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Oct 24, 2012
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New name, new layout for the January Who’s Next Paris

Published
Oct 24, 2012

WSN Développement has just announced changes to the January edition of its trade show, now dubbed Who's Next Paris. Gone is the Ready-to-Wear Paris reference, which only lasted two editions as Who's Next neighbor.

The Who's Next Paris floor plan

WSN also published the floor plan for the next show, marking the end of a standalone Mr. Brown by breaking up the menswear section into multiple parts. One splinter, Mr. Brown Accessories, will join the show’s accessories section, headlined by Première Classe. The other men’s area, simply called Mr. Brown, will merge with the event’s ready-to-wear section. Mess Around, the shoe concept initiated by Jean-Paul Le Roux several years ago, did not make the cut.

The event host says the goal is to clarify and simplify the organization of the show. The fair is now set up on two levels, the ground floor of several halls housing ready-to-wear while accessories are grouped in one section on level 2, hall 7.

The 200 Fame brands are now in hall 4, the same location as the last edition. The 600 Private brands are split between the ground floors of Hall 7 and Hall 2.2 (where Le Cube and leather goods from Première Classe were located for a time, next to Mess Around in hall 2.1 in January 2012). The 200 Mr. Brown ready-to-wear brands have been tucked in between Private and the ground floor of hall 7. This new men's section groups together diverse urbanwear brands and the young menswear designers exhibiting in the Sir Brown section (the equivalent of a Fresh section for men). Positioning the area between the show's two Private sections is supposed to prevent Mr. Brown from being marginalized, as it suffered quite a bit at the end of last June.

The new ad campaign plays with the concept of the industrial revolution

The fair's accessories are now grouped together in hall 7, level 2. The section contains the 300 Première Classe brands, the most creative brands in accessories. The organizer took the opportunity to return the first edition of Première Classe to its mission of being a showcase for cutting-edge design. The select brands will be neighbors to hundreds of others that recreate the must-have world of the stylish man under the banner Mr. Brown Accessories.

And lastly, some 600 brands will be grouped under Who's Next Accessories in four main areas: Who's Next Shoes, Who's Next Jewelry, Who's Next Handbags and Leather Goods, and Who's Next Textile Accessories.

It is clear that WSN Développement had to work around the layout of the Porte de Versailles convention center, whose neighboring hall configuration makes it difficult to make changes. With the new layout, the show essentially gave up the third floor of Hall 7, which housed Mr. Brown at the last edition. The event’s runway show will now take place on level 4 of Hall 7, where the Electric restaurant and bar is also located. In dropping level 3, Who's Next Paris will no doubt be a little smaller than the Who's Next Prêt-à-Porter Paris held at the end of June 2012.

However, the show says it intends to use the large outdoor walkway in front of hall 7 for various activities, including a mini-train. Fashion design schools will also again be showing off their skills in this outdoor space, this year under the theme ‘industrial revolution,’ keeping with the show’s promotional poster and a fitting motif in this difficult time for employment in France and in the fashion industry.

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