As soon as the fashion feeder in Amsterdam and the Düsseldorf order days were over, the fashion industry moved to Copenhagen International Fashion Fair (CIFF) in Copenhagen. Despite the tight exhibition calendar as well as a little fewer brands and visitors: Inside on the ciff, however, neither fatigue nor bad mood was felt at the 64th edition of the fair.
The entry of the CIFF area was already an experience for the senses. After the tickets checked, jackets stowed and the first orientation points were set, a neon green corridor-a color that is reminiscent of the “Brat Summer” and now apparently adapted as a “ciff January” tonality-together with stroboscope lights, a video -Installation and driving beats directly into the heart of the fair.
Once there, the visitors were received: initially received from a large-scale DHL stand, but most of them passed with determined determination to meet old acquaintances and new contacts among the almost 1,200 exhibitors: to establish inside.
But the first known face that the visitors welcomed from the inside of the Bella Center in Copenhagen from January 28th to 30th was not the impressive stand of a prominent brand. It was the third edition of the New German concept of retail and trend expert Julian Daynov. The area curated by him, deliberately designed in the style of a concept store – and more modern than many actually existing stores – housed 40 German labels. New German not only presented Germany’s fashion competence, but also its outstanding understanding of design.
This philosophy is also reflected in the DNA of the ciff, which not only combines clothing, but also shoes, accessories and interior design on a common platform. But New German goes one step further and delivers the perfect product mix for a concept store on the silver tray – as a source of inspiration and, ideally, not only the vision but also the brands presented.
Order in the middle of the hustle and bustle?
This takes a few steps a few steps further, in the heart of the ciff. But the first impression of the trade fair with New German as a peace pole, somewhere between Galeria, Concept Store and Communal Space. The further you immerse yourself in the fair, the stronger your actual character unfolds. In fact, the fair also offers everything that a store – whether large department store or selectively curated concept store – can only dream. However, these dreams should ideally be pre -shaped, because without a clear line, the sheer variety threatens to quickly overwhelming. Curated concepts and design visions dominate at the entrance, but with every step it becomes clearer that the ciff is primarily a trading platform on which for many brands the order of the matter, or at least a preliminary discussion in front of the actual order.
This applies in particular to Danish brands, explained Maren Banzhaf, Country Sales Manager at JJ XX, the Young fashion fire of the Danish clothing group bestseller. “Above all, there are Danish customers: inside that place their orders here,” she told fashionunited. “Others, such as Germans, were already at the Modefabriek in Amsterdam or Düsseldorf Fashion Days, or they saw the collections in the showrooms – there is no longer any direct need to give up orders. But for the Danish retailers: Inside this is the central order time. ”
Nevertheless, the fair seems to be payable – otherwise the company, which was not represented on the ciff last season, would hardly have made the decision to return. However, Banzhaf points out an interesting aspect: The positioning within the trade fair department is somewhat more challenging this year-especially in comparison to earlier seasons, when all bestseller brands were housed on a large area and did not try for attention in the middle of the lively halls had to – even if the fair was, according to many participants: inside January was a bit quieter than in summer.
When the lunchtime broke out on Tuesday, the stands became noticeably silent. But the long snakes, which instead formed in front of the cafés in the Bella Center – or did not cloud the mood of the exhibitors: inside. At least not those who understood to stand out from the crowd and be unmistakable. Not an easy task at a trade fair at which an exhibitor admitted that in the morning he needed a total of 45 minutes despite an app with an integrated card function to find his own stand.
Attention economy on the ciff
It is not just about the business at the fair itself, but also about the latest developments that raise the question of the long -term relevance of trade fairs. After all, many events have not survived in recent years, which questions the reasons for the ongoing participation of brands in large trade fairs such as the CIFF. But those who have deciphered the secret may provide the best proof of why trade fairs still play a central role. Because it is precisely these brands that know how to achieve the necessary visibility in a flooded market and establish a sustainable connection to the right audience.
However, this does not mean that you have to fall back on the tactics of market screens: inside the Hamburg fish market. However, the ciff seemed – at least this time – “the louder, the better” an effective concept. While DK Company announced with a live concert: on the inside, Mosh served Espresso Martinis on Wednesday afternoon-a welcome mix of caffeine and alcohol after a long day of the fair and Gabor also invited to a cocktail hour.
The Italian Sportswear brand Fila brought neither drinks nor snacks, but a new direction, both visually and with regard to the retail strategy. Her status, which brought the flair of the 1970s and tennis culture into the ciff, was a visual representation of a collaboration with the German Streetwear magazine Highsnobiety, which took place this year and stands out significantly elsewhere among the many bold clothes.
“We return to our Italian roots. In recent years we have been more commercial, logo-oriented and more geared towards the US market. But now we are moving the focus back on fashion. Everyone is talking about sports fashion, but for us it is more about fashion in the classic sense. We let the cool tennis players inspire: inside the 1970s-they were rock stars. There was this energy, as with the Rolling Stones or the Beatles at the time. We want to bring this feeling into today’s fashion – and also to our booth, ”said Henrik Johansson, Sales Director Fila Scandinavia and Baltic.
Meanwhile, Philip Krause, co-founder and managing director of the Berlin Streetwear label Prohibited, admitted that the stand was relatively small, the large barista machine and the decision to show 80 percent of the collection-without classic T-shirts and hoodies-certainly helped, but certainly helped, Curious buyer: to move inside to a longer stay at the stand.
However, he also believes that the times when you simply waited for the fact that the customers were over on their own – especially at such a large fair as the ciff. “To be expected on the ciffer is not an option for me, the fair is too quiet. But the contacted and invited buyers were there: Despite all of this, the orders were not the focus of ProHibited: “We wrote one or two orders, but in most cases there are order calls or order appointments with us or directly at the customer: on site. At the end of the day it is about preparing yourself well for the order and the announcement: to guide a little inside. ”
At first glance, Woodbird seemed to be even less interested in order on site, since the focus was not on fashion, but the food. The brand, which describes itself as a mixture of Scandinavian and Asian culture, brought a pop-up noodle shop to the ciff that served Asian cuisine and thus brought some of the brand DNA closer to the trade fair visitors: inside.
“The team was a bit of afraid before the ciff that we would not write any order during the fair, but that’s not all about. I am concerned with human habits, culture and the new DNA of Woodbird, not just about clothing, ”Chung W. Cheung explained the unusual concept. As is well known, love goes through the stomach, and a look at the consistently full stand of the brand may agree with this saying, even if the business success of the idea is difficult to understand.
Deceptive silence in the ciff village
One floor higher, the Ciff Village offered a break from the classic exhibition stands, with showrooms that looked like independent shops. The gears looked surprisingly calm, especially on the second day of the fair, but as soon as you entered the individual showrooms, it quickly became clear that the Ciff Village did serious business here.
Most of the brands, from Fynch Hatton to Marc Cain and the Betty Barclay Group to Bugatti, were so busy – either in the middle of one appointment or waiting for the next – that long conversations were almost impossible. But when a moment arose, a common opinion seemed to be among the sales managers: to draw inside: the ciff is mainly geared towards the Nordic market for these German brands. This is an opinion that could also be found on the stands underneath – at least in the stands in which the orders were priority.
Nevertheless, Anna Sfaiter, Sales Representative for Brax and Fuchs Schmitt, even New York stores, has to do it, even if she admits that it is almost impossible to find time for those who come without an appointment. “It is sometimes difficult to find your way because my day is fully booked with appointments. But below you have a normal trade fair where people just come in and look around. And I think you are expecting the same up here, ”she explained, while she was aware of her next: inside that she was not only hoping for an order for Brax, but also that it also looks at the company’s latest acquisition , Fuchs Schmitt, would throw.
Leineweber GmbH & Co. KG, which belongs to the Brax, took over the Aschaffenburg clothing provider on August 1st. While the brand is already established in Germany, Sfaiter is now concerned with making the label known in the Scandinavian market.
The Sales Representative could not tell much more before her next appointment entered the showroom and claimed its full attention – after all, in Copenhagen, despite all the spectacle, the business is still about business.