PREMIÈRE VISION, PATRON OF THE EXHIBITION ON THE HISTORY OF SHOES at the MUSÉE DES ARTS DÉCORATIFS OF PARIS

One of the main highlights at the next edition of Première Vision Paris - from February 11 to 13, 2020 at the Parc des Expositions de Paris Nord Villepinte - will be a relay of an exhibition on the history of Shoes currently showing at the Musee des Arts Decoratifs of Paris - through animations and educational installations about the conception and manufacture of shoes, providing a prospective and creative look at these key products that have entered the collections of all the fashion brands.

The exhibition "Marche et Démarche, Une histoire de la chaussure" focuses on the history of shoes and footwear, and is on until 23 February 2020 at the MAD, the Musée des Arts Décoratifs of Paris.

Above, a wide range of creative leather qualities on show at PREMIÈRE VISION LEATHER in Paris, and 

Below, displays of components and accessories at PREMIÈRE VISION ACCESSORIES, 

both events took place at the September 2019 PREMIÈRE VISION Paris show.

Photos by Lucia Carpio.

It is an exhibition of natural echo for Première Vision, which, through its flagship event Première Vision Paris, highlights each season the creative complementarity of the fashion industry’s professions, particularly in its specialized spaces: PREMIÈRE VISION LEATHER, the leather specialist universe which presents a selection of tanners and manufacturers for the leather goods, clothing and footwear markets, and PREMIÈRE VISION ACCESSORIES, which presents an offer of components for fashion, accessories and footwear.

British artist among 10 to participate in international exhibition at Istanbul Museum of Modern Art in February 2020 as part of residency programme

Rana Begum, “Baskets” (2017), at Kettle’s Yard, Cambridge, UK

London-based artist Rana Begum is one of ten artists from around the world invited to participate in a new residency programme at the Istanbul Museum of Modern Art, and their work will culminate in an exhibition in February 2020, with the support of the Istanbul Development Agency (ISTRA).

Rana Begum was inspired by the architecture of Istanbul, in particular the domed roofs that are such a prominent feature of the skyline. During her research trip, she visited workshops and learned about different metal spinning techniques. Renowned for her impressive and varied sculptures, Begum will use the practices she observed in Istanbul to create 60 different molds to make a large-scale wall piece for display in the final exhibition.

Born in 1977 in Bangladesh, then moved to the UK with her family, Rana Begum received a BA in painting from the Chelsea College of Arts, followed by an MFA in the same field from the Slade School of Fine Art. She currently lives and works in London. Using various modes of expression such as painting and sculpture, the artist draws inspiration from urban architecture and Islamic arts. She won the Abraaj Prize at Art Dubai 2017 and has had solo exhibitions and participated in group exhibitions in diverse countries, including the UK, the United States, France, Sweden, and China. Her works have appeared in exhibitions at Tate St Ives, UK (2018); Gemeentemuseum Den Haag, the Hague, the Netherlands (2017); Parasol Unit, London (2016); and MAK – Museum of Applied Arts, Vienna (2015).  One of her recent creations "Baskets" was shown at Kettle's Yard, Cambridge, UK, in 2017 as shown in picture above.

Each resident artist invited by the Istanbul Museum spends a total of six weeks in Istanbul over two separate visits, with the first part devoted to first-hand research and the next to the making process. During their first visit, the artists tour the workshops of different artisans, learning about traditional designs, material choices, and production methods. On their second trip to Turkey’s cultural capital, they apply this understanding of local crafts to their own artwork, creating a new piece that will be unveiled in the group exhibition.

Outi Pieski, “Čohkiideapmi / Falling Shawls” (2017), photo by Ari Karttunen / EMMA, and “Ovdavázzit – Forewalkers”, sitespecific sculptural installation for the Finnish Pavilion at the 58th Venice Biennale (2019), photo by Ugo Carmeni

Istanbul Modern is producing a series of short films recording the artists’ individual journeys, and will also compile and present an archival section as part of the exhibition. The museum will hold talks with the artists and organise educational workshops in conjunction with the show.

In addition to Rana Begum of London, the other participating artists are: Faig Ahmed (Baku), Benji Boyadgian (Jerusalem), Rodrigo Hernández (Lisbon and Mexico City), Servet Koçyiğit (Amsterdam), Outi Pieski (Utsjoki and Numminen), Randi & Katrine (Copenhagen), Wael Shawky (Alexandria and Philadelphia), and Jorinde Voigt (Berlin).

Mintel forecasts steady Christmas as British shoppers embrace Black Friday!

*Mintel forecasts December retail sales to be worth £48.7 billion 

*39% of consumers bought something during last year’s Black Friday promotions - Electrical items were the most popular purchases - bought by 49% of Black Friday shoppers

Love it or loathe it, Black Friday is now fully ingrained in the UK retail calendar.  While the official date of Black Friday isn't until November 29, many retailers are launching special deals starting from today, Friday, November 22, catching shoppers who want to do some early Christmas shopping.  

So whether you want to brave the high street full of bargain hunters and tourists or opt for shopping online in the peaceful home (or office) setting, there are serious deals and savings to be had, from electronic toys to games consoles, clothing, beauty and personal care.

Luxury Personalised Christmas Cracker - Family Treats by The Handmade Christmas Co. 

Black Friday is a tradition that originated in the US where retailers cut prices the day after Thanksgiving.  In recent years, UK retailers have hoped on the bandwagon and embraced it as a major annual shopping event in the run-up to Christmas.


According to retail and market experts at Mintel, last year almost two in five (39%) British consumers made a purchase during the Black Friday promotions.  Avoiding the retail rush, 86% of Black Friday shoppers bought online, while just under three in ten (29%) bought in-store. Amazon was the most popular destination, with 42% of Black Friday buyers shopping with the online giant during the event. 

ENGLISH LAVENDER COLLECTION By Yardley London

Overall, electrical items were the most popular purchases, bought by 49% of Black Friday shoppers, followed by clothing and footwear (38%) and beauty and fragrance (25%). 

Nick Carroll, Associate Director of Retail Research at Mintel, said:  “Black Friday is here to stay, and we expect it to be potentially the biggest it’s ever been in the UK. Unlike in recent years, Black Friday 2019 falls right at the end of the month - after payday and less than four weeks before Christmas. This makes perfect timing to capitalise on shoppers who are looking to save during this uncertain period.
Mintel forecasts December retail sales to be worth £48.7 billion 

Despite a particularly tough year, Mintel forecasts some Christmas cheer for Britain’s retailers. Latest research predicts that December’s retail sales will reach £48.7 billion, growing a respectable 3.8% compared to last December when sales hit £46.9 billion.  

 Personalised Christmas Bottle Bags can be ordered from Vanilla Reindeer.

Sales through non-food retailers this December are expected to reach £23.9 billion (including £4.2 billion from online sales generated by physical stores); while food retailers will enjoy sales of £18.8 billion (including £1.4 billion from online sales generated by physical stores). And in the battle between the clicks and bricks, Mintel estimates that internet pure players (online only retailers) will account for £6.0 billion worth of sales.

Mintel forecasts total online sales this December will be worth £11.6 billion, accounting for 23.7% of all retail sales.

Nick Carroll, Associate Director of Retail Research at Mintel, said: “The past few festive periods have shown that customers can be resilient in the face of uncertain times and we believe underlying demand will hold up reasonably well. Customers will, of course, be looking for value, and with fewer days between Black Friday and Christmas this year retailers’ margins may be particularly stretched.

“Although high-street retailers may be under pressure … those that can provide valued experiences whilst tapping into other underlying trends, such as local sourcing and ethical production, combined with attracting value-conscious shoppers, put themselves in a good position this festive season.”

Museum Shop Sunday December 1st - over 1,000 cultural venues

Museums and galleries offer not only arts, cultural and heritage attractions, but are also destinations for retail therapy, especially at this time of the year when consumers are on the look-out for unique gifts that range from quirky bespoke ranges to ethically sourced items.

Christmas Traditions – published in September 2019 from British Library Publishing - is a hardback that offers fascinating compendium of Christmas history by renowned popular historian George Goodwin.  It includes 60+ illustrations of original artwork celebrating a traditional Christmas and attractively packaged in a gift-book format.

Come December 1st, more than 1,000 cultural venues worldwide will celebrate the third annual Museum Shop Sunday, that will offer wide selections of gifts and include also happenings for consumers to participate and experience, such as food sampling and drinks tasting, book signings and craft activities.

Baby T. rex costume by Natural History Museum, London, for playtime, parties, anytime.  Ages Height Chest Waist 12 - 18 months 80cm 50cm 45cm 18 - 24 months 86cm 51cm 46cm 2 - 3 years 98cm 54cm 52cm

Participants in the UK include Historic Royal Palaces, London Transport Museum, the British Library, Imperial War Museums and Royal Museums Greenwich, Garden Museum, to name a few, as well as smaller local museums and galleries.

Christmas cards that Plant Trees and save bees from extinction!

This Christmas, send cards to loved ones that show you also care about our planet.

Each 100% recycled card from 1 Tree Cards comes with the planting of 1 tree in an area of mass deforestation. Inside, the receiver is greeted by a token telling them that '1 tree has been planted for you'. This token is embedded with seeds and can be grown into beautiful bee friendly flowersThis design is taken from our Leaf Moments collection and shows a beautiful festive scene carved out of a leaf image from the Suffolk countryside.

The humble greeting card has now been given an eco makeover that spreads joy to bees and the environment too, thanks to 1 Tree Cards which is on a mission to help save the bees with their 3-in-1 eco greeting cards that send love, plant trees and grow bee-friendly flowers.

When opening a 1 Tree Cards (printed with vegan inks on 100% recycled card), the receiver is greeted with a flower seed token infused with seeds that can be grown into bee-friendly flowers.

A box of Tree Planting Eco Christmas Cards from 1 Tree Cards.  Each box has 10 cards inside; each plants 1 tree and include a seed token that grows into bee friendly flowers. This box is called 'Tree Wishes' and has 2 cards of 5 designs each depicting a single tree with a winter companion.

Co-founder Becky Kijima says: “Bees are a keystone species (who pollinate our food supply) so without them, our ecosystem could cease to exist altogether. We wanted to raise awareness and give people a tangible way to help feed declining bee populations. What better time to do this than when someone’s already full of positive vibes from receiving a card?”

With more people wanting to help save the planet, these Eco cards have been a huge hit since launching last Summer with their growing number of almost 100 stockists, according to 1 Tree Cards.

Sustainability to loom large at PERFORMANCE DAYS, Munich, Germany.

PERFORMANCE DAYS, November 13 – 14 2019, Munich, Germany.


Across industries around the world, the issue of sustainability and the exploitation of resources and environmental pollution caused by the textile industry, specifically in the areas of water consumption, use of harmful chemicals, and CO2 emissions continue to be of much concern. This is the reason why the trade fair for functional fabrics and accessories, PERFORMANCE DAYS, is dedicated to the topic of sustainability and as they have done so for several years now, according to the fair’s top executive.  


Sustainability is a duty of the textile industry and PERFORMANCE DAYS is the engine, said Marco Weichert, head of Performance Days, who said "Sustainability is expected … It is much more than simply using recycled fibres and fabrics. PERFORMANCE DAYS was early to showcase this on a broad scale. We have accompanied the sustainable developments in the industry for many seasons, but even more, we provided the impulse in various directions for sustainability research and development." 


Marketing manager Lena Weimer added: "Our FOCUS TOPICS will focus innovative fibre and fabric producers to pursue developments in this field. Whether recycled fibres, recyclable materials, the important topics of biodegradability, water conservation or the use of natural fibres for functional fabrics – we show all possible textile aspects of sustainability for the industry."


Only sustainable materials will be presented in the curated PERFORMANCE FORUM, so visitors to the trade fair can gain an overview of all aspects of sustainability on the FOCUS TOPIC WALL which will feature a range of qualities, including Recycled fibres, Natural fibres from renewable resources, Recycling qualities, Biodegradables or compostables, Microplastics, Product life cycles, Water conservation, Energy savings, Reduce CO2 emissions and Reduce chemicals. 

TINTEX’s cutting edge colour technology will debut in Munich.  
COLORAU® was created with a Portuguese consortium
 constituted by premium realities and gives life to responsibly 
colored fabrics with antimicrobial properties, 
using natural dyes extracted from different types 
of natural plants resources 
that do not use salt in the production.

From TINTEX Textiles of Portugal will be its “WEME” collection - featuring new fabrics made from a mix of new generation of fibres that enhance free movement such as REFIBRA™ by Lenzing, Q-NOVA® by Fulgar and the unique GRS certified premium stretch ROICA™ EF.  There is also the “ECOPERFORMER” collection developed with Confetil and part of the CO.LAB project, a collaborative smart platform and research-lab aiming to create a new way of making fashion smart presented by C.L.A.S.S. 


TINTEX will feature in Performance Days its cutting-edge color technology which received the Sustainable Solution award in the May 2019 edition of Techtextil.  COLORAU® uses only compounds of natural origin such as thyme, boldo, peppermint, chestnut and gambier in the production of functional and sustainable textiles in a variety of fibers such as cotton, lyocell and wool. An eco-efficient and low temperature surface treatment improves the affinity between the textile substrate and these natural compounds. The technology features a selection of “performing” extracts for appropriate color fastness to light and washing as well as color durability and antimicrobial functionality.

"AGAIN" by PIAVE MAITEX with ROICA™ EF

Also exhibiting at Performance Days will be a selection of fabrics made in ROICA ™ Premium Stretch Fiber designed for everyday life by Asahi Kasei of Japan, which stated that many leading fabric manufacturers and well-known sportswear and active clothing brands in Europe are using the ROICA Eco-Smart™ family of innovations.  From Italy the exhibiting companies are CIFRA S.p.A. showing performing developments, MAGLIFICIO RIPA S.p.A. presenting new intimate, beachwear, athleisure and sportswear developments, M.I.T.I. S.p.A. showcasing innovative stretch warp knitted fabrics for high performance sports; and Piave Maitex S.r.l.; Piave Maitex S.r.l. (IT), booth C13 / hall C1, presents their fabric collection “AGAIN”, a new smart and technically advanced line of highly performing jerseys.


In addition, from France, the Payen group will be introducing an aerodynamic fabric and a Gradual Compression fabric made with ROICA Resistance™ family’s yarns, which stand out for cutting-edge protection stretch functions, to bring performance to a new level.  SOFILETA will present innovative warp & weft knitted materials developed with ROICA™ V550 & ROICA™ EF blended with post-consumer recycled Polyester and recycled Polyamide, as well as blends with Amni® Soul Eco from Solvay.

Sports brand Under Armour is Exclusive Technical Spacewear partner of Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Partners with Under Armour to Unveil the World’s First Exclusive Spacewear System for Private Astronauts as Virgin heads toward commercial operations in 2020.

Virgin Galactic CEO Richard Branson and models showing the full range of Spacewear system 

collaboratively designed with sportswear brand Under Armour.

The new spacewear system follows this mantra, informing fabric choice, structure and fit.  Temperature management, for example, is regulated by performance fibers and knit density, mapped to the body to provide perfect warmth and moisture management, while preventing overheating or chilling. 

Photo from Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic photo.

Virgin Galactic and Under Armour unveiled the collaboratively designed Spacewear system in New York two weeks ago for Virgin Galactic astronauts, comprising a base layer, spacesuit, footwear, training suit and Limited Edition astronaut jacket.  It is the first such collection ever created specifically for private astronauts.

As every element of the Virgin Galactic customer journey is designed to enrich the profound and transformative qualities of the human spaceflight experience, according to the CEOs of both companies, the design of astronaut apparel requires a unique combination of comfort and utility matched by the ultimate focus on unique, life-changing customer experience. 

“Virgin Galactic gave us an exciting challenge to build the world’s first commercial spacesuit,” said Kevin Plank, founder and CEO of Under Armour. “Innovation is at the core of everything we do and our team delivered a unique twist on the classic spacesuit utilizing both existing and new UA technologies to define space gear for the future.  It is an incredible opportunity to showcase our key performance innovations in space at the highest level and continue to push the limits of human performance.”

From the initial brief through to final fabrication, the suit design concepts were defined through inputs from a wide variety of experts, including doctors, astronaut trainers, pilots, apparel and footwear designers, engineers and Future Astronaut customers, to fully understand and address all requirements.   

Safety is Virgin Galactic’s North Star and underlined the choice of materials and other key design considerations. Richard Branson said: “Spacesuits are a part of the iconography of the first space age; our visual impressions of human spaceflight and what astronauts wear are inextricably linked. Requirements for astronaut spacewear as we enter the second space age are evolving, but the design challenge has not diminished. We were delighted when Kevin and Under Armour stepped up to this task and they have surpassed our expectations. I love the way the spacewear looks and I love the way it feels. I also love the fact that the next time I put it on, I will be on my way to space.”