Pure London "quiet but good", exhibitors say

At the third day of UK fashion tradeshow Pure London, the Olympia venue in Kensington, West London, was sun-drenched and welcoming as visitors made their way to the show.

Inside, a quiet morning gave way to a busier lunch hour, but plenty of brands said it had felt quiet over the three days. Rotterdam-based Blake Seven, which began selling in Topshop just ten weeks ago, had been contacted by Pure after showing at Who's Next. Owners Michelle Pang and Irene Haast said the atmosphere at the show had been "nice. The second day was the busiest, but we think the stands on the second floor are probably less busy. We've had a nice response from buyers and would come back, though we think the winter edition of the show might be better."

Local, London-based brands Collectif and Beyond Retro both take the opportunity to use Pure as a showroom and had set up plenty of buyer meetings. Julia Metz at Collectif said this edition of Pure "has been really good and steady. 50% of our orders come from existing customers, but we've picked up new ones too. I just spoke to a Korean buyer yesterday, and our US buyers always come here. Footfall has felt a bit quieter than before, though."

Eleanor Gall at Beyond Retro, which was showing at Pure for the second time, said the brand has been well-received. "I think we have a good point of difference with our stand. Footfall was great on Sunday and Monday was quieter, but this is a good showroom opportunity for us and we had buyers coming back from last year."

The number of brands from abroad and the variety of brands on show is one of the nicest things about Pure, and this year we noted a number of Swedish brands. WeSC were at Pure for the first time to show its new womenswear collection by designer Carin Wester, and the brand's Adam Colton said: "It's been a bit quiet, but that could be the layout, and we've had some good meetings."

Shanghai-based brand Cubic's stall was one of the busiest at the fair and said this edition of Pure had been "amazing. It's our second time here and we've done so well," said Kinsie Sidolle. And like all the other brands we spoke to, Cubic hadn't yet noticed any effect from the Brexit vote. "I'm an optimist and believe every change brings opportunities," Sidolle said.

Swedish denim brand Cheap Monday was at Pure for the first time and said it had been "good so far" and that the brand had signed some new accounts. Both Cheap Monday and Nottingham-based menswear brand Lizard King said they were yet to see any effect from the Brexit vote. "There's been no impact from it at all for us so far," said Lizard King's Benjamin Maule. "We mainly have UK buyers." WeSC's Colton agreed, saying: "We can't gauge it at the moment as we don't know what's happening, but I don't think people are overly cautious yet, and we're keeping our prices stable for retailers."

Pure London finishes on July 26 and has over 700 brands showcasing their collections.

Pure London "quiet but good", exhibitors say

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