On Friday September 21st 2018, the first year Fashion Studies students were fortunate to visit, Première Vision, the largest textile trade show in the world comprised of the six major supplier industries in fashion in Paris Nord-Villepinte. With 1960 exhibitors representing numerous countries and fashion manufacturing partners, Parsons students were welcome to uncover upcoming trends for the Autumn/Winter 2019-2020 season. Our visit was not only educational, but provided context for working within the fashion industry as a professional by experiencing a landmark tradeshow first hand.
A week prior to our Première Vision visit, Sabine Le Chatelier presented as a guest speaker in our Fashion Systems and Global Perspectives class, and lead our tour of Première Vision. Sabine served as the Deputy Fashion Director of Première Vision from 2005-2017, and offered us an insider perspective of this trade-show. She noted Première Vision’s groundbreaking organizational strategy which sorts vendors based on the material product as opposed to vendor nationalities.
Out of all the different variety of suppliers we got to see and touch, our class was particularly interested in the sustainable products featured. It was exciting, as fashion students, to see what the future of the industry holds, and get an insider look at the direction fashion is moving in. From textiles made out of wood, to leathers cured without toxic metal, we were given the opportunity to engage with materials from all over the world, and gain experience in working within the industry in a trade-show context.
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Written by Victoria Nergaard, MA Fashion Studies
Photo by Rocio Sanchez, MA Fashion Studies
