PREMIUM Exhibition is the unavoidable, ever growing trade show for buyers in search of fresh retail talent. Among the hundreds of stands we visited during Fashion Week, we encountered a handful of standout brands and products. Here are our top three:
The eponymous label, which was selected to the very exclusive club of Hyeres’ 2014 designers and which has been worn by personalities such as Marina Abramovich, has gained great international exposure in recent years.
Ukranian-born, we can straight away see the strong political messages behind most of her pieces. Indeed, she was inspired by early 20th century Russia and those strict workers’ outfits. Sticking to womenswear, her garments cover and conceal the body, as a statement against commercialization of women’s bodies in our society today.
Her FW15 collection was inspired by the Berlin wall, revisiting the well-known Vrubel’s graffiti “Fraternal Kiss”, displaying more or less positive messages such as ‘My God, Help Me to Survive This Deadly Love’.
Before reaching the very last hall of the massive building, we passed through ‘the cubes’ and had to stop by the Instinct Olfactive stand.
In terms of sensory marketing, it can’t be said enough that nothing is as powerful as flagrances, playing on your emotions and evoke memories and nostalgia. The Hamburg-based company will, upon request, create a specific scent that represents your brand, values and vision.
We were quite intrigued by those large purple glass jars. Indeed, in addition of already having a large panel of scents that are made of fine essential oils, organic and Ecocert (with some scents such as ‘Ambre Montaigne’ or ‘Autralian Sandalwood’), the firm has developed several diffusers aimed at avoiding the modification of the scent. With just a couple of drops, those jars were a great testing alternative to paper scents or spraying it directly on yourself.
Even if this you don’t need a scarf right away, we’re in Germany after all and its never too early to start planning for winter!
We were quite impressed by the Thijs Verhaar stand, which stood out like an art installation.
As you can see in the picture below, in addition of taking over wall decoration, the scarves were streched at their maximum and wraped around a thin metal structure, creating angles on a garment that would normally never have any.
Bold geometric and graphic patterns paired up with vibrant colors make the designer’s work very contemporary. Made 100% of fine merino wool, the brand’s aim is to to create scarves that are resilient while being soft to the touch.
With an emphasis on production and craftsmanship, Thijs Verhaar is all about pushing the limits of knitwear. You can find additional information about his Knitwear Lab based in Holland here.
