Nickys Ragtales

I was double jobbing as both Fashion agent and blogger over the past few days at the Pure Fashion Fair in London. Set over three days and spanning young fashion which was held at Earls court and Women’s Wear, Accessories and Shoes at Olympia. A shuttle bus was on hand to go between the venues, not an ideal solution as one venue would be far preferable. My Press pass gave me access to the Press Lounge which in reality gave me a place to leave my coat and bags and grab a cup of coffee. Exhibitions are a great place to network, meet retailers, other agents and to generally get a feel for the market. Both Agents and buyers are always searching for something new, something to get an edge or an exclusive product and these shows are our hunting grounds. As an agent I was working on both the Wizard Jeans and Martine Wester jewellery stands. Running from one stand to another as customers from Ireland popped on gave me plenty of exercise. There was a definite increase of Irish buyers to this show from last season and while there seemed to be a lot of people looking, my personal feeling is that business was down in general. The UK market, I think is starting to feel the pinch whilst we in Ireland have been feeling the chill for some time.

Irish companies I passed frequently were Ingenue led by the Chica girls selling their value dress range and doing very brisk business and Susannagh Grogan who had a good first show with her stunning scarves after a nervous early start and I know she was very pleased with business by the finish. Many of the Irish buyers come to Pure for one day only and tie the visit in with other buying in the London showrooms. Sunday is traditionally a day for the Independents as they don’t have to take time off the shop floor. Monday sees the store buyers doing the rounds and I did spot Lisa Stanley from Arnotts and Geraldine Waldron from Clerys. Other Irish Agent friends were generally happy with the show. I opened new accounts for both Martine Wester and Wizard which was a positive result for me. Taking orders is one aspect of the business and an important part of the business is meeting other agents from different countries who are selling the same collections as well as management and staff who for the rest of the year are only voices on the end of the phone.

Zandra Rhodes was showing her collection and I managed a quick word with both her and the Accessory and Shoe organiser, actress Vicky Ogden. Both women arrived in a whirlwind of colour and high heels down the corridor. I grabbed my camera and ran after them. They were both happy to pose for me. Zandra

Rhodes who is now in her 70’s has kept her iconic pink hair and flamboyant theatrical style which suits her just as well now as it did when she started out. I blame her for a short spell in the 70’s when I copied her blue eye shadow. Zandra, I see, is still wearing hers whilst I on the other hand have never worn it again!