The global Covid-19 crisis continues to put a damper on denim industry events.
Première Vision pulled the plug Thursday on the physical trade show it had scheduled for Sept. 15-16 in Paris. The event, however, will continue exclusively in a virtual format.
Though the organizers said they were “encouraged by the indications of an improved health situation” and an increase in visitor pre-registrations, the recent decision by the French government to ban the resumption of events of more than 5,000 people until after Oct. 31 as well as travel restrictions in many countries has led Première Vision to cancel.
“Suspending the physical edition of Première Vision Paris this September was a difficult decision, which we resigned ourselves to in light of the French government’s directives, said Gilles Lasbordes, Première Vision general manager. “However, we are fortunate to have been among the very first in this sector to invest in digital to strengthen the service we bring to the entire market and to help it make this transformation.”
The digital trade show, taking place Sept. 15-16, will list more than 20,000 products across eight “product universes” including fabrics, leather, accessories, denim, design, manufacturing and Smart Creation, Première Vision’s focus on sustainable innovation.
Attendees to the digital show will have access to company profiles with integrated multimedia content as well as digital forums, an online magazine and a program of 20 online events that will focus on topics such as decoding the industry’s challenges, fashion trends and the future of fashion.
Kingpins trade show also announced Thursday it will not host the Kingpins China City Tour in September. The event was to take place Sept. 2 in Guangzhou and Sept. 4 in Hangzhou.
“While some places in the world have begun to open and many of our mills and partners in China are slowly returning to a sense of normalcy, for many of our international exhibitors, travel is not an option right now,” said Vivian Wang, Kingpins managing director and head of global sales.
Kingpins has been forced to cancel several events in Amsterdam and New York City. In April, it introduced Kingpins 24, a digital event to help keep the European and U.S. denim communities connected, however organizers are not planning one for the Chinese market.
“The Chinese market is very interesting to Kingpins and the global denim market, but we don’t have the technology or capacity to produce a digital event for China just yet,” Wang said. “It is something we are exploring—not just for China, but for the whole world—and we hope to be able to share some good news in that respect soon.”
These cancellations leave Munich Fabric Start’s condensed event, Fabric Days, as one of the lone in-person gatherings on the textile industry calendar. The event, which will take place Sept. 1-3 at MOC in Munich, will welcome 300 European exhibitors across six categories, including denim, and showcase F/W 21-22 collections.
The entire planning and design of the trade fair grounds has been conceived in such a way that social distancing can be maintained at all times and visitor movements can be controlled, organizers stated. Possible points of contact are minimized, for example, through wider aisles and marked entrances and exits, and by making the switch to digital-only ticketing.
“We are very grateful for the trust that we have received from both exhibitors and visitors,” said Sebastian Klinder, Munich Fabric Start managing director. “By organising Fabric Days, we would like to set an example and offer the industry a trade fair that will be the first event of its kind on this scale. Cooperation is needed now, only together can the industry prove itself in these extraordinary times.”