Women’s fashion fair Pure London returned to the English capital on July 17-19, marking the first standalone event since the pandemic began.
Despite the extreme heat in the London capital and elsewhere in the country, the event turned out to be a positive one. Brands, buyers and other fashion professionals were happy to reunite after a two-year hiatus.
“It’s fantastic to be back after a really difficult few years – it feels like a real celebration,” Gloria Sandrucci, Head of Pure London, told FashionUnited. “It’s so important to be able to do business face-to-face again, especially in fashion, which is a visual and tactile industry that requires people to touch, feel and try clothes.”
When entering Pure, the reduced floor plan was immediately noticeable. The fair took place in just one of the huge halls of London’s Olympic site, while at previous editions it filled two halls and their balconies.
Sandrucci said the decision was made because there was still a lot of uncertainty about how the pandemic would unfold when organizers were given the green light to host the July edition, and they didn’t want to risk having to downsize plans if in the new restrictions would be introduced at the last moment.
But she also said that the next edition of Pure, which will take place from February 12-14, will be held on a larger scale again, and also unveiled a number of new special areas, which we will get to later.
Long awaited return to London Olympia
Many brands were delighted with a successful edition of Pure London this season, reporting a beautiful and busy show with a mix of returning buyers and new faces.
“It’s been a really good show for us,” said Helen Townsend, retailer and representative of French label Humility, which has been attending Pure for the past six years. “I’ve made a lot of appointments, mostly with existing clients who I’ve invited here, but also with some new faces,” Townsend said. “It’s nice to be back and to see that we’ve been able to keep our loyal customer base during the pandemic.”
However, some brands noted that they would have liked a little more activity during the three-day event, saying some of the bigger brands were missing.
“We’ve made some new contacts and we’re hoping to bring in some new customers, but the number of visitors has been a little lower than we had hoped,” said Olivia Mulhall, head of wholesale for Northern Europe at Austrian lingerie brand Wolford attended the fair for the first time. “As far as shows in the UK go, Pure is probably the most important for us,” said Mulhall. “It’s just a question of whether the fair can increase the number of visitors again.”
Participants spoke of a number of factors likely affecting the numbers, not the least of which was muggy temperatures that topped 40 degrees Celsius for the first time in history in some parts of London on Tuesday. Nevertheless, it was pleasantly cool inside the venue and offered visitors a much-needed respite from the heat.
Another potential factor impacting attendance was the decision by some brands to forgo costly trade shows amid widespread supply chain disruption, rising raw material costs and general inflation. Added to this are the ongoing flight disruptions across Europe, a drop in the number of Chinese visitors due to the Covid restrictions and a drop in the attendance of Russian and Ukrainian visitors.
Despite all these challenges and without providing exact numbers, Director Gloria Sandrucci confirmed that the attendance at this edition was higher than at the last standalone, physically held Pure fair, which took place in February 2020, just before the first lockdown . She also noted that 31 countries exhibited at Pure this season, which was also higher than pre-pandemic numbers.
Sustainability remains key focus
Although the downsizing of the Pure this season meant there was no dedicated sustainability area, the focus on greener fashion options was still central to the show, with sustainable brands in full force and a range of sustainable discussions featured as part of the content program of the show took place.
Sandrucci also revealed that the sustainability section will return for the upcoming February show but will be rebranded as ‘Purely Sustainable’ and will not only focus on showcasing more eco-brands, but also on educating and guiding brands on how to make their could improve sustainability through “collaboration and community”.
This thought is important to Manuela van Vloten-Sabarez, the founder of the sustainable premium brand Kan, which was exhibiting at Pure for the first time. “When it comes to sustainability, I think it’s so important to be with like-minded brands so you can share ideas and learn from each other,” said van Vloten-Sabarez, noting the importance of having a dedicated sustainability area at Pure.
Founded four years ago, Kan designs timeless pieces in Oeko-Tex certified linen and cotton fabrics. The brand is manufactured in Europe and is available from retailers such as Zalando, About You and Wolf & Badger.
“I think the event was very nice,” said van Vloten-Sabarez. “It was so nice to connect with people, shake hands and learn more about the industry here in the UK and what our consumers need. I have noticed a great interest in sustainability here at Pure.”
Another sustainability-focused brand attending the show for the first time was lingerie label Pantee, which makes its garments from used t-shirts. It was the first show ever for the brand, launched by co-founders Amanda and Katie McCourt during the pandemic.
“This is our lockdown baby,” says Amanda, who is also the brand’s CEO. “We’re primarily a D2C brand, but we’re in a discovery phase, so we’re really trying to figure out what works for us and what doesn’t.”
“It was great to showcase the collections in real life and to make real personal connections after launching our brand online. The response to our products has been really great and we’re glad we came here. Hopefully we can close some deals too, but that remains to be seen,” she added.
Men’s fashion plays a smaller role
While Pure London has scaled back its efforts to expand into menswear – the show used to have its own Pure Men section – there were a small handful of menswear labels at the event, such as Polish shirt brand Socks & Sandals. Sales Manager Hubert Ordyłowski said: “Overall it was a really positive experience, with a good number of visitors – a nice mix of networking and order taking.”
While Event Director Gloria Sandrucci hasn’t entirely ruled out a reintroduction of more menswear at a later date, she made it clear what is a priority at the moment: “Pure London is well known for being a womenswear show and we are absolutely focused on that. It’s just not the right time to expand into menswear.”
So what’s next?
Alongside the aforementioned new sustainability section, which will be launched in February, the show will also introduce a section called Pure Edge, which is “focused on inclusivity and diversity, offering innovative, creative collections”.
The new platform will be built together with Carole Hunter, who launched LondonEdge, a platform for alternative lifestyle fashion, back in 2000. Hunter said: “Having worked in alternative lifestyle fashion for over 25 years, it’s difficult to express how happy I am to continue to provide a platform for this specific sector.”
“With Pure London’s support and significant resources at our side, I see this as an incredible opportunity to continue to grow and develop our market,” she added.
The premier womenswear event Scoop, which runs concurrently with Pure London and has been moved to a neighboring venue for this edition, will return to its traditional home at the Saatchi Gallery in February.
This article originally appeared on FashionUnited.uk. Translated and edited by Simone Preuss.