After New York, London, Milan, it’s time for Paris Fashion Week!
This second session of trade fairs will allow buyers to discover new brands. Multibrand retailers will often visit these trade fairs to find selective brands synonymous of “creativity”.
Among all these trade fairs, such as well-known Tranoi, Atmosphère’s, The Box or Première Classe, the most difficult is to choose which one to go!
You can read the press article published this week in the French fashion trade magazine ‘Fashion Daily News’ page 16 and 17 which explains the brands policy of selection.
www.fashion-dailynews.com

According to a press article written by Nicola Harrison and publicated on 26 January 2010 in Drapers,  the UK has exited its most severe recession since the 1930s as data this morning showed the economy grew by a weaker-than-expected 0.1% in the last three months of 2009. The economic growth brings to an end six consecutive quaters of contraction.
The UK had been the last major economy in recession, with Germany and France - Europe’s two biggest economies - exiting last summer. The US and Japan also came out of recession last year. There have been recent signs of recovery in the UK economy, with retail sales showing signs of growth, and unemployment falling for the first time in 18 months last week.

To access to this article, please click here.

On the same subject, you can read the article in French publicated on 27 January 2010 in Les Echos : “La Grande Bretagne sortie de récession, mais de justesse“

After an unprecedented fall during the third quarter, (- 9.1 % in value in comparison to the same period in 2008), consumption of fashion and textile articles started back on a positive course in October 2009 in France. The slight increase recorded (+ 0.2 % in value in comparison to October 2008), should be interpreted first and foremost as the market catching up after the sharp declines during the preceding months.
In total, for the year 2009 as a whole, a 4 % drop in value in French consumption of fashion and textile articles is to be expected.
The situation in some other European countries is even worse than in France.
In Spain, for example, according to the CITYC (Centro de Informacion textil y de la confeccion), consumption may drop as much as 5 % in value in 2009.
According to IFM estimations, in the United Kingdom and in Germany the drop in value in 2009 should be - 1.5 %.
Finally, in Italy, according to the Sistema Moda Italia, during the eight first months of 2009, sales decreased by 1.6 % in value in comparison to the previous year.

What are the prospects for consumption of fashion and textile articles in France in 2010?
After the recession in 2009 —when the Gross Domestic Product fell by 2 %— growth in France should once again start picking up in 2010. Various forecasting institutions all concur; they are all banking on an increase in the GDP in 2010, though the range of these organisations’ forecasts is rather wide.

Extract of an editorial written by Gildas Minvielle and published in the “Lettre Economique” of December 2009, from the Institut Français de la Mode’s economic observatory.

Read the whole article
>> In French
>> In English

With the sales season starting, it’s really the ability of the fashion industry to rebound which is at stake.
Some invoices of the season will only be paid if the cash goes from consumers’ wallet to the retailer cash register and then from the retailer to the brand bank account. 2009 is indeed a year to forget for many retailers and their suppliers, the fashion brands. 2010 seems to be starting under better auspicious, despite the unresolved economic problems and rising unemployment.
In order to enjoy 2010 and forget 2009, everyone must regain confidence, not just for one year, but for the future. Facing this harsh reality, there are optimistic and pessimistic people. Reality doesn’t change, but optimists live better because they accept reality as it is and they see every challenge as an opportunity, while the pessimists are more inclined to see only difficulties in upcoming opportunities. Let’s be optimistic for the future. FDI Logbox teams are here to help to convert each of the current challenges into opportunities for our customers.

For the third year, christmas trees are ‘fashion dressed’ in Paris!
Students from design school Ecole Supérieure des Arts appliqués Duperré unveiled 30 festive creations.

Made in various materials, from books to plexiglass to cloth, and in majority in white and silver, the trees were judged by an expert panel from the French fashion, such as designers Jean-Claude Jitrois, Franck Sorbier, and Gaspard Yukievich.

Students Floriane Leblong and Milane Pujolle gained the top price for their joint design, Fusion Glacée, a brillant plexiglass creation that evoked snowflakes falling to form the silhouette of a tree, with a tiny tree embedded in each snowflake.

The exhibition will last till 5 January 2010.

http://www.ichotelsgroup.com/intercontinental/en/gb/locations/paris-legrand