News

From 29-30 July, the fashion industry made its long-awaited return to the beautiful spa town of Harrogate with the inaugural Harrogate Fashion Week. With an overwhelmingly positive reaction from exhibitors and buyers, it was clear that the northern exhibition had been greatly missed.

Taking place early in the buying season, the trade only, two-day event showcased high quality, niche brands for independent fashion retailers. The northern charm of Harrogate had the intended effect, with the relaxed and friendly atmosphere being conducive to a successful show. James Lakeland said; “Harrogate is going to become a firm favourite with buyers and the footfall is going to grow massively. James Lakeland will be here in January, Harrogate is the one stop shop for all independent buyers in the country.” While Pomodoro commented “Harrogate Fashion Week was fashion and fun all under one roof. We opened new accounts and we were really busy on Sunday.”

Running across the 29^th & 30^th July, Sunday proved extremely busy for many exhibitors, Carol C said, “lots of new northern accounts were opened with us. We were so busy on Sunday, we started writing at 9.30am and didn’t lift our heads for lunch till 4pm!”

The Harrogate Convention Centre was the perfect venue for the show, with the location proving a popular choice among exhibitors and visitors alike. Alice Collins said; “the show was in a lovely location, it gave us the chance to meet customers we didn’t expect to and we saw accounts we hadn’t seen for a while which gave us the chance to reignite orders as well as gaining good new accounts.” Inside the halls, organisers Sarah Moody, Wendy Adams and Stephen Dixon had created a beautiful environment for brands to showcase their new collections, Brodie Cashmere commented; “We saw all the customers we had invited to the show and we had plenty of orders placed. The show itself was great, the layout and lighting worked so well, everyone’s products looked their best.”

With such a successful return, organisers are already working towards the next show, taking place 27^th to 28^th January 2019, with the aim of growing the show to four halls within the Harrogate Convention Centre. For further information on exhibiting, please contact Sarah Moody on sarah@harrogatefashionweek.com or 01423 623701.