The Refined Season
Premiere Vision textile fair highlights natural fiber blends and strong prints for the Spring 2002 season
PARIS—Close to 800 European weavers showed their collections for Spring 2002, at Premiere Vision, held March 1–4 in Paris, which once again proved to be a mecca for international fabric buyers.
The show continues to be considered a source of inspiration for both its thorough coverage of trends for all industry sector, including womenswear, menswear, childrenswear, denim and activewear, and for its presentation of technological advances.
The closed-booth show is primarily appointment-driven, but its trend forums, bestsellers report, daily trend updates and film and forecasting presentations provide an easily assimilated presentation of the collections.
Overall attendance at the March 2001 show was 39,996, down slightly from the year before, when 40,308 visitors were tallied, according to show organizers.
American attendance was down slightly as well, with 2,008 in town for the current show, compared with March 2000 attendance of 2,328.
The number of West Coast-based firms in attendance was “slightly less” this time because many showed up at the Premiere Vision preview held in New York in January, according to Alan Perlstein, Los Angeles representative for the Italian weaver Miroglio.
Despite the downturn, Perlstein said he still found that many U.S.-based designers attend PV “because they can see the entire collection here.” Perlstein reported seeing clients from all sectors of the industry, including junior, contemporary and missy. ABS, Bisou Bisou and BCBG Max Azria were just a few of his West Coast-based appointments. Most designers showed strong interests in prints, especially graphic black-and-white patterns and floral motifs.
Raul Mazza, of Mazza USA, representing several European weavers, including Italy’s Sincronia and ITVDenim, said he had met with many American companies and reported seeing “almost all” of his West Coast-based clients.
“They are here looking for forward trends. For them, Premiere Vision is still a very inspirational show,” he commented. Among the noted trends was a strong interest in surface treated denims such as laser cut and sparkle dusted, and prints—especially florals and stripes.
Among designers attending the show was New York-based Jill Stuart who has been sourcing her eponymous designer collection here for the past six years. Stuart reports that while many European weavers at the show have U.S.-based agents, she said it’s important to attend to “get a real feeling for the complete collections” and to find new products.
Stuart said she buys primarily from French, Italian and sometimes English weavers, but she reported interest in Belgian and Austrian fabrics for the Spring 2002 season. Cottons—-moleskins and twills as well as cotton with stretch—were of particular interest, the designer said.
Jerry Fagan, fashion coordinator for Bloomingdale’s, was also looking at both color and fabric trends. The Fall palette of olives and camels has “evolved for Spring into sands, beiges and stone tones that look very fresh,” she noted.
Fagan also said she noticed a trend toward linens, especially in interesting blends of silk and denim with subtle surface treatments.
Other trends included lightweight wools and cashmeres in classic checks and plaids such as those from Scotland’s Johnston of Elgin. Italian weaver Loro Piana featured double gauze and stretch cashmeres.
Notable print trends included a strong interest in stripes of all kinds. According to Angel Comas, sales manager for Linea Punto, a company based in Spain, slim multi-colored stripes on stretch polyester and tonal florals were “well accepted” at the show.
Novelties and embellished fabrics worth noting included silks printed and overprinted with floral patterns and coated in silicon from Italy’s Serikos and Switzerland’s Forster Willi/Forster Rohner that showed a fantastical collection of embroidered tulle, plaid silk organza with eyelet embroidery and hand-painted silks highlighted with silvery splotches that mimic the reflection of light on water.
Technological fabrics of interest included Switzerland’s Schoeller, which showed a hydrophilic-hydrophobic fabric that absorbs body humidity and pulls it to the outside of the waterproof garment.
Schoeller representative Christine Jenny said the effect is achieved without the use of heavy bondings, which create bulk; instead, they are applied invisibly to base fabrics such as cotton, Lycra or polyamide.
The next edition of Premiere Vision is scheduled for Oct. 4–7, 2001 and will feature fabrics for the Fall-Winter 2002/2003 season.
