Fashion – Enter Ltd Attend the Brand Licensing Europe Event at ExCEL

Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) is dedicated to licensing and brand extension, bringing together retailers, licensees and manufacturers for three days of deal-making, networking and trend spotting. 

The BLE 3-day event at London’s ExCEL took place from 20th – 22nd September and the event theme was ‘Fashion’, so naturally Fashion-Enter Ltd was keen to attend and network. 

The impressive event combined leading retailers with well-known brands and included an exhibition, talks, launches, collaborations and catwalk shows.

The catwalk shows included:

• Barbie for Balmain, River Island, Alessandro Enriquez, Zara, Gert Johan and River Island 
• Junk Kouture students modelling their 100% recycled fashion designs inspired by the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals 
• Black Lives Matter catwalk featuring Black and LGBT designers fresh from LFW and the V&A African Fashion Show – plus DJ Longers, who counts Cardi B and Idris Elba among fans  
• A SEGA takeover with Sonic the Hedgehog showing how luxury labels are embracing licensed characters 

Along with:

• Mattel President Richard Dickson’s keynote at 1pm Tuesday: Barbie x Fashion 
• Sustainable fashion product showcases from Primark, The Eden Project, WasteBuster, Smiley, Wow! Stuff & RSPB, Hasbro & Asda, The Smurfs & Pure Top Table, and Discovery

Fashion-Enter Ltd’s (FEL) CEO Jenny Holloway attended the event, she said: “With traditional supply chains for garment manufacturing under pressure from a general reduction in consumer buying FEL is thinking outside of the box and approaching less traditional buyers. 

“The Brand Licensing Europe event at ExCEL has over 200 exhibitors for the selling of brands under licence. However licensors need garments to print their designs on and yesterday (20th) and today (21st) the FEL team is meeting exhibitors on the stands to discuss the benefits of making and fulfilling in the UK. 

“Isn’t it madness to now fly in fabrics, product garments, send them to distribution centres and then add on more carbon emissions to send to individual customers – this all has to change. It’s time to work with UK factories, make to demand, and despatch directly to the end user. Look at the time we’re saving and reducing in transport. Look at the typhoons in Japan and the floods in Pakistan, we have to consider what we’re doing to this earth. It’s all wrong there has to be a better way of production that is sustainable and local.” 

For more on Brand Licensing in fashion: Why You’re Seeing More Fashion Collabs & High End / Mass Market Brand Mashups