Wholesale fabric shows: Premiere Vision or Texworld?

I’ve received several emails from readers who plan to travel to New York this July to attend one of the wholesale fabric shows. If you’re local, it’s not a tough decision because you can walk both of them. For people flying in, that the shows are held a week apart makes choosing a bit more difficult. The two shows are Premiere Vision (July 13-14) and Texworld (July 19-21). One show isn’t better than the other, each represents different value. Here’s what I can tell you.

I went to the Premiere Vision show in Paris (two years ago) but have never been to the PV New York show. I would imagine the NY show isn’t quite as good as the Paris show (you’d be surprised how many people can’t get visas or don’t want a piece of the US market) but few would argue that PV NY is not the top tier designer fabric show in the US. Let me qualify that. Premiere Vision is a better choice if you have a fashion forward bridge or contemporary line with high price points, and have or aspire to have a presence in the EU or Asia. I liked the Paris show very much. See the review I wrote of it (do that enough times and you’d never need to buy a sourcing directory). The ambiance is professional and muted, very conducive to business (as is Texworld).

Texworld presents different opportunities, two additional shows are co-located with it. Namely a home textiles and an apparel contracting show. I have attended this show in Paris and in Atlanta. Or rather, I went to a show managed by the same company that manages Texworld (Messe Frankfurt). I love how well this show is managed, they’ve taken over the SPESA show starting in 2012 and considering the horrid show management experience I had at SPESA, have become a fan girl of Messe Frankfurt. Texworld fabric shows both here and in Paris are better suited to middle range producers.

Speaking of, Messe Frankfurt -which manages Texworld- is the world’s largest trade show management company in apparel related stuff. They’ve made it clear they want to make shows more accessible to larger portions of the US market (LA etc). This is a benefit to those who can’t or don’t want to go to NY shows. That the company is stable with expansion plans means that more of their exhibitors will ride their coat tails to rent booth space in non-NY shows which means more access to those resources for more of us.

Premiere Vision is no slouch either; their shows also seem to be well managed. The Paris show is usually considered to be the best in the world (the Mecca of fabric). They don’t have plans (as far as I know) to open shows anywhere else in the US. LA is too casual; Las Vegas doesn’t suit their image. Basically they know their market which concentrates at the high end. People with upscale lines have the means to go to either NY or Paris to attend the show so PV doesn’t need to open in LA or any of the secondary markets.

Summary:
If I had a fashion forward bridge line with higher price points, I’d go to Premiere Vision. PV is eye candy and on trend. Do go sometime if you have the opportunity even if it’s not your show.

If my line were more price resistant and I wanted to get my legs under me with sourcing mid range fabrics (and had relatively little show experience) and were also possibly interested in off shore contract production, I’d go to Texworld.

Related:
Texworld vs Premiere Vision
Trip Report: Premiere Vision Paris
NY fabric shows: Printsource, Direction, TexWorld & Premiere Vision
Premiere Vision 2007/2008 Trend ForecastThe SPESA show is no more

Get New Posts by Email

12 comments

  1. Thanks for this post. It’s unfortunate that attendees might need to choose between shows when scheduling sourcing trips, but sometimes, it’s inevitable.
    At Texworld USA, we don’t have the same approach to trend as other shows, but we are working on providing our exhibitors and attendees with more tools and resources via our (relatively) new partnership with http://www.stylesight.com.
    Also, if you have to consider which week to visit New York, it’s worth noting that our friends at Kingpins http://www.kingpins.info/default.htm and the Spin Expo organizers are both having their show the same week as Texworld USA.
    Thanks, Alex

  2. gisela says:

    Kathleen,

    I know these shows could be beneficial even if I’m just starting my new line. But do you know if the vendors there are willing to work with a new start up? I’m reading your book currently, just finishing Chapter 2, but I’m not to familiar on shows for small lines since my experience is working for big fashion companies and the fabric orders are well over 1,000 yards.

    Thanks!

    I also signed up for the forum but did not here back. Maybe I did something wrong.

    Gisela

  3. Kathleen says:

    I also signed up for the forum but did not here back. Maybe I did something wrong.

    Hi Gisela. The system sends you an email automatically after you sign up. You need to respond to it or the account is deleted within 48 hours. Please sign up again (read the user agreement carefully, it is specific to our forum) and then check your spam folder if you don’t find the email from the system in your inbox.

  4. Donna says:

    Thank you for the textile show tips….BTW, I signed up for the forum, heard back, but my password did not work. I would appreciate help in gaining access.

  5. Kathleen says:

    BTW, I signed up for the forum, heard back, but my password did not work.

    Hi Donna. The system sends you an email automatically after you sign up. You need to respond to it or the account is deleted within 48 hours. Please sign up again (read the user agreement carefully, it is specific to our forum) and then check your spam folder if you don’t find the email from the system in your inbox.

  6. Barbara Pontius says:

    Turns out I’ll be in New York July 13 and 14. I’m excited to attend my first show – just to learn. Anyone interested in meeting up?

  7. Ed T says:

    Unfortunately I can’t mention too much, but long and short of it, during my school exhibition, I was invited to show at TexWorld in Feb 2012. I know what Tex-World is, but don’t have a great grasp on the attendees and who it’s geared towards(I live in Paris right now). So thanks for the insight, I think it will help me decide what I will show at the coming show! A quick question though Kathleen, any thoughts on how to protect my work from what happens to small-time designers at these exhibitions(rampant copying, etc)…? Much appreciated

  8. Kathleen says:

    any thoughts on how to protect my work from what happens to small-time designers at these exhibitions (rampant copying, etc)…?

    Sure. Don’t go. Don’t exhibit. Besides, who says there is rampant copying? Maybe whoever else has drawn inspiration from whoever you did or it’s a case of synchronicity. It happens. Point is, even if it happens, it’s only the end of the world if that’s all you’ve got. And if that’s the case, it would only be a matter of time before the well ran dry so it could end up being a blessing (if you intend to go broke, do it quickly rather than prolonging the agony). There’s a direct correlation between paranoia and the length of one’s time in the industry. Old pros don’t sweat it. By the time others have copied them, they’ve moved on to the next season and fresh new ideas. All of this is in my book and includes pointers on how to be less of a target (people do pick their targets; better to know what makes a target to avoid becoming one).

    Re: synchronicity

    Charles Darwin was working on his treatise about “survival of the fittest” in 1844, when he received a manuscript from A.R. Wallace, a biologist unknown to him. Darwin later wrote:

    “I never saw a more striking coincidence. If Wallace had my M.S. sketch written out in 1842 he could not have made a better short abstract! Even his terms now stand as heads of my chapters.”

  9. Katherine says:

    Hi Kathleen,

    Thank you for all of the insight. I have dabbled in the design world for past 7 years with local fabric retailers which is so pricy there isn’t much room for markup, however the fabric is divine and there is such a variety. I’m definitely going to purchasing your book. I just wanted to truly thank you for all of the advice and break down of the different shows. It’s incredibly difficult to justify a trip to NY or even plan the Paris trip when you are beginning this process and can’t find legit feedback and strong guidance. Keep doing what your doing, your amazing. God bless!

  10. debbie says:

    Hi Kathleen,
    Thanks for this helpful post. I wasn’t surprised to see that it was written by you! I love your book and have enjoyed our conversations. Always very helpful.
    Happy New Year!

Leave a Reply to Kathleen Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.