Digital Premiere Vision Paris: Success Despite New Limitations
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on the fashion industry has been swift and severe, rippling all the way back through the supply chain to affect suppliers of yarns and fabrics in all aspects of their businesses, including the way in which they unveil collections. Premiere Vision Paris decided to embrace this challenge by creating the first digital-only version of their annual trade show. By leveraging their existing online marketplace and improving some of their digital features, the organizers of the digital event were able to ensure the 1,675 exhibitors were equipped enough to face the unprecedented challenges caused by the pandemic.
Premiere Vision’s general manger Gilles Lasbordes said that while they were not initially expecting the show to be completely digital, they did recognize that it would have to be significantly different from usual. To prepare themselves, the Premiere Vision team invested in additional features to their online Marketplace, which launched in 2018, and digitized all samples from fabrics to leather. Once it was announced that the show would be completely digital, the number of samples that suppliers requested to be digitized increased significantly, indicating an eagerness to embrace the trade show’s digital format.
Image Source: Premiere Vision Paris
This said, Lasbordes is still looking forward to 2021, when the trade can hopefully a physical show will take place. He recognizes the importance of blending physical and digital experiences, especially when it comes to buying materials. This sentiment was shared amongst the exhibitors, who were generally grateful for Premiere Vision’s efforts in helping them showcase their collections. Many noted that digital shows are an opportunity to reevaluate and innovate in the digital space to create stronger fashion events in the future.
Image Source: Premiere Vision Paris
There are also significant environmental benefits to having a digital trade show, such as it does not require buyers to travel across the globe. And the numbers indicate this formate can be successful. Premiere Vision reported the digital trade show generated enough traffic on the platform to secure business opportunities, attracting 19,500 uniques visitors. This event represents a new, more sustainable business model that could mark a new course in the future of the fashion industry, even when the pandemic subsides.
Image Source: Premiere Vision Paris
The trade show’s online traffic was not the only indication that the fashion industry is ready to work toward a more sustainable future. According to the IFM-Premiere Vision Chair study, sustainable fashion is suspected to attract some 64.1% of European consumers, 30.1% of whom are willing to spend more on it. That said, exhibitors agreed that the industry can survive, and even thrive, post-pandemic only if they remain at the forefront of innovation and sustainability. Today’s womenswear designers and manufacturers are clamoring for sustainable fabrics to meet the demand of responsible consumers who care about where their clothing comes from and how it’s made. Exhibitors noted that this demand has resulted in an urgency to convert materials and processes to more sustainable options, the necessity of which was shown by the increased interest of the trade show’s more sustainable fabrics and materials by suppliers.
Image Source: Tencel
By all accounts, Premiere Vision’s general manager Gilles Lasbordes considers the firs digital-only trade show a success, despite the many challenges and uncertainties. We look forward to seeing other digital fashion events this year as brands continue to adopt to the ever-changing new world. Although this year has been filled with trials and tribulations, we are starting to see the silver linings – a shift away from the traditional practices of the fashion industry that have contributed so much to the destruction of our planet, and a shift toward innovation, sustainability, and responsibility to hopefully, one day, become an industry that leads others in the effort to save our planet.
Image Sources: Linked in image captions Sources: WWD Digital Premiere Vision Paris Report, Premiere Vision Paris
