SEEK is a progressive contemporary fashion trade show in Berlin. OZON was one of the official media partners of the show, which is hosted every time at the Kühlhaus. We also, had the chande to launch our new international at the show.
The SEEK Fashion Trade Show, which ran from 8-10 July, has established itself as Europe’s most important “upper streetwear” platform. For Spring/Summer 2015, SEEK showcased more than 120 brands, presenting in such way the best and most modern portfolio so far. Buyers from Berlin and all over the world mixed with the exhibitors creating a unique atmosphere.
We had a chat with Marie-Luise Patzelt, communication manager of the trade show:
#1: What do you think is the strongest opportunity for this year? I think what we are best at, is that we grow slowly, but steadily and we still stay true to ourselves. We grew from last season; there were about 90 brands, and now there are about 110-120, but we are still keeping the spirit. We want to be focused on the product and on the people we understand. We want to be like a community.
#2: How differently do you present yourselves compared to the rest of the trade shows? I think that first of all, we’re less commercial. We choose by our heart which brands we take. We take a very deep look at them. We’re not deciding on how much they are going to pay us for a stand. We want to get to know the people behind the brand, we are very interested in looking into history, where they produce -most of the brands actually produce in their homelands, their home countries or Europe. We actually look at the collections ourselves, so we know about the quality and everything. It just has to feel right. I think it’s a community thing where everyone’s friends; I haven’t seen that in another fair. Last year, we had a big five-year dinner and every exhibitor was there for the dinner and they were all hanging out together, mixing, talking to each other and having great fun and there was no competition or something going on.
#3: Do you think about exporting this trade show to another city? Or another country? I think we’re still at the beginning. As I told you, we’re growing very slowly, but steadily and we don’t want to get big too fast, because I think you lose your soul. So we’ll fit here for a while.
#4: What kind of help do you get from this partnership with Premium exhibition? All the organizations that support us need a connection, they have a team. Premium is a huge team, everyone helps each other and we’re part of this and we’re very lucky to have them as our big partner.
#5: How about the list of buyers that you receive every year, in every edition? I think that SEEK has such a strong language, so every buyer who comes here, and is not right here feels it immediately. We talk a very straight language.
#6: So, is there any aspiration or ambition for the next edition? We definitely want to do more events. We want to make the whole SEEK an event. But we’re actually very happy that our SEEK exhibitors don’t want much to change.
#7: How many people are working for SEEK? Officially, Oliver Saunders is our creative director. He lives in Sweden and he’s from England. And then we have Maren Wiebus, she’s head of sales. Marie Sandmann, who is doing the sales with Maren. Obviously, we have Anita Tillmann; she supports us so much, with all the inspiration she finds, she’s the most amazing networker I’ve ever met. Basically, we’re working with the Premium team.
