Spring Fair 2025: Hit or Miss?

This week saw a notable change in the dynamic of British fashion trade shows – Pure London moved north to Birmingham to sit alongside Spring Fair at the NEC.

In theory, it makes sense – lower exhibition costs, better accessibility for brands outside London, cheaper hotel costs, and by combining all three exhibitions into one extravaganza, a far more integrated buying experience for retailers.

But did it work? NO!

We’ve trodden the boards at UK fashion shows for more than 30 years and the vibrancy and aliveness we used to feel attending shows like Pure has now evaporated into thin air. Here’s our take and a snapshot of the event.

• Footfall on Tuesday was pitiful. OK, so it wasn’t deserted, there were still buyers, but the excitement was missing. It felt empty and flat. Like standing on a cold terrace at half time having seen your football team concede two own goals.
• Who designed the layout? The stands were tightly packed amongst endless rows, squeezing the creative life out of the exhibitors. There was simply no breathing space for brands to shine and stand out. It was packed all right, but in all the wrong ways.
• Spring Fair cast a long shadow. Yes, the fashion catwalks and showcases were still there, but they felt overshadowed by Spring Fair’s home and gift sectors. Pure London used to be the epicentre of UK fashion trade shows, but now it felt like an added extra, a fashion event squeezed into a general retail show.
• Young brands missing in action. Where were the young fashion brands? Pure used to be a magnet for young-oriented brands but, at Spring Fair, the brands targeting the mature market were doing far better. Whether that’s due to the general economic situation is anyone’s guess, but if the event is to maintain its youth and vibrancy, young brands need a stronger presence.
• Nova of London and Yumi. It was great to see two of our long-term clients absolutely smash it in terms of wholesale orders. It proves the maxim that well designed fashion using beautiful textiles will sell whether it’s in London, Birmingham or Glasgow. Both brands, incidentally, use the whole suite of i.LEVEL for their operations (stock control, wholesale, concessions, warehouse management, smart order taking, etc) and it’s a key part of their success.
• Harrogate looks promising. One name kept coming up: Harrogate Fashion Week taking place 2-4^th Feb 2025. So many buyers and exhibitors mentioned it that attending the Autumn show now feels essential​. It seems many in the industry see Harrogate as a more focused, fashion-driven alternative to Moda x Pure.
• Next stop – Scoop International. We’ll be at Scoop in Olympia which starts this Sunday (9^th Feb) and runs till Tuesday (11^th). This promises to be a younger and much more dynamic show, so if you’d like to meet for coffee to discuss how i.LEVEL can help your fashion business, just send an email to info (at) ilevelsoftware.co.uk. See you there!

In Summary

Spring Fair had the right ingredients to be a great event – good location, a major anniversary (75 years young!), and its new combined fashion collaboration with MODA x Pure. But it fell flat – footfall was low, trends were missing, and the layout stifled creativity. The organisers will need to start afresh for the autumn shows. Could Harrogate take its crown? We’ll be in Yorkshire this Autumn to find out.

But first, Scoop beckons – see you in a few days!