Alternative Fashion Exhibition

PunkTV.ca: What are the origins of Londonedge?Londonedge came about in 2000 as a result of the founders Carole Hunter & Sandra Phillipson coming together to provide a platform for the alternative fashion & giftware market. Sandra was an exhibitor at a show that Carole was managing which was being closed down. Once the show was closed there would have been no trade exhibition offering space to this market, and so we came up with a plan to launch something dedicated to that market. This became Londonedge which took place for the first time in February 2000.  PunkTV.ca: This is your second year coming to New York. Why did you decide to make the move to New York?For years we have had a strong group of US exhibitors at the London show and they have encouraged us to launch something in the States. Finally we started looking into the options and, after some debate, we decided that the East Coast was not being looked after as well as the West and New York became the obvious choice.PunkTV.ca: What can one expect to find at the Londonedge New York show? This season LENY will house 65-70 exhibitors showing all manner of clothing, footwear & accessories collections covering the whole gamut of the alternative market. From goth, punk, emo, rock, retro, rockabilly, cyber, etc., etc., etc. All things alternative will be represented.
 PunkTV.ca: Tradeshows don’t really seem that “punk rock”. How is this onedifferent?LENY & Londonedge are entirely devoted to the alternative/cult markets. Rather than paying lip service to a few companies, these shows are ALL about the cult markets and the common denominator across all of the exhibitors is that they offer something edgy and different. We provide a relaxed trading environment, nothing corporate or stuffy, and we provide a DJ & put on some fab alternative entertainment such as the Grinder Girl on the David Letterman show, contortionists, belly dancers, the Mini Britney Spears and extreme stilt walkers.
 PunkTV.ca: What are some new brands that we will be seeing a lot ofsoon?At LENY there are some great collections coming out of the UK such as Criminal, Hell Bunny & Living Dead Souls as well as some great North American ranges such as Spark Designs, Make Love Not Trash, Sailor Jerry, Funky Urban, Wild Rose Tattoo Shirts & Tattooed Kingpin.
 PunkTV.ca: Why is it that the general public is not allowed into theshow? Aren’t they the ones who wear the clothes?The reason why the public can’t come into the show at the moment is that the booth holders are set up to take wholesale orders from retailers. The price point is therefore a wholesale price point rather than a retail one and they are set up very differently to cater for consumer shows. For instance they would need to have a lot of stock at the show, have credit card facilities etc., etc. Also, the exhibition as a whole has loads of other stuff to consider if the public were allowed in such as size of gangways, security, advertising etc., etc., etc. It is something that could be considered going forward though because, you’re right, they are the ones buying & wearing the gear!PunkTV.ca: What is next for Londonedge?After New York we have London 7-9th September. After that we have an exciting new website project as well as considering options to expand the brand into the east!

This entry was posted on Wednesday, July 16th, 2008 at 3:23 pm and is filed under Alternative Fashion Show. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.