrated strength across luxury menswear, contemporary fashion, accessories, footwear, swimwear and lifestyle categories, with representation spanning established designer businesses, directional casualwear, emerging labels and commercially focused brands.
Market context
The June Paris market has evolved into far more than a traditional men's fashion week. While the official runway calendar remains an important showcase for creativemenswear direction, the commercial activity increasingly centres on an ecosystem of men’s and women’s multi-brand showrooms, trade fairs and private appointments operating alongside the Fédération de la Haute Couture et de la Mode schedule.
Only two UK designers showed on the runway this season: Susan Fang and Tiho Kostadinov; as designers increasingly look to trade shows and sales showrooms to deliverthe business orders they need rather than relying on catwalk shows. The continued migration of global fashion wholesale activity to Paris from most cities, with the notable and more niche exception of Milan, has reinforced the city's role as the primary international marketplace for British fashion businesses.
The role of UKFT’s Discover British Brands map and promotion
UKFT's Discover British Brands map and its supporting promotion have become an increasingly valuable industry resource, enabling visitors to navigate the wide geographical spread of British exhibitors throughout Paris. This approach allows British companies to choose the best event and format for their budget and business, using advice and connections from UKFT where required. Companies choose where and in what format to show, knowing that UKFT will promote them and their locations – wherever and whenever they show.
The initiative also reinforces the UK’s broader export promotion by improving the visibility of British design and encouraging buyers to discover brands beyond the best-known luxury names. The maps are promoted to buyers at the key shows and venues in Paris via the Modem physical and online map, as well as on social media.
Key showrooms and trade platforms for UK brands
As in previous seasons, the UK group was spread across a number of multi-brand shows and showrooms, each with its own market segment, style and pricepoints. Whilstsome of the tradeshows and many of the showrooms are British owned and/or run, some are Italian. Most of the showrooms are organised by UK and Italian operators and exist only during the fashion week itself. They work with brands usually on an exclusive basis, curating their brand offer to their core buyers and handling the international sales function, although some will consider space rental, along similar lines to the tradefairs.
The following are some of the key clusters and newcomers but a full list is available on the Discover British Brands map.
Welcome Edition
Welcome Edition is one of the city's leading premium contemporary casualwear shows and the largest and most significant UK-run event during men’s fashion week. Its carefully curated mix of UK and global fashion and lifestyle brands attracts buyers looking for elevated contemporary collections, providing an important commercial platform for British labels positioned between designer luxury and premium wholesale. The show is run for the exhibitors on a broadly cooperative model with the UK and international exhibitors working together to promote the show.
This season, the show relocated to a central location on rue de Richelieu, which was well received by buyers, press and exhibitors. Unfortunately, on the third and fourth days of the show, a local power outage occurred due to the exceptional heatwave which hit Paris and the rest of France.
Welcome Edition was not the only event this season to experience power outages during Fashion Week as many businesses and homes were without power as a result ofthe extraordinary heat, but this led to challenges with lighting and air-conditioning. UKFT has offered to help the organisers to communicate with the authorities on this if needed.
MAN/WOMAN
Starting a day after Welcome Edition, MAN/WOMAN remains a strong destination for contemporary menswear, premium casualwear and lifestyle brands on Paris’s prestigious Place Vendôme. This season the corresponding WOMAN show also took place nearby with women’s pre-collections.
Its emphasis on product, merchandising and commercial storytelling continues to makeMAN/WOMAN attractive for premium British heritage and casual brands whose strengths lie in craftsmanship and elevated market positioning.
The show attracts a balanced mix of international department stores, independent retailers and digital platforms, making it one of the most commercially significant elevated events during Paris men’s and pre- market week.
Splash!Paris
Splash is a very successful UK owned and run swim and resortwear show which has dominated the European market in Paris for some years. It continues to attract global buyers seeking contemporary women’s swim, resort and cruise brands across apparel, accessories and lifestyle. The show returns to Paris during the women’s main fashion week in October.
Its accessible format and boutique styling supports established businesses and newer labels entering international wholesale, providing British exhibitors with exposure to buyers from Europe, North America and Asia.
Claire Spencer-Churchill of Splash said: “Splash Paris delivered another record-breaking season, welcoming our highest-ever visitor numbers to a completely sold-out show, with brands reporting strong business and an exceptional calibre of buyers. While the retail landscape remains challenging, the mood throughout the show was one of resilience, optimism, and a clear commitment from buyers to championing independent brands. That confidence and support are exactly what our industry needs, and we leave Paris incredibly positive about the season and looking forward to the S/S edition in October.”
LondonShowRooms
London Show Rooms, organised by the British Fashion Council, remains an important niche platform dedicated to promoting established and NewGen British designer talent internationally. The showroom is well located and always attracts some of the most influential and avant-garde buyers who visit Paris to discover new collections. This in turn reinforces London's reputation as a source of creative innovation while recognising Paris as the primary commercial marketplace.
Rainbowwave
Rainbowwave is a significant UK-based agency for luxury, premium British and international fashion brands, particularly within women's resort and pre-collection markets.Its primary focus is womenswear and pre-collections and in October the showroom adds luxury jewellery to the mix. Located opposite the Elysée Palace, this is one of the more luxury-focussed showrooms.
Awaykin
Awaykin has earned a strong reputation as a showroom highlighting progressive and emerging design talent with a separate men’s and women’s venue this season as in January. Most, not all, of the collections are British.
Its curated approach and the high level of sales support and expertise offered to the brands provides a unique opportunity for independent brands seeking buyers interested in innovation, sustainability and new design perspectives, complementing the more established commercial showrooms across the city. This season as in January, Awaykinran separate Men’s and Women’s showrooms.
Maison Pyramide
This Italian-run high level luxury showroom is one of the slickest on the schedule and includes British brand Roksanda. Located close to the Arc de Triumphe, the showroom is especially popular with buyers from the Middle East and the US.
Polly King & Co
Polly King runs successful showrooms in Paris, Milan and New York, usually representing the same brands in most cities and globally over an extended sales campaign. This showroom is always popular as the collections selected always sell and it is, consequently, one of the most sought after PFW showrooms.
Melagence
Melagence is a German-run agency running a unique agency showroom in Paris alongside the Musée des Arts Décoratifs. Its paired-back architectural style with a high levelof catering and service, which is reminiscent of the Dover Street Market Paris showroom, creates an atmosphere where the brands can show themselves at their best. This season, for the first time, John Smedley and Mackintosh showed. Both were delighted to be showing.
Emma Jones
Emma Jones Consultancy Showroom is always welcoming and fun to visit with a great range of UK and international womenswear brands. This side of town, between the Arc de Triomphe and the Parc Monceau is especially popular with luxury women’s brands. The showroom is a key stopping off point for buyers looking to exchange information on market trends and see a good selection of interesting collections.
Tora Tora
Tora Tora, in the Marais, is highly regarded for its high level of service and its willingness to pick up and establish new creative men’s and women’s talents. The showroom is particularly well liked by Asian buyers looking for something new and interesting. The showroom, consequently, has a good reputation with new UK brands looking to connect with interesting Asian and global buyers who are open to new premium brands and ideas.
Breakfast
Breakfast continues to be one of the more cutting-edge and avant-garde showrooms in Paris. Its unique location on the end of the East Marais and its striking building (a former power station) as well as its commitment to working with innovative designers such as Jordan Luca and Lueder Lueder makes it an important destination for the confident and independent buyers looking to take a punt on something truly creative.
Sadly, this season, the showroom was also hit with power outages but the show organisers turned these to their advantage with personalised torch-lit tours.
Standalone British designers
Alongside the multibrand shows and showroom presentations, numerous British designers continued to host independent appointments and private showings throughout Paris. This trend continues to grow and is due, in part, to the ability of even younger designers to connect with key buyers in Paris. The Discover British Brands in Paris map also facilitates this.
Product categories
British exhibitors demonstrated considerable breadth across product sectors with great product in every category.
Menswear is a central part of the week, encompassing tailoring, knitwear, outerwear and contemporary casualwear. Accessories continued to perform strongly, particularly leather goods, bags and footwear. Key locations for menswear were Welcome Edition, MAN, Awaykin Men’s, Melagence, Good People, DMSR, 505 Showroom, the new Mandatory CPH Showroom developed by Darren Skey of Nieuway Agency and the standalone brands in the Marais.
Resort, swimwear and women’s pre-collections were also very strong this season at Splash, Claret Showroom/Le Cut/, Paper Kiss, Rainbowwave, Polly King, AwaykinWomen’s, Emma Jones, PaperMacheTiger and others reflecting continued demand for luxury outerwear and holiday wardrobes and year-round resort product. Pre-collections and resort/swim continue to gain importance at this time of year as most of these buyers only visit Paris.
Exhibitor feedback
There are no official attendance figures for the fashion week events. UKFT’s assessment is that there are usually approximately 8-10,000 buyers from around the world during the period. Most companies travelled to Paris with limited expectations, in line with the global challenges around the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, increasing protectionism in markets such as the US and the EU and the overall economic outlook. Brexit continues to be a real challenge for UK brands looking to sell in the EU as the Union’s compliance regulations soar.
Across all categories, companies were pleased with the level of buyer contacts they made and reported good business. Traditional markets such as Japan, Korea, the US and the EU were well represented. The UK was reported as being less well so. Chinese and Taiwanese buyers were out in force, as were the Middle East (back!) and some of the newer markets we had heard much of last season: Central Europe and Albania in particular. Japan and Korea were reported to be buying cautiously (on price) on the one hand, but still looking for innovative and new product on the other. US and Midle Eastern buyers were reported as being especially upbeat.
Welcome Edition and MAN both had record-breaking first and second days, as did Splash. The multibrand showrooms all confirmed that buyers were sticking to their appointments which had been only a little down on the same time last year and that very few buyers were missing. Rainbowwave reported a very successful season, as did Awaykin, Polly King and most of the others. LondonShowRooms was busy, especially with its menswear offer. Similarly, UK standalone designers, who traditionally have the biggest challenge to get buyers to commit, were reporting a very good week, including IA London and Au Concours.
Most of the exhibitors and showrooms had heeded UKFT’s warnings about the new e-ATA Carnet and there were no cases of UK collections being held at the border although the EU has not yet completed the transition to the digital Carnet – as predicted.
The unusual heat in Paris was a challenge for most shows and showrooms but exhibitors and buyers did the best they could in these exceptional circumstances.
What the exhibitors said:
Christopher Smith of Au Concours said: “Paris was really good to us this season. It was our first solo showroom, which is obviously a bit scary, but it paid off. We had some incredible stores come through, and it ended up being our strongest season yet. It feels like the start of some really good long-term relationships for the brand, and the direction I have been looking for.”
Daisy Wu of Jenny Packham said: “The Jenny Packham Pre-Spring 2027 collection was exceptionally well received during the June Paris showroom. International attendance returned to expected levels, reflecting improved global travel conditions. Despite continued geopolitical uncertainty in parts of the Middle East, trading remained resilient, with a number of retail partners reporting online sales growth in excess of 50%, underlining sustained consumer demand and the continued strength of luxury e-commerce. The brand’s global visibility was further strengthened through high-profile editorial and celebrity placements, including Scarlett Johansson, Elizabeth Debicki, Ana de Armas, Sarah Jessica Parker and The Princess of Wales, reinforcing Jenny Packham’s desirability across established and emerging markets.”
Ira Iceberg of IA London said: "It was hot, but it was worth it. The IA London 27SS June showroom in Paris was hot, both literally and figuratively. Despite the challenging temperatures, we welcomed high-profile international buyers from Europe, Japan, China, Australia, the USA and beyond throughout the four-day event. We are grateful for their continued loyalty and support and look forward to seeing them and many more again in October."
In summary
The June 2026 Paris market confirmed that for the wholesale industry all roads lead to Paris as the international commercial centre for British fashion during the men's Spring/Summer and Pre-/Swim/Resort buying season. Whilst many men’s luxury buyers rate Pitti Uomo highly and still visit, also adding trips to Welcome Edition, MAN NYC, Union in Berlin and CIF and Mandatory in Copenhagen, Paris is a very strong market for menswear and remains equally strong for women’s pre-collections, swim and resort.
Supported by UKFT's Discover British Brands initiative, British companies achieved significant visibility across a diverse network of trade fairs, showrooms and private appointments. The breadth of participation demonstrated the resilience and adaptability of the UK fashion industry, with brands successfully balancing creativity, craftsmanship and commercial focus.
The combination of established showrooms such as Welcome Edition, MAN/WOMAN, Splash, Rainbowwave and London Show Rooms, together with independent presentations and emerging platforms ensured that British fashion maintained a strong and influential presence throughout Paris.
As the wholesale market remains competitive, the British industry's coordinated presence in Paris provides an effective model for supporting export growth, strengthening international partnerships and reinforcing the UK's reputation as a leading source of fashion innovation and design excellence.
Paul Alger, international business director at UKFT, said: “UK exhibitors came to the PMFW shows this season wondering what they might find. In the event, buyers did travel, especially from the Middle East, and the week has seen some very upbeat and positive conversations. Paris remains the main order-writing city for the fashion industry and we expect this to continue."
