Ah Paris! Couture Central. Jewel in the Crown of Fashion. Romantic City of Love. And home of one of the largest and most prestigious lingerie trade shows in the world!

Not Quite ‘Emily in Paris’…

Perhaps Paris is indeed the fashion capital of the world, but for many of us who have exhibited at trade shows, the ‘Salon International de la Lingerie’ experience came with a few notable downsides.

Of course, as savvy entrepreneurs, before we took the plunge and booked a booth, signed the check, and designed dozens of samples. we had done our research by flying over from London and walking the show for two days – and the Paris salon seemed everything that we had imagined it would be! Top designers and buyers all under one exciting roof. Bursting with enthusiasm and inspiration, we couldn’t wait to exhibit our collection the next year and meet all the international buyers who flocked to the Porte de Versailles every January.

Alarms bells rang when they warned that not everyone in Paris was well-intentioned!

As first-time exhibitors, we were supported by the UKFT (UK Fashion & Textiles), the trade advisory group that does so much to promote UK domestic designers, brands and manufacturers.

Before our first of many trade shows, they invited us to attend a special meeting with other new companies, to offer advice on the presentation and logistics.

Alarms bells rang when we reach the section on the need for proper security. We were warned that not everyone in Paris was quite as well-intentioned as the nice people who had guided up onto the correct Metro line when we first visited.

During the special meeting, the transport company director named Simon, took us through the steps on how best to get the paperwork, carnets (merchandise passports), and samples sorted correctly so they would sail through customs. Then he turned to the apparently standard reassurance that by paying his drivers, they would stay in the Exhibition Hall after set-up day and patrol the stand throughout the night!

“Was this necessary,” we asked, feeling alarmed. “Oh yes!” was the answer.

Didn’t we realize the amount of crime that took place in Paris at the Salon de la Lingerie?

No. We were innocents. But over the years, we certainly found out.

It was quickly explained with a certain weariness that without paying the drivers to stay awake, anything could happen to the collections, once the Halls had emptied.

As it turned out, we were pretty lucky overall. Simon’s drivers were first class guys and did their upmost to protect our displays.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t cover all of the stands or booths spread throughout the vast Hall.

So, it was on the very first morning of our first exhibition, that we walked in with a friend in the trade, who was a longtime exhibitor who, as she turned the corner from us shouted, “They’ve stolen my display!

Apparently, anything not nailed down was fair game to the light-fingered thieves who could easily sneak into the halls at the back.

I guess we were pretty lucky by comparison to many others. We only had one sample taken. We quickly learned that we needed to take as many precautions as possible. We invested in lockable garment bags and would shield that stand overnight with drapes. That didn’t stop us having to apprehend a woman who – pretending to be a buyer – leaned down to reach into her purse, only to “accidentally” open my partner’s handbag and reach for the cash that we had ready to pay the model. My partner showed a different side to her normally calm and peaceful nature that evening!

Of course, we informed security, who seemed quite disinterested. And here was one of the problems: how did dubious gangs of youths, so obviously not there to work, gain entry? I mean, if we noticed them, why couldn’t they? Pretty quickly we all recognized that the honesty of many of the security staff was…er, questionable.

That might help explain how, whilst the drivers were acting as de facto police in the Hall overnight, the complete collection of Tuttabankem, one of the UK’s highest quality brands, was stolen from their vehicle in a “secure” car park with security cameras. The owner of Tuttabankem, put a piece of paper on the front of his stand explaining the situation, and just went home. All that creativity and work just taken by people who had no idea of the real value.

Crime while packing up Paris Trade Shows!

Even if the exhibitors had managed to survive the four-day show, with their collections and belongings intact, the biggest challenge was still to come.

Breakdown! Not the Tom Petty song, but that special time when we were allowed to close the stand on the final day and pack everything up.

The first thing we all noticed was that lots of the Italian companies always managed to leave early. So early, in fact, that some of them must have been halfway to the Alps by the time we were allowed to take our collections to our vehicles.

If there had been any kind of security on the Set-Up Day, the concept was usually abandoned completely in the chaos of the Breakdown Evening – a phrase that could refer to the dismantling of the booths, but also to the general concept of Law and Order.

Those dubious gangs of youths, first sighted four days earlier, returned in numbers.

A scream hit the air amongst all the noise, and it was an unfortunate woman had turned her back and had all her money and jewelry taken. Whilst she was in a state and being consoled by those of us who were able to leave a spare “guard” on their own stand, a few of us set off to catch the thief. We had all noticed him. Having chased him through the Hall, we found him and reported him to the nearby Security Team who listened rather curtly and did…nothing. Not interested. Nada.

That show was topped off as we reached the car park by the nearby sound of another howl of anguish, from a British designer who, having driven to Paris, now had two smashed windows and her suitcase rifled through. I’m not sure if she ever returned.

Of course, that was a few decades ago and it’s much better nowadays. Whilst one still needs to be attentive, the security at the Paris exhibitions is much better.

Nowadays, the new downside of exhibiting at places like the Paris trade shows is that these days there are so many fewer visitors. So, whilst the expenses go up, the returns come down.

Oh, and the Italians are still “making a break for it” around lunchtime on the last day of the show.