Mauricio de Luca from Italven Pelli (Italy), one of the 32 new exhibiting companies, was happy to have taken the decision to participate in the show and confirms that not only they have met all their clients but they have also made new potential contacts. ‘We will surely be present next February ‘, he states.

Tannery Flli Buongiorno (Italy) shares the same enthusiasm and reports having increased sales by 80% since their first participation in Le Cuir A Paris three years ago. ‘This is clearly due to a improvement in the quality of products exhibited but also to the growing importance of this Parisian appointment’, explains Fausto Donna Rumma, the tannery’s consultant designer.

‘Le Cuir A Paris has been integrated to my agenda as the business show not to be missed. This is my third participation and I will certainly be back for every edition’, states Claudionor Polenta from Berlonzi (Brazil).

Anet Bednarczuk from Anet Leather (Poland), affirms that not only they have worked well over the four days but also that Le Cuir A Paris ‘is the best show we ever participated in. We will come back next February.’

An increase in the exclusive leather buyers was noted and 13,590 visits were registered over the four days.

The strength of Le Cuir A Paris lies in the fact that it attracts top of the range visitors (all luxury and top quality ranges are present). It is also an international show (65 % of the visitors registered come from abroad)including an important presence from outside Europe, according to Ms Béatrice Rousseau, show manager.

New exhibitor, Alex Parera from Curtidos Parera (Spain), said he had met ‘the best names of the French fashion industry and several visitors from Germany and England.’

‘ This last session of Le Cuir A Paris was particularly dense and satisfactory for our research. There were a lot of material novelties, a careful product presentation and an interesting variety of exhibitors. We have made several contacts during the fair that will certainly be consolidated with buying orders’, said Jean-Yves Delannoy, director of material purchase for Lancel.&rtreturn;Aurélie Petit, Leather Project Manager for REPETTO regularly attends LE CUIR A PARIS and outlines, « the leather offer was particularly vast in this edition with the growing number of exhibitors”.

Flagship of the show, the Trends Gallery presented the colours and materials for the winter 2009 season. Carefully studied and selected for the gallery, the material samples were placed under four different themes: Sudden shower, Storm, Clear Spell and Thaw.

Four zooms on trends were put forward:

Achromia : De-pigmented skins, vegetable tanning, parchment. In their natural state, these off-whites recall ancient tanning methods. Alum crystals, lime water, asses milk, bark. Evoke the noble and ancestral gestures which embellish skins.

And if it were…: Leather, canvas and coatings, materials behave as if… Paper, bark, wood, formica, rubber, cork, stone, carpets… Textures and aspects which join forces to intrigue us, combining real and imitation.

Adam et Eve:

Adam clothed in wild fur and raw reptile skins seeks Eve, adorned in ornate clothes, shimmering lurex, metallic lacquers, exaggerated decors. Eve dressed in red lacquer tempts Adam enrobed in wild llama skins, red beaver, raw python and natural alligator.

Mr Korkut Cacar from Kardesan Deri (Turkey) exhibited in LE CUIR A PARIS for the first time and described the Trends Gallery as « a very important tool » for the exhibitors. « This space encourages us to constantly innovate so as to respond to the European market requirements».

Ms Odile Genest-Alajarin, Women’s Accessories Coordinator for PRINTEMPS, considers LE CUIR A PARIS as « a research tool for the trends, a helping hand for design and collection development ». This confirms the role of LE CUIR A PARIS as a leading leather trendsetter.

Finally, the Designers’ Village was enriched with the original creations of Valérie Saïd (bags and gloves), the bags of Nouria Nehari, the leather board compositions of the architect Wiktoria Guzelf, the interior decoration items of Cueros Latinos and the fur atelier of the Central Ostrobothnia University (Finland) and Noewa Fourrures (France).&rtreturn;