California Apparel News

Global fashion trade-show brand Première Vision announced this week its launch of Première Vision Sport to elevate the athletic-apparel buying experience.

The new show, scheduled for Aug. 14–15 at the Oregon Convention Center in Portland, Ore., will highlight apparel trends in the sportswear segment aimed at the American market.

“When you see the maturity of the sportswear market, you can see a great opportunity for growth, and we thought it was the right time for Première Vision,” said Guglielmo Olearo, Première Vision’s director of international shows.

The announcement was made on Jan. 22 following the introduction of the Sport & Tech sector during the Paris edition of Première Vision in September. The new exposition in Portland will run alongside the Northwest edition of the American Events–produced athletic-sourcing event The Materials Show.

“It makes sense. The show facilitates the life of the exhibitor and those who are visiting,” Olearo said. “We are creating a show in terms of product that is extremely useful for the buyer, designer, product manager and others who are developing a new collection every six months.”

Trends that have brought athletic wear into mainstream fashion have also produced a demand for fashionable designs that are made using fabrics that withstand the strenuous activities of athletes who require high-performance apparel. A collaboration with Première Vision and The Materials Show will allow buyers to find high-performance goods and materials within one event, according to the Materials Show organizer Hisham Muhareb.

“The brands have been looking for a one-stop trade show for both their apparel division, accessories and footwear,” Muhareb explained. “The most pertinent side of our show is the footwear and accessories, but the representatives from Nike, Adidas, Reebok and New Balance don’t have one show dedicated to raw materials for their products.”

Combining Première Vision’s reputation as a major fashion resource and The Materials Show’s status as a leader in sports-materials sourcing, the two event brands are hoping to establish the new show as the destination for high-performance fashionable sportswear.

“We’ve been trying to bring back apparel suppliers to our show for many years,” Muhareb said. [Première Vision] is a well-established, well-known international show that is going to bring their own suppliers and have high-performance fabrics and materials for the apparel industry.”

With a deep connection to The Materials Show, Première Vision looks forward to giving sports-apparel brands their own space to explore the highest-quality sourcing options to satisfy the demands of their athletes.

“The collaboration is a story of friendship with Hisham Muhareb,” Olearo explained. “It was important for our show to provide a wide and complete offering for the sports and footwear brands.”