As the New Year looms, efforts are continuing among pioneering individuals to reimagine what design salons and fashion fairs should look and feel like. 

Further evidence of this was apparent in the recent announcement of a new event, “Matter and Shape”, which is set to take place in the Jardin des Tuileries in Paris in the spring of next year. 

‍What do we know about the new event so far? 

Many a luxury ecommerce agency and their clients will be intrigued to know more about the upcoming fair. It is the brainchild of fashion journalist Dan Thawley, who will handle the salon’s creative direction, and fashion veteran Mathieu Pinet, who will be the show’s director. 

Matter and Shape is also “powered” by the Paris-based trade fair sector experts, WSN, who organise such events as the Who’s Next fashion fair and the Premiere Classe accessory trade show. 

As for the exact date, the Matter and Shape website presently shows dates of 1st to 4th March 2024, and contains little other information, aside from the event’s social media links and a call for visitors to the site to “register your interest”. 

However, Thawley provided greater insight into the thinking behind the business-focused salon at what Wallpaper reported as being “an intimate lunch in Paris” on 20th October, when he introduced the initiative. 

‍“A bold step in aligning the design world with the fashion calendar”

“Why now? Why another fair?”, he was quoted as saying, adding: “My answer is not simple. My answer is however that we are on the crest of a wave, and we are in a moment where there is a lot of noise.” 

Thawley questioned the “white box” model for fairs, and explained of his years spent “doing the rounds of… prestigious design happenings around the world” that he had “often been faced with extraordinary objects in extraordinary settings, but left with little more than catalogues and photographs.” 

He indicated that the new event would be positioned as a “business-focused design salon” coinciding with Paris Fashion Week, adding that this constituted “a bold step in aligning the design world with the fashion calendar and allowing a greater cross-over of commerce between these two worlds.”

The event is set to happen in a 3,000-square-metre temporary space in the Tuileries. The venue will incorporate a vaulted ceiling and transparent lateral walls to enable the space to be flooded with natural light. 

It is also expected that there will be customised display stands for as many as 50 exhibitors, in addition to a design bookstore and boutique, and a dedicated restaurant available for lunch and private dinner opportunities. 

In a statement made by the fair and quoted by Business of Fashion, Matter and Shape was declared to be “an open call to design companies, fashion houses, independent makers, raw material innovators and contemporary galleries to show meaningful displays of product – from limited-edition designs to full-scale production – available for immediate and short-lead deliveries worldwide.” 

Certainly, if the final event lives up to that kind of billing, it is one that our own luxury ecommerce agency and many of our clients will pay close attention to. 

For more information in the meantime about how we can help enhance your lifestyle, high-end, or fashion brand’s presence online, please don’t wait any longer to get in touch with the digital and strategic professionals at Skywire London.