The surf industry looking to make a break-through at Mode City in Paris

By

Bruno Joly

Published
Feb 6, 2013

Eurosima, the European Surf Industry Manufacturers Association, is preparing its arrival in Paris for this July at the Mode City event. Surf brands are expected to flock to the city between the 6 to 8 July with the shared view of promoting women’s wear within the sector. Quicksilver, Rip curl, Billabong and Oxbow are among the brands that have already confirmed attendance. It is expected that O’Neill and Protest will do the same. The stakes are high for the surf specialists who are looking to use the occasion to reinforce the sector's image and to prevent brands like Hollister from dictating the image of surf in Europe.

The participating brands are looking to remind buyers that, unlike denim brands who take part in fashion trade shows, real surf brand have a connection with the people that practice the sport in question. “For the past two or three years we have wanted to put an emphasis on women’s wear and to win over swimwear retailers,” said Frédéric Basse, president of Eurosima and Managing Director at Rip Curl Europe.

Each brand taking part in the show is expected to have a stand measuring between 15m² and 20m². At the centre of the show will be a Basque-style bar set up with the help of Uztartu, a Basque agricultural association, and Innov’in, a wine specialist from the region.

In the meantime, Frédéric Basse had a meeting on Tuesday with the team at Eurovet, organizers of Mode City.