Blue skies over Indigo

17 Feb '11

5 min read

Stronger together! The Première Vision Pluriel shows again reaffirm the strength of their unique ensemble.

For the edition that just closed (8-10 February 2011), attendance climbed by 6.5% compared to the February 2010 session, with 55,792 visits by fashion professionals from over 100 countries. This remarkable vitality was driven by the dynamism of each individual show, with all six events (Expofil, Première Vision, Indigo, Le Cuir à Paris, ModAmont, Zoom by Fatex) registering increases. The rise in numbers was accompanied by a very positive business climate at all the shows.

Beyond the enthusiastic reception for the season's new creations and innovations, discussion in the aisles and stands focussed on the soaring prices of raw materials and supplies. This is an issue of uncertainty and often concern for fashion sector businesses, and will surely play a major role in the markets in the coming months.

An excellent ambiance prevailed at the Indigo Fashion edition, which continued to see visitor increases and sustained business activity. Some 13,572 visits were registered in February 2011, a rise of 9% over the corresponding 2010 edition. The accumulated result of the 3 days is greater than that of the 4-day edition in February 2010, and shows a particularly high visitor-to- exhibitor ratio for the sector, a cause for cheer among the 156 exhibitors at the show. When compared with last September, the first 3-day session, the increase was equally notable (+ 20%). While the American editions of Indigo saw a recovery in the market for textile patterns as of the January 2010 edition of Direction by Indigo, this Paris session confirms the return of the international market to practically pre-crisis levels.

Following France, which demonstrates its dynamism with a rise of 20% (3,840 visits), the large majority of the 10 leading visitor countries showed notable increases, from 3% to 24%, when compared with the 4-day February 2010 session: + 3% for Italy (1,149 visits), + 19% for Germany (915 visits), + 20% for Spain (745 visits), + 24% for Belgium, + 17% for Japan, among others.

As noted for several sessions now, some countries manifest a quest for creativity tied to a growing interest in decoration. Thus, in two years, Turkish visitors have grown by nearly 40% and that of Brazil, 53%. Another significant change which follows in the same direction is that the number of visitors coming from China rose by 44% over the February 2010 session, and that of Hong Kong, by 33%. In accumulated figures, continental China/Hong Kong as a whole keeps pace with Japan and now enters the "top ten" visitor countries, tangible evidence of the evolution of this immense market towards greater sophistication and creativity. The studios exhibiting at Indigo look to benefit from the incredible growth of this country, whose gross domestic product is hitting record levels. While historically they have been reluctant buyers of creative designs, now China, Turkey and Brazil are promising markets for the creativity of European studios.

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