September 2023 - Who's Next Paris - showing collections for Spring/Summer 2024 - Fashion Hat - Connecting the headwear industry with success

WHO’S NEXT, PARIS

2nd – 4th September 2023

Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, 75015 Paris

Who’s Next takes place at the Paris Expo, located in the south west of the city. This is a large purpose-built exhibition centre with at least six spacious halls. Hall No 1, where the exhibition took place this season, is one of the most modern, it is also close to the metro with good natural light.

The Accessory Sector was positioned close to the entrance, where more than 20 top brands presented collections for next spring.

Following three dreadful years of the Pandemic, Who’s Next returned this season as one of Europe’s major shows. Confident, large-scale and exciting. New sectors had been added, talks and seminars organised, and for the two days I attended a busy and productive atmosphere prevailed.

This show is for buyer of accessories and clothing, (however, I always feel that the clothing is not as dynamic as the accessories). This season there were more than 22 major international brands launching collections from their own stands, plus many clothing and accessory companies with headwear as part of their ‘mix’.

From France, Flechet offered over 150 styles of men's hats and caps.

In the Chinese Sector, Jeffrey Sun's company Key-One was showing a range of baseball caps

From the Netherlands, the Bronte brand showed a collection in soft pastels.

Frasconi from Florence, Italy showed a wide range of ladies soft and blocked headwear

One company returning to Paris after many years was Crambes from Caussade, one of the largest headwear factories in France. Until 2019 it was owned and run by the Crambes family. Thierry Fresquet the founder’s grandson had regularly invited visitors in Caussade for the hat festival to visit the factory on the Monday morning.

Here at Who’s Next was the first time I’d met Mr Benoit Besnault, now co-owner of Crambes. He told me that the factory was making their entire collection in-house, producing for the ‘luxury market’ and were redeveloping old skills, such as the making of sewn straws. They had now 43 employees and remained one of the largest hat factories in Europe.

Mr Besnault spoke to me from their stand at Who's Next. The interview I posted on my Instagram page on Sept 3rd 2023. (carole_the_hat)

Crambes stand. It was the first time they had shown in Paris for 20 years!

New prints their had developed for their spring/summer 2024 collection

The collection of sewn straw, made from natural wheat straw and raffia straw.

Alejandro Lecaro heads the company Ecua Andino from Ecuador. They work across the entire production of Panama hats. From producing the straw to weaving and crocheting the hoods, then to the final blocking, and finally selling the hats on the international market. This season they displayed Panama hats in both the traditional natural straw, and in a large range of colours. I asked Alejandro where the dying came into the process of manufacture.

“Displayed on our stand is a basic unfinished hood, showing the large number of strands required for just one hat. The dying for woven Panama hats takes place after the hood is completed and prior to the blocking.

On the other hand, the crochet, or hippy style as we call it, is crocheted in the colour required, therefore the dyeing is completed before the construction”.

The company has exhibited at this show each September for more than 20 years, and is known and acknowledged by everyone.