White
Gallery a resounding success
White Gallery, the newest concept for high-end bridal design,
opened in sumptuous surrounds at the Saatchi Gallery on the 23rd of
May 2010. The trade only event was an exclusive affair held over
the three days from 23-25 May in which the beauty of the
surroundings at the prestigious art gallery served only to amplify
the bountiful talent on display.
Amanda Wakeley at White Gallery
Talking to FashionMag.com, Alejandra Campos the event director
described the breathtaking interest that the first edition of the
event had garnered. “The reception has been phenomenal. We have
more than sixty publications that have come to cover the event,
where we have thirty-six of the finest designers from the United
Kingdom and overseas as well.”
Discussing the new, more exclusive, driving concept behind White
Gallery, Ms Campos was forthcoming on the planning process. “We’ve
been actually talking about this concept for the past two years,”
she said. “Since August we’ve been planning everything, contacting
all the key designers, that’s in the United Kingdom as well as
internationally and getting the right venue and the right team
behind to be able to deliver a comprehensive campaign.”
The key to the concept is in both the smaller boutique nature of
the show, as well as the full schedule of catwalk shows which were
open to buyers and the press alike. By combining the business
interaction of a trade only event with catwalk demonstrations by
bridalwear’s leading designers, White Gallery is able offer a
platform to simultaneously display the latest designs and make the
all important connections with buyers and businesses.
This concept was self-evidently a success. One needed only to walk
around the Saatchi Gallery or spend a few seconds beside a runway
to appreciate the tangible enthusiasm and excitement. An example of
this was seen at Ian Stuart’s catwalk show on Monday 24th May,
his second of the show, where buyers from the United Kingdom and as
far afield as Asia packed the hall to see the influential British
designer’s latest creations.
Ian Stuart at White Gallery
Optimism and brisk business was echoed by exhibitors at White
Gallery. Jelena Govorusa at Amanda Wakeley’s stall summarised
their first day as “very successful. We picked up a few new clients
and we had our fashion show. We’re very pleased with the venue so
long may it continue.” Similarly, Anton Weiss of Pepe
Botella seemed impressed with the attendance of serious
buyers; “we had lots of people looking and coming back, some orders
also, so yes we’re happy.”
Suzanne Ermann, one of the three French designers exhibiting at the
show, seemed pleased but was also looking to the future. Ms Ermann
commented that she found it a “beautiful location to present
collections. It was necessary to have a trade show dedicated to the
world of bridal wear in London. White Gallery is a beautiful trade
show with lots to offer in the future.”
With such positive comments reverberating around the gallery,
Alejandra Campos could have been forgiven for being overtly pleased
with the result of the first edition. She too though was looking to
the future and to ways of improving upon the impressive first
edition of this high-end event, launched in a tough period for the
world of fashion: “We probably decided to launch in the hardest
time, you could say that, but I think that there has been some
refreshening of the bridal industry and that there’s been
consolidation with some of the companies and some of the
manufacturers.”
Suzanne Neville at White
Gallery
“Well, this is the first edition and I’m a perfectionist so I know
that there are little things to improve on,” Ms Campos said
modestly. “I’m already thinking about 2011. We’re not planning to
grow much more; it’s going to be forty to forty-five designers
maximum. The idea is to carry on keeping that exclusivity and to
make sure that it’s the right level of designer and to become more
international and attract more international buyers.”
A resounding success for the first edition of White Gallery. The
exclusively elegant trade event attracted strong interest from the
start with 1,500 buyers pre-registering to attend the event; the
next edition looks set to be even more popular.
By Jonathan Fulwell