This season marks the long-awaited first installment of the hybrid trade show Pure London x JATC. Womenswear trade show Pure London and menswear, womenswear and lifestyle trade fair Just Around the Corner announced in August that they will be partnering for the first time for the Autumn/Winter 24 season.
The fair will be held in Olympia, west London, from February 11 to 13, and will also include the high-end women’s wear show Scoop at Olympia West, which has a separate entrance just a short walk away.
The Pure London x JATC halls are still separate despite being under the same roof, with all Pure London womenswear brands on display on the ground floor of the Olympia Exhibition Center. The JATC section features menswear, beauty, accessories and lifestyle businesses on the gallery floor.
Approximately 300 brands will be exhibiting at Pure London x JATC. These numbers are slightly down from his AW23, when the shows were held separately. Approximately 250 brands were on display at Pure London, and approximately 130 at JATC. Scoop has around 200 designers on board for the Fall/Winter 2023 season.
Pure x JATC featured around 33 new or recently launched brands, including Drapers 30 Under 30 alumna Isabel Pennington Edmead, who showcased her silky and colorful slip dresses. Mainstream wholesale brands including Joules also exhibited at Pure x JATC after doubling wholesale for the first time in his SS24 season under the new ownership of Next and founder Tom Joule.
Buyers praised the convenience of Pure London x JATC being co-located for the first time.
Megan Bain, retail manager at Hume Sweet Hume, an independent knitwear and womenswear retailer on the Scottish island of Orkney, said:
“JATC and Pure partnering up has made things really great and easy for me. Coming here from the north of Scotland, having things in one place is ideal. And it created some good buzz that I hadn’t noticed before. It’s been a really good show so far.”
Katie Clarke is planning to launch her independent store Big Blue Sky in south-west Wales in March, and attended Pure x JATC for the first time. She told Drapers: “I wanted to see the product in person so I already ordered it. There is something for everyone.”
Laura Matheson, head of buying at St Peter’s Garden Center in Worcester, and Catelyn Taylor, head of retail and marketing at Van Gogh Garden Center in Caernarfon, said: “We We are currently looking for a new supplier that has eco-qualifications and has everything in one building.” [with Pure and JATC joined up] It will be easier for us.
“The first show we go to is what got us here. If you have too many individual shows, you get to the point where you stop going and lose connection with the new brand.”
The entrance to the scoop was luxuriously decorated with the theme of “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and the Orient Express.” However, some said it was inconvenient as there is a separate entrance a few minutes walk from Pure x JATC, where taxis are provided in case of bad weather.
Helen Curtis-Allen, co-founder of boutique Luvvit in Bishop’s Waltham, said: “I come here for clothes, accessories and handbags. I’m always looking for new things. Of course, we will visit our current suppliers and place orders.” new season.
“It’s good that the shows are together, but the separation is [of Pure London x JATC and Scoop] Not helpful. It’s quieter than usual here, and there are definitely fewer EU brands than before.I’ve been coming here for years and it’s the best [trade show] For British clothes. ”
Scoop founder and managing director Karen Radley told Drapers that less than 30% of buyers switch between Pure London x JATC and Scoop. She continues: She said: “It was a healthy start on the first morning. Sunday mornings are always a slow start but today was different.
“Scoop is not a trade show. It’s a showroom space. It’s personal, it’s edited, and you should feel like you’re walking into someone’s showroom. I want to give people a good time.” …Buyers come four or five times a year, and it should be a good experience.
“There are a lot of updates going on within the collection. People have been playing it very safe for years now, but [this season] We should and should think a little more positively. ”
Jill Bennison, owner of Three Boutique in Alfriston, Sussex, praised Scoop’s environment and brand selection. “We know the brands that work for our customers, but it’s always great to find brands that haven’t done it before and have something fresh.” I come every year because the shows are well spaced and nice. ”
Natasha Yeomans and Rob Derbyshire were at Scoop to buy for independent stores Young Ideas and Henmores. Natasha said: “It was a great experience with a really wide range of brands available. We considered what we liked and had a look around. Usually we are looking for new brands to introduce. It’s nice to find something a little different that fits perfectly with a customer’s image. We don’t come in with a particular agenda, but we get to see brands we wouldn’t have known about otherwise. It’s good to be able to do that.”
Gloria Sandrucci, events director for Pure London x JATC, told Drapers: As we were being asked by the industry to bring shows together, we wanted to give retailers a reason to come and optimize their time in one venue. ”
“We are delighted to see a strong presence of British brands this year, with strong global representation of major brands and designers entering the market. The ratio of international to British brands is approximately 50:50. .”
Pure London x JATC creative director Juls Dawson said: It made sense to consolidate the show into one, rather than having three separate dates and locations, like fairs in other capitals around the world do. Finally everything he has under one roof and he doesn’t have to choose when to come. This is what the industry wanted and we delivered. ”
“Traditionally, Sunday is the day for independent investors, and that’s what we’ve seen in the past. Tuesday is usually the big day for significant account holders. I know that the buyer arrived this morning.