WHO'S NEXT?: Paris Trade Show

When I was in Paris with LCF, we were given an opportunity from one of our professors to attend a trade show. The professor had a few extra tickets because she and her PR firm were attending it that weekend, so I was eager to make sure I got one of the spares. This was my first trade show experience and I was thrilled to go! The trade show was called WHO’S NEXT? and it was located right outside Paris. A few of my classmates and I arrived to the grounds and were surprised to see that it was a massive production, there were 3 huge conference buildings that made up the show. I never really realized how much effort it took to put all of this together. There are many trade shows that go on in Paris every buying season and this was one of the biggest. Each building has a designated product category (accessories, handbags, pret-a-porter, etc.) and within each of these building are hundreds of designers showcasing their new products in kiosk type displays.

We started in the accessories department and ran into our professor who was with her designers, it was exciting to see her in her element and she showed us some of her designer’s jewelry. I also ran into a kiosk that displayed cuffs with transit maps on, I immediately recognized the brand and remembered that when I worked with the online d&mShop we sourced Drexel campus cuffs from this brand. I started conversation with the employee at the booth and she was happy to hear that I had some background knowledge of the brand and mentioned that Drexel was the first and only university that they had collaborated with. It is instances like this that make you realize what a small world we live in.

Anyway, the rest of the tradeshow was awesome, I really enjoyed walking around and observing not only the products but the people. There were SO many people and everyone seemed to be on a schedule; everyone there meant business! It was well worthwhile my time!