NouvelleBox: Paris Round-Up
“What a rip-roaring week,” enthused founder Darren Hildrow, whose specialist six-day event has gained significant momentum among buyers and press since it first launched in February 2021. “The energy in the showroom was palpable from start to finish, with journalists and buyers alike taking the chance to get to know our Nouvelle Box community.”
The show attracted a mix of international buyers from the US, Asia and Europe including Harrods, Galleries Lafayette and White Bird, together with a slew of Japanese buyers. Meanwhile, journalists and bloggers attended the press day hosted in collaboration with leading French PR agency Myrène de Prémonville.
Marseille-based Nava Joaillerie hasn’t exhibited on a wholesale basis until now. “We think that Paris Fashion Week is the best. Though based on my own experience, I'd say that the era of very large [trade] show is over,” notes wholesale manager Celia D, emphasising the appeal of Nouvelle Box’s highly focused curation. “Buyers have very busy schedules. Allowing them to find a selection of cutting-edge brands, bringing something different to a saturated market, is for me a real game changer and a good opportunity for them to benefit from this synergy.”
Over the years, Kismet By Milka has exhibited at Paris Fashion Week in various ways including via more general trade shows such as Tranoi. Nouvelle Box’s appeal, explains wholesale manager Yasemin Camkiran, is that it has a more elevated, finely curated offering that constitutes a better fit with the brand. The Turkish label launched 15-years ago and has established an enviable track record with key wholesale accounts in the US including Neiman Marcus and namesake stores in Turkey, Greece, Cyprus and The Middle East. The launch of a London flagship is also planned for 2024. “Showrooms are not only about making retail connections,” she cautions. “They also offer an environment which makes sense for the brand positioning to attract the right people.” In this case it was buyers from Europe, North America, Mexico and East Asian stores that Kismet By Milka met with at Nouvelle Box.
Miami-based jewellery marque Tabayer is an established fine jewellery brand that boasts an impressive line-up of stockists including New York-based Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue Beverly Hills. So why choose Nouvelle Box? “Paris remains the European centre for prime brands across the fashion and luxury spectrum to showcase new collections to industry leaders as well as the rest of the world,” explains Beatriz Carranza, head of EMEA sales. She says it was the goal of increasing Tabayer presence with key partners specifically in Paris and France that led to joining Nouvelle Box.
Meanwhile, Turquoise Mountain used the opportunity to showcase a series of collaborations between Pippa Small, Atelier Liya, IAIA Caravan and Nada Ghazal and goldsmiths in Myanmar, thus illustrating the NGO’s jewellery capabilities. “Showing at Nouvelle Box was great,” says Turquoise Mountain’s creative projects manager Katherine Andrews. “I was able to get personal emails and meet with many international buyers including those from Corso Como, Stanley Korshak and Mytheresa.com. I also talked to brands to see if they would like to collaborate in the future,” she notes, adding that Turquoise Mountain also collaborates with jewellery artisans in Afghanistan and the Middle East.
Raluca Leaf, creative director of Joule Project first discovered Nouvelle Box on Instagram and visited the show in March 2023. She tried showing during the couture shows in Paris in July 2023 as part of a different collective but found that it brought mostly French retailers. Nouvelle Box, by contrast, brought many international buyers. Of her Nouvelle Box debut she says: “It was a great experience. I will definitely show again, either in Paris in September or at the next edition in New York.”
