From 1st-4th September, beneath the neatly clipped lawns and feet of the early autumn tourists in the Jardin des Tuileries, the vast warehouse space of the Carrousel du Louvre was packed with the stalls of around 90 ethical fashion designers. It seemed appropriate that the eighth annual Paris Ethical Fashion Show, founded by Isabelle Quéhé in 2004, was held alongside the medieval foundations of the capital’s magnificent palace. With its theme of ‘Made in France’, conferences throughout the four days focused on the very roots of the fashion industry – the artisanal skills and fine craftsmanship in danger of being forgotten by the mainstream, fast fashion.
The diversity of the designers showcased at the exhibition was impressive, with people travelling from places as far flung as Peru, India, Venezuela and Malaysia to promote their lines. Some stalls, such as Judith Condor-Vidal’s Trading for Development, were very focused on promoting the social enterprise element of the business, putting the products secondary to the photographs and stories behind the production. Others, such as Studio Jux from the Netherlands and the French brand L’Herbe Rouge, had slick branding that was very product focused, requiring browsers to delve a little deeper to find out about the ethical side of the clothes.
The exhibition hall was not just full of well-established brands, such as the German company Natural Wave with their own online shop already in place. Suzy Gallo started her business earlier this year, and was so new that she did not have a fully functioning website yet. Whatever stage of their career they were at, however, what brought all the exhibitors to the Ethical Fashion Show was a desire to meet other people in the industry and garner press coverage to help build up their brands.
The show, sponsored by Gabriella Cortese – founder of the French label Antik Batik – continued its traditional association with successful people from the industry, with guest speakers such as Emmanuel Mathieu, the industrial director of Louis Vuitton sharing their expertise. As academic visitor to the show Laetitia Thomas said, the event was a blend of fashion shows, conferences, workshops and stalls that brought people together to find local solutions to global problems.
With a number of different prizes awarded to young designers, the event also showcased and supported many emerging talented designers. The exceptionally talented French-Vietnamese designer, Linda Mai Phung , won the design prize of 500 euros with her brightly coloured contemporary silk designs in electric blues, purples and turquoises.
Throughout the four days, the dual purpose of ethical fashion to both innovate and preserve was evident
”In celebration of the UN International Year of Forests, Ethical Fashion Show also awarded a special prize to the Japanese designer Ryota Shiga. There were eight nominees for the TENCEL® & Lenzing Modal® design prize who all created outfits in fabrics made from wood pulp fibre marketed by Lenzing, a leading fibre manufacturer. Shiga’s winning piece was a graphic red, white and black print trimmed with white fur, and the young designer will now benefit from a year-long marketing campaign with the company.
Throughout the four days, the dual purpose of ethical fashion to both innovate and preserve was evident. Les Dubois, a little area in one corner of the exhibition space was arranged for knitting and felt-making demonstrations by a group of eight friendly artists from Paris, encouraging people to recycle and also to keep traditional skills alive. Meanwhile, Loa Nature and other brands explained their innovative research into vegetable dyes, and Ethical Fashion Forum INNOVATION award winners ULTRA and Feng Ho promoted their use of the latest cutting edge environmentally friendly and stylish fabrics.
Despite a reported 30% increase in visitors on previous years, with a total of 2717 members of the press and public making their way through the doors over the four days, many of the stall holders commented on the relatively quiet Friday and Saturday. Sunday was open to the public, who made their way to the show in large numbers through the torrential rain that soaked shoppers outside on the Rue de Rivoli. While the event was not as popular as it has been in previous years with industry buyers, the press numbers were high, with almost 250 journalists from all over the world reporting on the event for the online media, radio and television.
The general consensus from stallholders attending the Ethical Fashion Show, although they would have welcomed more industry buyers, was that if you came in search of more general press exposure as well as support and inspiration for your brand from other designers in ethical fashion, it would be a success. “It’s an education,” said Valerie Pache, a French designer who uses recycled parachutes to make her pieces. Returning for her fourth time at the event, she said that she would keep coming to the Ethical Fashion Show in Paris because she found it a useful platform to learn from the other designers and also teach the general public about recycling in fashion. Anita Hawkins from ULTRA said that the striking thing for her about the show, as a newcomer, was the amount of television press. “All the other fashion trade shows we’ve been to, we’ve found it’s quite rare to see a TV crew, but I’ve had three interviews already,” she said on the Friday morning.
The next Ethical Fashion Show will be held on 2nd – 4th March 2012 in the Espace Pierre Cardin, Paris.
Visit the Ethical Fashion Show website for full details.
