Stand strong - Première Vision Leather 2016

As day two of Première Vision Leather gained momentum in Hall 3 of the Parc des Expositions de Villepinte outside central Paris, the mood elevated from the somewhat muted atmosphere of the previous day. One can never just go by the visitor numbers alone at leather fairs, especially with Première Vision and its mantra of attracting targeted buyers.

But considering the year Paris just had, with strains on the leather market in the industry picture and terrorist attacks at the headline level, there was a welcome sense of optimism, despite added security measures.

Since taking over from Cuir a Paris in 2014, Première Vision's mission to effectively harmonise all of its diverse offerings, with an eye, as they say, on helping each one complement the other's activities, all within the context of a single, harmonious, more effective and readable event, has been a success despite ongoing headwinds.

For leather in particular, focusing on high-end, luxury offerings, it's an ambitions challenge, especially when markets remain stagnant and some leather garment sectors, for example, are doing hurried soul-searching at the moment.

Summing up

In total, across each offering, 1,725 exhibitors set up shop at Première Vision Leather, including 270 in leather from 24 countries, 14 of which were new for this year, including impressive collections from Japan. Working collectively, they all gathered in the hopes of stimulating business among buyers and fashion brand designers who trust Première Vision Paris to assemble top tanners to invoke inspiration for the spring/summer 2017 collections. There were also two companies returning after many seasons of being absent, which is a strong testament to the show's appeal and effectiveness. But the overall number of exhibitors shows a 4% decline, down from 1,793 exhibitors in February 2015. Première Vision, however, is quick to point out that this figure remains high.

But leather across the board, from footwear to accessories and garments, still has its work cut out for it, after years of strong development, as diminishing hide prices, increasing regulations and geopolitical events continue to put pressure on the market. But there remains a resilient optimism, which was evident in Paris.