Reacting to how the industry has changed and channeling its own desire to advance the trade show concept, Premiere Vision New York (PVNY) will launch a fresh format with a focus on sustainability at a new location in January.
“We’re not even going to call it a trade show–we’re going to call it an event,” Guglielmo Olearo, international exhibitions director at Premiere Vision, told Sourcing Journal at PVNY at Pier 94 Tuesday.
PVNY has always been based on the fundamentals of creativity and innovation, and the fact that “we have been an extremely selective show,” Olearo said. The focus now, however, is on “the future show.” And the shifts have largely been driven by dramatic changes in the textile and apparel industry and supply chain.
“Despite a generally strong economy, the fashion industry is struggling,” Olearo said. “As a good observer of the industry, we saw the changes taking place and that our show needed to change, also.”
As a result, he said, for the January edition, PVNY will be looking at “what are the real needs” for the textile and ancillary companies that exhibit at the event. And largely, those needs center around sustainability.
“We decided that starting in January 2020 to move Premiere Vision New York to a sustainable fashion show,” Olearo said. “While before we had two pillars of creativity and innovation, we are going to have three pillars in the future–creativity, innovation and sustainability.”
The format of the show will also change, to include an online marketplace, which was being demonstrated to visitors at the show.
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“We are going to change the ways it’s organized, the format–no booths in the future–and for the first time we’re going to have a specific section dedicated to sustainability,” he said.
Exhibitors will be selected through specific criteria, like certifications to show the products, the process and the involvement of the company in being “truly sustainable.”
“We know the U.S. is always a good laboratory for us in terms of ideas, so we’re going to use the New York show as a way to introduce this format,” Olearo said. “We’re also going to shrink the show somewhat because we’re not going to have the booths, so it will be more of an open, centralized format.”
PVNY’s new home will be at 415 Fifth Avenue in Midtown Manhattan, with a format that attracts discussion and an exchange of ideas and practices, Olearo said.
“We feel sustainability needs to move from concept to concrete and we want to help display how that’s happening,” Olearo said. “We also want to show how companies are handling and dealing with social responsibility. And we want to do it in a very transparent way.”
As for issues impacting the industry, Olearo said geopolitical disruptions are top of mind for many exhibitors, as the U.S.-China trade war and other disputes have executives worried because of its effects consumption, prices and sourcing. The state of the U.S. retail market and adapting to consumer buying habits, are key concerns, too.
Continuing the evolution of its offering, Premiere Vision will launch Premiere Vision Sport in Portland next month dedicated to performance materials and brands. Produced in partnership with the Material Show, the first edition will feature 57 exhibitors, which Olearo said is above plan.
“It’s another evolution for us,” he noted. “We see how habits are changing, how there was more overlapping with sportswear and activewear, so we developed the concept for this show.”