Premiere Vision Paris welcomed 53,156 visitors from 127 countries at its latest edition. Visitors came to the global event for fashion professionals to discover the latest innovations in materials, yarns, fibres, fabrics, leathers, textile designs, accessories, and manufacturing solutions tailored to the development of their spring/summer 20 collection.
The show’s 70 per cent, international visitorship, still unsurpassed in the sector, is particularly notable for its high quality, demonstrating the show’s robustness in the face of strong political and economic uncertainties in world markets. This impressive performance was nonetheless marked by a slight decline in visitor numbers (-2.3 per cent vs. February 2018), a direct consequence of the market’s jitteriness in light of the impending exit of the United Kingdom from the European Union. British fashion brands and buyers are playing it safe as Brexit edges closer, solidifying fears and slowing down decision-making. This is evidenced by a significant 16 per cent decline in British visitors, which alone accounts for two-thirds of the decline in attendance at the show, according to a press release.
Visitors to Première Vision Paris are primarily European – 76 per cent of attendees. France leads with nearly 16,000 visitors. French visitorship saw a slight increase (+1 per cent), and held steady despite a still fragile internal economic environment. This demonstrates the indispensable nature of the show for French brands, which are among the most important in the sector. In second place, Italy had 5,985 visitors (11 per cent of attendees), followed by the United Kingdom which, with 4,466 visitors (8 per cent of attendees), maintains its third position despite a significant decline in its visitor base (-16 per cent), due to uncertainty over Brexit. This trio is followed by Spain (3,215 visitors), Germany (1,828 visitors, 3 per cent of the total), and Belgium (1,478 visitors). – 9.5 per cent of professional visitors came from Asia. Visitors from Asia rose by +8 per cent, buoyed by China which enters ninth place in the top 10 with 1,451 visitors. Next comes Japan, a leading buyer of fashion and creative textiles, with 1,421 attendees, and South Korea, a market for innovative and creative fashion, with 883 visitors.
With over 1,996 visitors, North America registered a rise in its attendance. The United States, the leading country in North America, posted a +6 per cent increase in visitors, with 1,695 attendees, followed by Canada and its stable 300-person visitorship. Turkey maintained its position as the fifth ranked visitor-country. With 2,689 visitors, this key country in the sector saw a 6 per cent drop in attendance, directly tied to the country’s economic and political instability.
