Record numbers all round at Pure London

19 Feb '10

5 min read

Pure London closed its doors yesterday with record breaking numbers all round. Visitor numbers were up by 23% year on year (compared to February 2009), with the busiest Sunday ever recorded in the history of the show. In addition, exhibitors confirmed that they were seeing quality buyers who were writing strong orders. There was a buoyant mood across the show and a confident start to 2010.

As the largest show to date, Pure London, had over 951 brands exhibiting across the show; womenswear, young fashion,footwear and accessories, with 300 brands new to Pure. Luxury designer label ck Calvin Klein exhibited for the first time alongside, top designer favorites Mina, Ian Stuart London, Lauren Vidal, Isabel de Pedro, Nougat, Claire dk, Esprit and Betty Jackson Two.

A representative from John Charles commented 'Attendance has been even better than we thought. We have seen a good quality of buyers with the ability to place serious orders.' While James Lakeland commented 'The show has been amazing, it has felt like pre-rescission. There is a great atmosphere and we have seen a big difference to last February.'

Lauren, Sales Manager from Jackpot commented 'This has been one of the best shows so far. We have been really busy and had a high caliber of buyers both new and existing. It's a really upbeat and positive vibe and we are really happy.'

A high level of UK buyers attended including Fenwick, Harrods, Selfridges, House of Fraser, John Lewis, Debenhams, Urban Outfitters, Williams and Griffin, El Corte Ingles and Hoopers; as well as key independent retailers such as American Pie, Choice, Sarah Coggles, Cult Clothing, Richmond Classics, Sunday Best and Austique. Online stores included Oli, ASOS, Amazon, Figleaves and Play.com. Designer Olivia Rubin confirmed this; 'We have seen a lot of new clients this season. Pure is ideal to find new independents.'

'I have been to the show a few times, it is great to see the show move on, there definitely seems to be much more younger fashion on offer than previously and I look forward to visiting Label. I thought the catwalk show was great.' Commented Hazle Thom, Assistant Buyer at Debenhams.

The show also attracted a record number of international buyers with 15% of total visitors coming from overseas including buyers from Japan, Russia, China, Spain, Scandinavia, France, Germany, Greece, US, Ukraine and Italy.

Helping buyers plan ahead for the season, the Pure Catwalk showcased dedicated scenes from Lauren Vidal, Mais il est ou le soeil?, Supertrash, Pomodoro and Very. Whilst the new style catwalk show in the Spirit section provided an upbeat visual aid for visitors with scenes from Glamorous, Fairground, Iska, Yumi, Forever Unique, Motel and Bench plus a dedicated scene to the Label brands.

'I am very impressed, the show looks better than ever. We have picked up a new brand, numph, which we are very pleased about. After seeing the Spirit catwalk I am very interested to see more of what is on offer at Label. The layout of the show is much better as well, especially in Spirit.' Veronica Walsh, owner of Luan Matthews, Uppermill near Oldham, Lancashire.

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