Man/Woman, Tranoï shows vie for both menswear and womenswear buyers

Trade shows have a tough job on their hands, as they strive to appeal to a demanding public of international buyers with multiple specialisations and requirements. Hence the need for these events to showcase an increasingly targeted, increasingly effective range of exhibitors to respond to the fashion trade’s various needs. As a result, the B2B events held in parallel with the Paris Men’s Fashion Week have gradually changed over time, as the sessions scheduled from Friday January 18 to Sunday January 20 demonstrate.

Paris is currently home to two shows targeting the high-end and luxury segments: long-established Tranoï, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, and Man/Woman, launched in 2012. Both events are now seeking to appeal to a wider audience.

Tranoï will host 110 exhibitors at its traditional venue, the Palais de la Bourse, featuring a mix of men's and women's ready-to-wear labels as well as accessories brands - among them Nu, Sofie D’Hoore, Fête Impériale, Cathrine Hammel and Shu - with special sections dedicated to beauty and jewellery, and a section for South African labels.

This year, Tranoï’s strategy for introducing new products and emerging designers to buyers will include the ‘Only at Tranoï’ feature. To stand out among the plethora of shows visited by buyers the world over, Tranoï will in fact present an exclusive: 27 of its exhibitors will introduce twenty-item capsule collections specially created for the show’s ‘Tranoï Only’ section.

The initiative is organised in partnership with the Galeries Lafayette department store. To offer enhanced visibility to these exclusive capsule collections, Tranoï will for the first time operate a pop-up area on the first floor of the department store’s boulevard Haussmann branch, where a selection from the collections will be available to the general public from January 16 to February 4. A welcome visibility bonus for the brands in question.

Tranoï will once again feature its designer showroom format, Tranoï Week, introducing the London Show Rooms’ posse of emerging British names at the 22 rue de la Roquette venue until January 22, after the end of the men's fashion week.

The other show coinciding with the Paris Men’s Fashion Week, Man, is also extending its reach, and will hold its forthcoming session across three different venues. The co-ed Man/Woman event first introduced last June will in fact be staging a repeat performance on January 18-20 at the Pavillon Cambon.

To the hundred or so brands exhibiting close to this venue, at 7 and 19 place Vendôme - among them Archives 18-20, Eastpak, Merci watches, Raeburn and Fred Perry- the show is therefore adding a selection of about thirty mixed-gender or women's labels showing their pre-collections in rue Cambon, brands like Close, Armor Lux, Anthology Paris, Maison Labiche, Sessùn and Le Mont Saint Michel.

The mission for both Tranoï and Man/Woman is to put Paris firmly on the fashion buyers’ calendar as a must-visit destination, despite the potential negative impact the international media’s coverage of the ‘yellow vest’ demonstrations could have on the willingness to travel of fashion industry professionals.

Man/Woman, Tranoï shows vie for both menswear and womenswear buyers

See also