Attire Accessories - Nov/Dec 2019 (Issue 79)

34 MEET AND GREET An expertly curated event to kickstart 2020’s buying season, Top Drawer also offers a myriad of networking and idea exchanging opportunities, as Louise Prance discovers Bringing a bold start to 2020, Top Drawer is the UK’s leading design-led retail event and first buying opportunity of the year. Amongst the show’s 10 highly-curated sectors sits Fashion, which, since its introduction in 2015, has become the UK’s largest presentation of design-led jewellery and accessories. Here, visitors will discover pieces from more than 150 leading names and emerging brands including Alex Monroe, Bill Skinner, Tilley & Grace, My Doris, Cabbage White, Lily Charmed, Pilgrim and Deborah Blyth Jewellery to name just a few. With a diversified offering to suit every need and aesthetic, Top Drawer is a must-attend event for buyers seeking to tailor an offering that is entirely unique to them and, ultimately, keep customers coming back. Following its successful launch at the 2019 shows, MR., the ultimate destination for men’s fashion accessories, will return alongside its complementary lifestyle product trail. The popularity of this show area echoes research from Mintel, which indicates that the menswear market is set to outperform womenswear globally in 2022. Within this showcase, visitors will discover the likes of ROKA London, Peper Harrow, Swole Panda and Bunks. Elsewhere within Fashion, Capsule provides a hand-picked selection of premium, conceptual, transeasonal and design- led products from across the globe including, Narratives The Agency, Kastur Jewels, Rory Hutton London and NIXEY. With more than 30 years behind it, Top Drawer has become a destination for people who are passionate about design and retail to come together in celebration of the industry. It is as much about the exchange of ideas and experiences as it is about the buying and selling. Following its successful launch in September, the show’s new Retail Clinics will join the January line-up for the very first time; giving visitors access to advice from a selection of leading solutions providers in 1-to-1 sessions. Here they will learn more about the tools and processes that can help them stay ahead of the competition and continue to drive their business towards success. Visitors can also gain invaluable insight from industry leaders across the show’s two free-to-attend seminar programmes, the long-standing RetailFest and Design Talk, which was introduced in January of this year. The line-ups for both stages are being expertly produced to offer original content, stimulate debate and inspire attendees through a range of keynote presentations, masterclasses and clinics. Whilst this season’s speaker details will be announced closer to the show, previous experts to take to the stage include Melissa Odabash, renowned fashion designer; Jack Norman, Selfridges’ Experiential Retail Manager; Georgie Coleridge Cole, Editor of Sheerluxe; Rosanna Falconer award-winning digital strategist and fashion influencer; Fiona McCarthy, writer for Vogue; and reality star and accessories designer, Hugo Taylor. Top Drawer presents a global edit of more than 1500 brands across its 10 expertly curated sectors: Fashion, Gift, Craft, Spotted/ Pulse, Home, Greetings & Stationery, Play, Food Emporium and Retail Clinics. Who: Top Drawer, topdrawer.co.uk Where: Olympia London When: 12 th -14 th January, 2020