Who’s Next ? The World’s Largest Fashion Show

There were about 50,000 attendees from over 100 countries who visited over 600 brands.

We were greeted by hostesses wearing trench coats, barets and low boots lent to the show by a Swedish brand.

Mark (www.markwinstonsuits.fr) our VT photographer and I had a brief interview with one of the long standing success stories exposing with Who’s Next : Jean Pierre Briallard, the designer who created the rather chic brand La Fée Marboutée over 25 years ago plus his more recent brand Humility, launched just a few years ago.

We admired his unique collection (this being his summer/fall collechosetion 2018) of high end “prêt à porter” (an internationally used french word meaning “ready wear” for for those of us in the larger class of human beings who can not afford custom tailor made clothing) dresses featuring legant print designs such as flowers, stripes on high quality fabrics like silk, viscose and wool or combinations such as silk and velour for trousers, and can be machine washed at low temperatures. His target market is university students  and professional women from 16 – 85 years old who need look smart without pretension.

His collections may be found in La Fée Marboutée shops in Paris and all over France, and in several other international cities (Middle East & London). Many leading department stores carry his brand too. In Paris : Galleries Lafayette and  Printemps ,in New York : Barney’s,  Macy’s and Calyso, and in L.A. at Fred Siegel. There may be more but our interview was cut short by the arrival of a buyer and Jean Pierre had to go. At Who’s Next, business does come before pleasure!

Who’s Next has long merged with the Premiere Class fashion fair specialising in accessories like handbags, tote bags, shoes and jewellery thus the four day show has a vast range of both creative and industrial talent to absorb. They usually provide some sort of party or “soirée” usually the first evening of the fair. This time it featured a brief fashion runway show (featured here by Mark’s photos) including ladies wearing wig by a start up called “Big Hair”;  Complimentary drinks enhanced the atmosphere for exhibitors and guests.