Fast Fashion London suffers through bad economy

By

Matthieu Guinebault

Published
Nov 1, 2012

Eurovet's London trade show for textiles, co-contractors and white label brands attracted approximately 850 visitors on October 23 and 24. The stagnant economy caused a decline of 15% compared to the show’s inaugural edition, boosting the proportion of UK visitors.

Nearly 85% of the attendees hailed from Great Britain compared to 8% from France and 4% from Belgium. According to the show’s organisers, this edition was designed to be more concentrated, with 70 exhibitors compared to 120 in November 2011. The exhibitor list included 17 French and 15 Portuguese companies as well as exhibitors from Romania, Morocco, Turkey, Italy, Lithuania, and even Pakistan.

Regarding buyers' reasons for attending the event, 29% said they were looking for new suppliers, 19% came for samples, 15% to place orders and 12% to meet their regular suppliers. A whole 16% of visitors also said they had made the trip to the show for the entertainment program and the fair's services. Buyers walking the floor included representatives from the Beaumanoir Group, Leclerc, Promod, Asos, Burberry, Ted Baker, Coast, John Lewis and Paprika.

The young designer competition was won by Matthew O'Brien from the University of Liverpool. His series of couture designs in British army protective fabric wowed a jury led by Jessica Brown, head of fashion at Amazon UK.

Originally planned as a traveling trade show, Fast Fashion Tour will again return to London in October 2013, but specific dates have not yet been announced.