Archive for the ‘Barcelona Events' Category

Bread and Butter fashion trade event, Barcelona. Bi-Annual Event: January and July.

As a city with a reputation as a cultural hub for arts and design, its only fitting that one of Europe's most prestigious and fastest growing fashion events has made itself well at home in the Catalan Capital, Spain.  

The Bread and Butter fashion trade show for apparel and accessories was first launched in 2001 in Berlin, Germany. The first year saw just 50 exhibitors and just over 5,000 visitors participate, but by 2004, there were 580 exhibitors and 34,000 visitors. Word was catching on that B&B was the place to be for the best brands, the biggest talent and the most innovative newcomers to the world of fashion.  

In order to extend the festival to the rest of the European market, BBBarcelona was launched in 2005 as a complementary show for those in the industry that could not attend the main event in Berlin. Since then however, attendance figures in Barcelona began to supersede those in the German Capital.  

In 2007, the Berlin event was cancelled due to lack of registration, making Barcelona the new home town of one of the most important European fashion fairs.  

The three day extravaganza in July 2007 hosted 91,000 trade visitors from 87 countries around the world in Plaza España, opposite the historic National Modern Art Museum of Catalunya, where 100,000 squared meters of space was turned into exhibition space, catwalks and promotional stands for the show, organised by themes such as Denim, Urban and Street Culture.  

At a cost of between 350-500 euros per square meter, presence at BBB is not cheap, but for the fashion labels awarded the prestige of selection for the show, the value of attendance for one of the best networking opportunities in the business falls well in front of the cost of exhibiting.  

As BBB Managing Director Karl-Heinz Müller says: ‘BBBarcelona is the largest and most important European trade show for denim, urban wear and sportswear. The entire industry meets in Barcelona and uses the trade show as a communication platform. ‘  

As well as fashion, the event has also become somewhat of a cultural festival at the same time, with international DJ's, lounge areas, cocktail bars, massage, live concerts, brake dancing and skateboarding demonstrations, the fair has also become somewhat of a good excuse to relax and have fun.  

As Karl-Heinz Müller says: ‘BBBarcelona is a "Fashion Festival", where lifestyle and trends are made to come alive - and so offers an inexhaustible source of inspiration."  

The next event is scheduled for January 16-18^th 2008, with plans to expand the exhibition space by a further 60,000 square meters, inside the Palau Nacional. Unfortunately the event is for trade only, and entrance is not available to members of the public.

You can learn more about the spanish culture sharing with people, a good way to do that is getting a Barcelona rental.