Paris fashion week is perhaps one of the most important events of the entire fashion calendar. As
designer Sonia Rykiel once said, “You can create fashion everywhere in the world, but the place
where you are crowned is Paris.”

Paris fashion week is, as you might expect, as magical as it sounds. Wandering through the streets of
the city of love, examining the latest collections and sipping out of champagne flutes. But it’s not all
croissants and rubbing elbows with haute couture designers. Paris fashion week is hard work – but
without question, good work.

The buyers from Morgan Clare attends Paris fashion week four times a year. The pre-collections for
Autumn/Winter are held in January, followed by the main collections in March. The pre-collections
for Spring/Summer are shown in June, followed by main collections in October. We know, it’s a little
confusing. And remember – we’re always shopping for the year ahead (sometimes two years ahead)
so add that into the mix too! Because of this, we’re completely reliant on our buyer’s fabulous taste
and knowledge of the industry to predict trends sometimes even two seasons before they happen.

But nothing takes place without any preparation, particularly in something as pre-planned and fast-
paced as the fashion industry. Our buyers meticulously analyze and prepare before we sign anything
on the dotted line. What can we say – we know exactly what our customers want, and we’re
determined to get it for them.

A typical Paris fashion week day starts with an early morning alarm, and our buyers are usually out
the door and at their first appointment at 8:30am. Designers sometimes hold their showrooms at
their base offices if they have a house in Paris, or the brands that don’t will rent out beautiful spaces
to showcase their new collections. After a long post-Covid catch up with some industry friends,
brands will present their bestsellers and ask what the buyers are looking for from them this season.

A showroom is usually adorned with rails of clothing separated by drops or collections, our buyers
will browse and assess as to whether they work well for the store for that time of year. Notes are
made on individual items, everything from sizing to fabric is checked over. There can be no buying
without a little mathematics, so the next step is to consider cost, but the quantifying decisions come
later. This is a tactical choice, because quantifying in appointments there and then restricts from
buying from brands you haven’t yet seen and could possibly fall in love with harder.

These appointments are repeated throughout the day with different brands, but the excitement of
seeing the shift in brand directions and what new trends are on the horizon is exhilarating.
Connecting with a network of people within the trade is a big plus at fashion week, and our buyers
have friends across the industry from all over the world because of this.

The end of the day slowly approaches, and a warm Parisian restaurant is calling for a glass of French
wine and some really delicious food. Then it’s time for some well-earned rest and up bright and early
to do it all again tomorrow.