I realise I never mentioned that I was jetting off to Paris for a few days this week, but I have just got back, and what a lovely trip it was! The main reason for the trip was to visit the ‘Premiere Vision’ show, and to see the designers and companies who were exhibiting. However there was just enough time (in the whirlwind 3days) to go up the Eiffel Tower and to see the Sacre Coeur, Notre Dame and the Pompidou. Venturing up the Eiffel Tower was amazing, the view was stunning and the structure itself is very beautiful. Our hotel was just below the Sacre Coeur, which I had not seen before, but it was gorgeous and I wish we had spent a little more time looking around, but I know where I want to go next time I am in Paris. Notre Dame is one of my favourite buildings in Paris (I had seen it before on Inter-rail in 2009) and it did not disappoint! Unfortunately we ran out of time to actually go around the Pompidou however the outside was very different to any gallery I had ever seen before and the atrium was lovely (another place I will be coming back to).
Anyway back to the main reason for the trip.
Premiere Vision was a great experience to see how the designers displayed their work, but as students it was not the best place to really understand the work. Admittedly the designers are there to get business and make money, but most (if not all) of the designers didn’t really want to talk to us.
The setup of the show was pretty much completely different from Top Drawer as in the ‘Premiere Vision’ section, where the companies exhibited, had personal booths and were quite hidden from view. However, having said that they had a square glass box on the outside of their booths to promote themselves. I thought this was an interesting idea as it only gave them a certain amount of space to encourage passers-by to stop and have a look. Some displays were very creative and exciting to look at. For example Malhia Kent had 4 shelves each with a different theme and had made miniature scenes out of her fabrics, which included miniature clothing, furniture, and wall art. Another company had put their fabric samples in glass bottles; and another had theirs hanging in picture frames.
The ‘Indigo’ section of the show was where the designers displayed their work and was set up more like Top Drawer. This section was easier for students to have a proper look at the fabric, and take business cards/postcards of the designers for future reference. There were a range of designers from print to mixed media, which was interesting to see.
Although seeing Premiere Vision was interesting I don’t think I will be going again, reason being that as I’ve mentioned before there isn’t much work on view for students. However I do wish we had had more time in Paris to really appreciate the city, however with a lot of work to be getting on with back home; I shall keep it for another time.
