In a press conference yesterday in Barcelona, Spain, Bread & Butter Fashion Trade Show director Karl-Heinz Muller announced that Bread & Butter (B&B) would be concentrating on their Barcelona shows held each July and January, and discontinuing the popular Bread & Butter Kraftwerk “this is not a trade show” project that first took place in Berlin last January.
“The feedback to our last event BBBatKraftwerk was largely positive,” said Müller, “and a great number of brands and labels had already expressed an interest to attend in July 2007. But ultimately, discussions with the exhibitors made clear that they would rather see the focus on a strong, international show and increase their budgets for Barcelona than to divide it between two events.”
As we’ve reported from each show, Bread & Butter is the European trade show for young, contemporary brands, including denim, sports-inspired, upper urbanwear, and others. Their show in Barcelona in July is one of the most popular international meeting points among those in fashion, not only to discover what’s next in European streetwear and denim, but also to network with distributors, retailers, manufacturers, and up-and-coming designers.
BBB Kraftwerk was a completely original concept that used an old industrial space in Berlin to host art installations of select brands to showcase their designers and brands’ creative philosophies. Concepts of BBB Kraftwerk indicate a new movement of where trade shows are heading in that they need to be a mix of entertainment, creativity, and business in a unique and inspiring atmosphere. While trade shows were once the main source for brands and retailers to connect, smaller local shows, the internet, and new communication and distribution patterns have changed the need of trade shows in general in the past few years. In addition, changes in fashion have shifted the emphasis beyond the actual designs but also to the lifestyle surrounding various trends, which must be reflected in trade shows to be relevant to today’s consumer, buyers, and up-and-coming designers.
As we’ve noted about Bread & Butter, generally their trade shows often combine an atmosphere of inspiration, circus, creativity, as well as business in a unique balance.
One of the main additions of the expansion plans for B&B in Barcelona in July is the Studio.V area where 40 international collections will combine artistic and experimental with commercial aspects, which as B&B describes it, “the intellectual with the wearable.” The concept of the Studio is also to act as a gathering place for those looking for inspiration outside of the regular aesthetic of seasonal fashion. The 40 designers will not limit themselves to clothing only, but also have installations and creative work that go beyond the seasonal demands and restrictions of the fashion season.
The Superior Area (rather like upper urbanwear, European-style) has also been expanded with a gallery incorporated into the exhibition space. New entrants include Citizen of Humanity, Fabio di Nicola, The Great China Wall, Michael Korrs, and Justin Timberlake’s William Rest.
