Textile Forum and Fashion Fabric Show in London

This week I travelled down to London and went to the trade show; Textile Forum the Fashion Fabric Show.

It was a little textile show based in London that was open to artists and designers in the industry and also students. I was amazed at how small the show was, in comparison to other shows such as Pure or Premier Vision which I have visited; this was simply in two small rooms with maybe no more than 30 stalls.

 

Each stall represented a brand or company that where selling textiles and prints and had brought with them samples of their fabrics. It reminded me of my work experience in Vanners Silk Weavers in Sudbury Suffolk; where I had cut the sample fabric and mounted them onto boards to be shown at shows. So it was nice to see the other end and be the on the other side looking at the cuttings.

I did however, find it quite intimidating as there was only a selection of stands, the workers of each stand would watch come up to you, asking you questions which could be a bit scary. But once I had started talking to people and showing a hidden confidence it became easier and I really enjoyed it.

I managed to get quite a few cards of different companies and I also managed to ask for a few samples which will hopefully get sent within the next week. Companies I really liked were;

·         G H Leather; which I recognised as they have visited the Colchester Institute. They had a stall there which showcased some of their skins from cow, goat, snake and stingray. I fell in love with a white leather that was a Japanese hide. The hide is from a cow that is massaged everyday making the meat and also the skin softer and leaner and leaves it looking gorgeous. When I touched it, it was so soft it was like touching air.

·         Laurent Garigue London; Based in Kensington London, they had some beautiful woollen fabric and thicker materials as well as pattern fabrics. I have ordered some samples from them including hounds tooth and black and white check wools.

·         Bernstein &Banleys LTD; Based in South end (which could be handy!) they have an assortment of linings and trimmings. I sadly didn’t order any samples or view very much while at the show but I will be having a look online.

·         Bennet Silks; These were one of the first stands I went to and I wonder if they could smell I was a student as they were the only stand that charged for samples to be posted. They had some beautiful silks, bridal fabrics, georgette and chiffon. I had a look at their dupions and duchess silk, in so many different colours and mixes. This was where most samples where ordered and will hopefully get sent next week.

·         Pongees; this had amazing woollens! I fell in love with this black mohair they had on their rail that is £87 per metre! I have asked for a sample of this although this may take up to 4 weeks. They had beautiful wools and heavier weight fabrics.

I found the experience of going to this really helpful as it made me come out of my shell and have the confidence to approach different people within the industry. I feel I have picked up a lot of knowledge and hopefully some future contacts. I am also looking forward to receiving the samples from the stalls and having a root around in them seeing if I can use them in this collection.  I defiantly will try and go again to this textile fair and indeed any other show as I am finding really interesting and a good source of inspiration.