A new Who’s Next season comes to an end. «Back to school», «back to business»: that’s the feeling running through the ranks of the 2023 edition. From Saturday, September 2, to Monday, September 4, the top buyers gathered at Porte de Versailles to inaugurate a new year of fashion and accessories, delighted to reunite and eager to create new opportunities for the future. In this wholesale temple, the Impact, Neonyt Paris, Bijorhca, Traffic, and The Showp sectors thrived with meetings, activities, and parties throughout the event. Who’s Next event was bustling, the overall atmosphere remained highly positive, and the audience enjoyed a dynamic and enthusiastic visitor turnout, especially geared towards the international market.

“As always, Who’s Next represents the industry’s back-to-school gathering, with a stable number of visitors compared to last September. We confirm the trend already observed last January of a return to the Wholesale model, both for young brands and established ones. Additionally, this edition is rich in insights into international fashion,” commented Frédéric Maus, ceo of WSN.

Who’s Next closed with good results showing 1300 brands (42% ready-to-wear) and suppliers, including 170 at Bijorhca, 33% attended for the first time, 59% international exhibitors, 41% came from France, specifically nearly 9% of visitors were from Spain and Italy, 7% from India, 5% Greece, and nearly 4% from Turkey.

The shows attracted 65% of French visitors, 35% international visitors from 126 countries, 20% new visitors. 54,2% retailers/concept stores/department stores, 7,8% artisans, 6,2% manufacturers/wholesalers/importers, 4,4% e-commerce.

For the first time, China was represented in a dedicated section at Who’s Next through 20 carefully selected brands recognized for their quality and positioning. This selection was made in partnership with the Chic Shanghai fair. “There is a political dimension behind this selection, providing a new showcase for the Chinese market, its expertise, and craftsmanship. Chinese fashion is often associated with ‘fast fashion,’ but our role is to delve deeper into this Chinese ecosystem,” said Sylvie Pourrat, offer’s director at WSN. This successful debut in Paris marks a positive outcome for these emerging brands. Among these leading Chinese brands, all have success stories and aspirations to expand internationally and engage in long-term export.