Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Jan 14, 2020
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Paris Fashion Week trade shows get organised to deal with local transport strike

Translated by
Nicola Mira
Published
Jan 14, 2020

Another three days of demonstrations against the pensions reform have been announced by the trade unions in France, starting on Tuesday and culminating on Thursday, and the fashion events planned in Paris - from the Fashion Week Men's to various trade shows and showrooms - are going ahead in a transportation minefield, though some solutions do exist.


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The French Haute Couture and Fashion Federation has in fact announced that the Fashion Week Men’s for the Fall/Winter 2020-21, starting on Tuesday January 14 and ending on Sunday 19, has chartered a shuttle fleet twice the usual size, with people carriers and electric vehicles linking together the venues of the 53 catwalk shows on the calendar, ferrying buyers, the media and guests from the centre of Paris. Shuttles from the French capital’s airports have also been organised. Transporting the people on the guest lists from show to show will allow the events to stick to the planned schedule. And while there are sometimes delays with the programme, the traffic jams that are regularly gripping Paris will also be putting their spanner in the works.

The fashion and accessories trade shows scheduled at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in the city have also come up with countermeasures to avoid losing visitors along the way. Organisers WSN, for Who’s Next, Reed Exhibitions, for Bijohrca, and Eurovet, for international lingerie show SIL, have joined forces to strengthen the transport fleets shuttling visitors to the exhibition centre. The airport shuttles from Roissy and Orly will depart more frequently between January 17 and 20, and the three show organisers have decided to set up new transport links, every 15 minutes, from Paris’s four main rail stations. All of this free of charge. Promotional offers for electric bike and scooter rental have also been negotiated.

It is a very busy period for fashion in Paris, and the city will host many other shows and presentations attracting buyers and journalists. From January 17 to 19, the Tranoï trade show will be held in two venues close to each other, the Palais de la Bourse and the Atelier Richelieu. Rather than buses and minibuses, used in previous editions when the show sites where farther away, the organisers have chosen to make autorickshaws available to visitors for travelling between the two venues. Another new service will also be deployed: guides will be available to walk visitors from one venue to another, umbrella at the ready in case of rain.

The Man and Woman shows, staged in rue Cambon and place Vendôme, will not adopt special solutions but, the shows being sponsored by Tesla, their visitors will be able to reserve at the entrance one of the three cars available to travel between the events’ three venues, and also to the Marais district, home to several showrooms. 

Finally, the Maison & Objet, show, staged at the Villepinte exhibition centre from January 17 to 21, with several fashion and accessories brands among its exhibitors, will also be boosting its shuttle fleet from Roissy-Charles de Gaulle airport, and will set up a new, free shuttle service from the city centre, departing in the morning every 15 minutes from Porte Maillot. The return journey will also be assured at the end of the day.

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