Who’s Next
6th-9thSeptember 2019
Porte de Versailles. Halls 1 & 2.2
Accessories & Clothing
Wholesale collections for spring/summer 2020
Metro line12
Web: www.whosnext.com
Inst: @whosnextdotcom
The Paris trade show Who’s Next continues to remain Europe’s leading show for clothing and ‘affordable accessories’, attracting international buyers from around the world. Yes, Paris has had its fair share of ‘ups and downs’ over the past 10 years but throughout, this show has managed to keep ahead of trends and attract prime labels of headwear, both in the men’s and women’s sectors.
This season saw two major changes, the first was a move to Hall 1 for Accessories. I love this hall, with its modern setting and windows letting in natural light. The second was the removal of the title ‘Première Classe’, probably a good thing as buyers are always confused with two shows each season with the same title, one for affordable and the second, three weeks later later, for designer/up-market brands. A few exhibitors at Who’s Next, such as Mühlbauer, Marzi, Céline Robert and Anthony Peto also show at Première Classe at the end September in the Tuileries Gardens in central Paris.
With over forty different companies presenting comprehensive collections the range of headwear was wide, from beach hats and smart daywear, to elegant millinery, across straws, braids and fabric hats. Most of these exhibitors were located in Hall 1 with a few other brands in the ‘Sustainable Fashion’ sector. The majority of manufacturers were from Italy, where they continue to produce well-designed collections at arguably the best prices in Europe. Most of these companies sell under their own label, some also work with large brands on wholesale collections.
This season Who’s Next increased the number of demonstrations and seminars, held daily, covering a range of subjects, which included ‘Buying and Stock Management’, ‘Sourcing’, ‘Marketing Strategies’, ‘Digital & Social Media’, and ‘Creating an e-shop’.
NEW TRENDS to update collections
1) Metallic Braid– found in the collections of Tesi, who used gold braided ‘bands’, and Marzi who used blocks of silver braid
2) Washed out and faded colours– more noticeable in the menswear collections. Sorbatti had a new shape of men’s trilby with a slightly shorter back than front, and Vecchi Hats & Dreams had a faded braid trilby in washed out denim
3) Embroidery – Ecua Andino showed a range of different designs on both the crowns and the brims of classic Panama hats. Whilst Doria1905 had embroidered leaf patterns using raffia braid, and Angiolo Frasconi showed a small range of machine embroidered linen turbans.
4) New fabrics– Mühlbauer had used what they call ‘straw fabric parquet’ for a number of casual styles. The finished hat was soft and crushable and yet had the surface design of natural straw.
CLASSIC STYLES for immediate sales
5) Animal Print – Angiolo Frasconi offered a range of smart daywear in sinamay for elegant summer events, with a selection of animal prints in classic colourways
6) Stripes – used in trims and bands looked fresh and nautical. Bedacht offered a wide brim turned up hat trimmed with striped ribbon, and Vecchi a soft fabric hat in striped braid. Sorbatti had a number of men’s blocked hats with contemporary striped bands.
7) Wider brims– always classic, but rather more feminine than the ladies trilby, this one from Bedacht had sold well at this show.
There were no ‘catalogues’ at this edition listing exhibitors for each category of clothing, only a total list of exhibitors printed on the floorplan, so we are not able to name every hat company showing. From the names we recognised these companies were exhibiting at Who’s Next this season.
Alphonso D’Este Italy
Angiolo Frasconi Italy
Anthony Peto France
Anytra Czech Republic
Bedacht Germany
Borsalino Italy
Céline Robert France
Complit Italy
Doria1905 Italy
Ecua-Andino Ecuador
Fiebig Germany
Filippo Catarzi Italy
Grevi Italy
ID Hats/Bronté The Netherlands
Ishidaseibou Japan
Kopka Accessories Germany
Lucrece Panama Ecuador
Marzi Italy
Mayser Germany
Mc Burn Germany
Miralles Spain
MTM/Taffta France
Mühlbauer Austria
Raffaello Bettini Italy
Rossomenta Italy
Sense of Grace Japan
Sorbatti Italy
Stetson Germany
Tesi Italy
Vecchi Heart & Dreams Italy
NEXT EDITION : PREMIÈRE CLASSE runs from the 27th–30thof September
NEXT EDITION: WHO’S NEXT 17-20thJanuary 2020