Seize the opportunity at Pure’s festival of fashion

Pure London catwalk trend presentation

Fashion, footwear and accessories trade show Pure London returns this summer, bringing together a comprehensive mix of international brands and fresh business opportunities, promising to deliver the UK’s biggest “festival of fashion”.

Highlights include new area Pop, which joins Pure’s existing sustainable, womenswear, footwear, accessories and jewellery destinations, aiming to connect buyers with the next generation of brands.

Alongside trend presentations, catwalk shows, panel talks and seminars, this season’s content offering is headlined by the retail veteran behind the launches of Next, George at Asda and Per Una at Marks & Spencer, George Davies.

With both trade shows Scoop and Pure London running at West London’s Olympia, the complex will be a hotspot of buying opportunities for the new season.

Gloria Sandrucci

Drapers meets Pure London’s event director, Gloria Sandrucci, to find out what buyers need to know about the upcoming SS24 edition.

What can visitors expect from this season’s edition of Pure London? What is new?

We have an incredible line-up of brands showcasing their new collections, plus a packed content programme. The design of Olympia London is going to be beautiful.

This season is all about newness. We are welcoming new brands to the show, including Desigual, NKN, Surkana, Chie Mihara, Mirla Beane, Lola Cruz, Bibi Lou, Blue B, Friends of the Sea, Pho Firenze, Sahi London and Glamorous.

British lifestyle brand Joules also returns after nearly a decade of absence from Pure London to launch its latest collection, marking a step change for the business.

Meanwhile, we are committed to fostering emerging talents, and I’m very excited that for the first time we will be partnering with Graduate Fashion Week to showcase some of the graduate winners’ designs as part of the Pure London catwalk show, giving the next generation of innovators an incredible platform to the industry.

Pop is a new area of the show. What is it?

The new destination is inspired by pop culture, and invites visitors to engage with the next generation, offering a diverse selection of streetwear, alternative, gender-neutral collections, vintage labels, festival outfits and tech-infused pieces. It is driven by inclusivity, innovation and diversity, and will present creative, fun, cultured and environmentally tuned-in collections.

Tell us about the sustainable destination. How do you select brands for this area?

The sustainable destination will present a curated edit of exhibitors that we believe lead the way in addressing their environmental and social impact. This destination uses the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to assess the impact of the exhibitors, who must demonstrate that they are tackling specific key issues to exhibit within the destination. The sustainable destination was launched at the February 2023 show and, building on its success, it will continue to raise the profile of ethical and sustainable fashion across the entire event.

Retail legend George Davies is the keynote speaker in this season’s content offering. What can we expect?

Davies paved the way for many brands by transforming UK retail, so it is safe to say he has a story to tell. Expect the interview to cover his career, the UK fashion market today, the future of UK retail and more.

George Davies

What are some of your other highlights from the catwalk and content programme?

Malaïka Ewande, founder and creative director of creative consultancy Vesuvius, will host a series of exclusive trend sessions.

A circular fashion panel will explore the circular fashion economy to learn more about the future of sustainable fashion.

The Pure London catwalk will host the SS24 shows, which will bring the new season’s trends to life and include an exciting selection of Graduate Fashion Week designs.

As always, the Pure teams have worked hard to bring together a wide selection of international names. Tell us about this.

Pure London welcomes many international brands who are eager to launch their collections to the UK fashion market. This season we are partnering with the Valencian Footwear Association to showcase Spanish footwear brands, and the Romanian Contemporary Jewellery Association to present Romanian fashion, footwear and jewellery labels.

Further to this, we are showcasing many collections from Greece, France, Turkey, America, China and Australia. Pure London is truly a global collective and an international platform.

Pure London catwalk trend presentation

The theme of this season’s event is “nature-verse”. What does this mean, and why is this relevant for fashion retail as we enter this new season?

Created in collaboration with the show’s trend agency specialist Vesuvius, nature-verse is a fusion of two of 2024’s strongest fashion trends, “Nature Preserve” and “Technology Transition”, which highlight the powerful role of technology in preserving the natural world.

It represents everything we stand for at Pure London and the incredible work so many people are doing to protect our natural world.

Why should people visit Pure London this season?

It will be a true celebration of fashion, and a haven of inspiration, insightful seminars and trend information, and a place to network and do business.