Creativity and innovation abounded as 210 of the world's foremost mills and print design studios gathered on January 10 and 11. For the third consecutive year, Première Vision Preview New York and Indigo New York (formerly Direction by Indigo) held their combined trade shows, drawing fashion's elite to New York City's Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building.

At this one-stop shopping event, which kicks off the Spring/Summer 2013 season, attendees could purchase the latest textiles and prints. In addition to obtaining essential materials, visitors gained insight on future industry trends via seminars, colour range and the fabric forum.

With 3,818 registered visits at the combined shows, an increase of 10.5% over last January, it is apparent that the dynamic North American market is actively seeking new fabrics and designs. Indigo New York on its own drew 27% more visits.

Attendees included high-end designers and retailers like Theory, Li Fung, Lord & Taylor, Proenza Schouler, Oscar de la Renta, Ann Taylor, Greg Norman, and many others. Overall, exhibitors seemed pleased with the show's attendance. Subalpino remarked that they met many serious buyers.

The lace manufacturer Solstiss was impressed by the diverse range of visitors from Canada, South America and the United States. They were able to meet with existing accounts and make new contacts. This season, Liberty Art Fabrics saw several designers from up-and coming brands.

"Baxter Fawcett Design Studio said that they were "mobbed" with customers on the first day. Between meeting with suppliers, visitors learned about the trend directions for Spring/Summer 2013. Premiere Vision provided a variety of services including trend forecasting seminars, the fabric forum and the colour wall, all of which help designers create chic, relevant collections.

The trend seminar discussed three major fashion "stories" for Spring/Summer 2013: "full/light", "massive/supple" and "fluid / long and lean." In 2013, we are likely to see elegant looks, fine layers, raw materials mixed with synthetics, singular details and localized patterns. Key combinations of fresh, vibrant hues were presented on the color wall.

The fabric forum grouped together materials from the exhibitors, highlighting the season's most important trends. Indigo New York also offered a rich program of seminars brought by renowned experts in colour, fashion forecasting and textile design. The "Influences" document, created by Indigo's team, was distributed at the show.

"Influences" highlighted the leading motifs in decorative design for Spring/Summer 2013: "moving geometry," "supernatural reality", "evanescent figuratives" and "ambiguous reality." As evident by the shows' increased attendance, Première Vision Preview New York and Indigo New York play a fundamental role in the North American fashion market.

Upcoming U.S. events

Indigo New York, April 10 and 11, 2012

Première Vision Preview New York, July 11 and 12, 2012

Indigo New York July 31 - August 1, 2012.

Upcoming rendez-vous in Paris

New: Indigo Home Edition, January 19-20, 2012 Première Vision Pluriel, February 14-16, 2012