PORTUGUESE TRENDS SEDUCE PARIS

Who’s Next Paris opens its doors from 22 to 25 January under the slogan "Mythology”. 8 Portuguese companies will exhibit at the fair: Ana Sousa – Babashdesign – Concreto - Kalisson&Bagoraz - Luis Buchinho - Maloka - Pé de Chumbo - TMCollection by Teresa Martins. 

According to Teresa Marques Pereira, brands development of the Valérius Group, taking part in Who’s Next «is much more than just the French market, as we see international charisma in this fair and in the primary process of internationalisation of our new brand CONCRETO. We have make contacts with France, Italy, Australia, among others, and we therefore believe it to be the best international event at which to exhibit». Concreto, which was recently taken over by the Valérius Group, shall exhibit its winter collection at the French fair, consisting of a line of knitting and an autumn collection based on the core business of the company, the circular knitwear. «We plan to present this new division of the brand, see the reaction and acceptance in relation to it, and close with some of the business meetings we are scheduling with the representatives», she adds.

Luís Buchinho shall exhibit at Who’s Next the autumn/winter 2016/17 collection of the brand bearing his name. He considers exhibiting at Who’s Next to be unmissable. «Paris is still the major epicentre for attracting international customers. Therefore, being present at Who's Next allows us to present our collections to numerous markets and in particular to vast numbers of very heterogeneous customers», explains Carla Reis, international sales agent. The brand, which has been a habitual exhibitor at the fair since 2013, travels to Paris with high expectations. «We have been growing solidly since our first participation in the fair in January 2013, with increasing visibility, also supported by the assistance and promotion by the fair managers and organizers. It should be noted that the January 2015 fair was extremely important for the volume of sales achieved and for winning new customers, so we expect the same impact with this new collection», she adds.

TMCollection exhibits its autumn/winter 2016 collection at Who’s Next first hand, under the slogan “Embrace”. Wools and silks are some of the highlights for materials. «Our main aim is to grow, increase sales and purchase intentions, as well as win new customers and new markets worldwide», states Fábia Campos, marketing & sales manager.

20 years after its creation, Who’s Next is the main international fashion fair, with around 50,000 visitors to its two annual editions.

The participation of the eight Portuguese companies in one more Who’s Next Paris edition is an initiative promoted by the Selectiva Moda Association, co-financed by the EU Structural and Investment Funds as part of the Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020 and COMPETE 2020. The FROM PORTUGAL project is made up of approximately 81 international activities which take place in the second half of 2015 and in 2016, covering the entire textile and fashion industry and spread over four continents, with a total investment of over 13 million euros.