10 Years of introducing Fresh Brands & New Designers
The longest running independent fashion trade event in
London, Margin is renowned for providing a successful
launchpad for directional new designers, alongside
credible established brands.
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Trends from the fashion trade show
On August 8th and 9th, London hosted the Margin Trade Show, one of the hottest spots for up-and-coming and established designers to flaunt their wares. Despite reports that Margin was lacking in the visitors department due to the recent terrorist events, it was still busy with independent buyers looking for hot labels to keep their stores fresh and ahead of the competition. One of our London trend correspondents stopped by, and this is what she saw for Spring 2006:
FEMININE DETAILS: Using beading, embroidery, and feminine style lines, the girly aesthetic dominated. There were skirts and dresses from Sugarhill with circle embroidery and embellishments, ribbon trimmed skirts and soft lines. Galibardy’s collection had a very glamorous 70s traveler theme, featuring flowing gowns and tops with beautiful, beaded embellishments and sporty hoodies with floral stitching. Stereotype and Ground Zero have taken t-shirts to the next level by introducing a very tailored tee and deconstructed tank tops.
SKULLS/JESUS/BLING MIX-UP: There was a lot of crossover between these three themes, and many brands incorporated all three into their collections. Heidi Seekers mixed beading, butterfly and tattoo graphics with skulls, while Kontakt featured apparel sporting metallic foil logos as well as gold, bling-worthy logo pins. Ground Zero’s graphics were a mix of cultural icons and graffiti art featuring Jesus, JFK, skulls and The Rolling Stones. 3rd Born gave goth a feminine edge with pink skull prints mixed with roses.
ETHICAL TRADE AND RECYCLING: Also a strong theme at the February show, the number of socially responsible and earth-friendly brands has grown even more, whether it be through recycling old fabrics, using fair-trade methods to produce or working with organic fabrics. Enamore’s hemp and vintage fabric mix featured beautiful design details. Rebe mixed vintage and new fabrics with lace to create a modern 50s style collection. Glo for Life sourced only fair trade t-shirts for their collection and Lady Luck Rules featured a quirky jewelry line made from recycled badges, buttons, old jewelry and trinkets.
“I really appreciated the space and the atmosphere. I really appreciated the attention of the team of people who made MARGIN. Thank you team, take care and hope we will meet in February.” Loreak Mendian
“Margin was a nice easy-style tradeshow where QWST was greeted with positive reaction for its different style and super quality collection. Orders were taken, photographers flashed and journalists from Europe to Japan greeted QWST with excitement and interest.” QWST
Lady Luck Rules OK opened up it’s jumbo rainbow stand at Margin for the third season running last weekend. Attendance was 30% down as some buyers chose not to visit London due to the events in July but nevertheless good orders were written and fun was had with my trade show gang! I’m pleased to welcome two exciting new European stockists Flying A in Switzerland and Eightball in Italy and lots of my current UK shops stocked up on a sparkling selection of new designs. On the last day Laura from Heidi Seeker and I did a swag swap - one of Laura’s LOVE WILL TEAR US APART biker cardigans for one of my Electric Daisy necklaces, a charm ring and a pair of Smurf sunglasses (see piccie below). This girlie is one to watch, her collection is super duper - punk meets new wave in an ice cream parlour! Oh yes!
After the show I spent 3 sunshine filled days in Devon with my boyfriend’s family. I feel relaxed and happy and ready to get down to work - I have lots of wholesale orders to complete now, more new items to add to the online shop and a secret project to get my teeth into. All will be revealed very soon…
“I just wanted to say thank you for the weekend. Both me & Lisa enjoyed the show and were happy with the leads from it. It was great to meet you both, and I can speak for myself and Lisa when I say that it was a lovely vibe, with cool (in a good way) exhibitors. There are several other labels I represent, and have recommended Margin to them for future exhibitions. Thanks again for having us at your exhibition, and for the water (!)” Galibardy/Maverik
Natural and eco-friendly were the key trends on display at the trade shows TBC/FAO and Margin, which wrapped their two-day runs in London yesterday.
At Margin (marginlondon.com), there was no shortage of eco-friendly exhibitors. Recycled vintage fabrics were used in abundance by such brands as Rebe, Junky and Enamore, as were veggie dyes and organic materials. In addition, a new mood was present at the show - several new additions laden with feminine and sometimes rather frilly appeal were nestled amongst brands such as Dephect and X-Large. According to the exhibitors’ formula, there’s no doubt that boys will be boys and girls will be girls next spring.
Two Margin brands of special note were Yes No Maybe and Stereotype. The latter displayed a great sense of fun in combination with a philosophical edge and precise cuts (yes, cuts - some of the tees were actually tailored). Yes No Maybe, on the other hand, launched, alongside its first collection of wittily designed tees and hoodies, a line of interesting hand-sprayed caps.
10 Years of introducing Fresh Brands & New Designers
The longest running independent fashion trade event in
London, Margin is renowned for providing a successful
launchpad for directional new designers, alongside
credible established brands.
Share:
