According to organisers, a sporty and relaxed ambiance inspired by summer 2012 marks the next session of the Indigo Fashion Edition, taking place from 8 - 10 February at the Parc d'Expositions de Paris-Nord Villepinte.

As of 31 December 2010, with 154 studios from 14 countries registered, the number of exhibitors is said to be up by nearly 3% over February 2010. Among them are 13 new studios: one German, one British, one Spanish, six French, one Irish, two Italian and one Japanese. At the same time Indigo says it has also registered an increase in stand surface of nearly 8%, a tangible sign demonstrating, on the one hand, the improved business of its regular exhibitors, and, on the other, the appeal of the Paris show to young talents.

Fashion universities and schools

Convinced of the importance of supporting the next generation of illustrators and designers, Indigo, as it does each February session, will open its doors to top international fashion universities and schools. There will be ten of them this year, coming from the United Kingdom (7), Austria (1), Denmark (1), and France (1). Their presence at Indigo allows the schools to showcase the creativity and know-how of their students, for whom this is often the first contact with the professional world. The participation of the winners of the Texprint competition at each September edition is the other component of Indigo's commitment to young and emerging talent.

Beachwear

This session, in line with the Pluriel Expert Trail dedicated to ‘Swimwear’, Indigo is showcasing approximately 30 studios which have made beachwear one of their specialities. They are proposing designs for a market whose development has been aided by segmented vacations and the extension of leisure time. Indigo says, the emergence of Cruise collections or pre-season collections - which no longer constitute a preview of summer trends but entirely separate collections - have lent a new élan to beachwear, once limited to the summer season.

According to Indigo, alongside traditional swimwear, this phenomenon has also generated a multitude of accessories, each more colourful and visually appealing than the next (beach towels, pareos, sandals, bags, etc.), to help create a ‘total look’. In another vein, surf wear, a major source of inspiration for young fashions, is also a consumer of designs and images. “From the ‘pure player’ specialised in swimwear, to ‘boutique’ brands and designers who have included special lines or articles into their collections, all the professionals visiting Indigo will appreciate this additional spotlight onto a sector for whom patterns remain a key value”, organisers say.

The ‘Beachwear’ focus is said to inspire the display in the Fashion Area, which sketches out a somewhat dreamy universe of a surrealistic beach, with unfinished and only partly assembled cabanas, surf boards flying off, and folding chairs awaiting holiday makers. “Onto these structures will be reproduced the designs of beachwear specialists and the exhibitors' patterns inspired by the major decorative influences for spring summer 12 as proposed by the Indigo Première Vision fashion team.

These influences underline complementary alliances of fabric, colour and decoration, and proposed six themes to fire exhibitors' imagination and inspiration: colourful abstraction, quiet profusion, 2D & 3D, shaky balance, between primitive & high tech, and joyously graphic. Themes studios can explore for their collections, and buyers and designers will discover in the video proposed in the fashion area, and on the king-size wall of images that now serves as a signpost to the show's decorative Influences”, Indigo says, adding:

New Exhibitors at Indigo Fashion edition

CURIOUS TALES (GB): textile designs for women's and children's ready to wear, digital, screen prints, and engineered motifs.

DUETTE (FR): collections adapted to the fashion and home universe in a resolutely modern spirit. Also research into the latest trends, and development of products in limited series.

IDEA PLUS STUDIO (FR): designs for traditional and digital prints (on CD), embroideries with production follow-up, weaves and knits.

KIITOS (FR): this combination of 3 female textile designers proposes a collection of refined, fresh and colourful prints, with a slightly retro feel.

LE CLUB ART (ES) : a creative studio drawing inspiration from a variety of concepts: nature, objects, geometry...hand or computer-aided designs.

LE COEUR DU VILLAGE - CHEZ SARAH (FR) : antique clothes, fabric samples and embroidered samples, lace, ribbons, braid, etc.

LICA DESIGN (DE) : original hand-painted patterns and digitally printed patterns on fabrics, and presented in clothing shapes.

LILY GRAPHICS (IT): patterns intended for the men's, women's, children's and teenage markets (coordinated lines, fabrics, knits).

MISTER STUDIO (FR): proposes a dynamic and colourful universe playing on abstract, figurative or floral compositions. Combinations and hand drawings and digital retouching for contemporary motifs.

OKOSHI KATAGAMI (JP): a designer of textile patterns for kimonos since 1924. Uses the Katagami handcrafted technique, engraving paper, entirely embossed by hand.

STUDIOMADE@NTU (GB): an innovative collection of fabric designs created by the students, team and graduates of Nottingham Trent University.

THE ANDRE HEGET C° (IT): a collection of vintage patterns and samples from 1800 to 2000.

THELITTLEBE (FR): a graphic design workshop proposing original patterns ready to be printed, for all sectors and surfaces.