Première Vision cancels physical September edition

The September edition of French textile trade show Première Vision has been cancelled due to Covid-19 concerns.

Organisers said the physical show was originally planned to go ahead in Paris between 15 and 16 September following encouraging signs across Europe of countries returning to post-lockdown normality and an increase in visitor pre-registrations to the event in recent weeks.

But a recent decision by the French government to ban the resumption of events of more than 5,000 people until after 31 October following a resurgence of cases in Europe has meant that the physical show is no longer viable.

The event will instead take place entirely digitally. In fact, the Première Vision Marketplace has been up and running since 10 July, but will now “fully take over the reins for the show”. It features 1,588 e-shops, over 20,000 listed products and is categorised into 8 product ‘universes’: fabrics, leather, accessories, yarns, denim, smart creation, designs, manufacturing.

In recent months, leading fashion trade shows and fashion weeks have been forced to cancel physical shows and replace them with digital iterations.

Upcoming fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, and Paris will all mix physical and digital aspects as they take their first tentative steps back to pre-lockdown normality.

“Suspending the physical edition of Première Vision Paris this September was a difficult decision, which we resigned ourselves to in light of the French government’s directives,” Gilles Lasbordes, general manager of Première Vision, said in a statement. “However, we are fortunate to have been among the very first in this sector to invest in digital to strengthen the service we bring to the entire market and to help it make this transformation.

“This means that today we are able to provide concrete solutions in terms of brands’ sourcing needs, and in terms of the challenges manufacturers are facing in terms of the visibility and promotion of their creations on a global scale.”

Première Vision confirmed that its smaller show, Made in France Première Vision, which is dedicated to French manufacturing, will still take place at the Carreau du Temple on 1 and 2 September. It will welcome some 100 exhibitors.

Earlier this week, it was confirmed that Tranoï, another leading French trade show, had joined GL events Group, a 49 percent shareholder of textile trade show Première Vision. The move aims to bring the two trade shows closer together, “creating a unique hub of physical and digital B2B events, services and content to meet the market’s new challenges”.

Photo credit: Première Vision