BARCELONA (July 11, 2008)—Barcelona played host to the fashion trade show Bread & Butter July 2-4, with top brands from Europe and the United States making the scene. Ed Hardy along with Puma, G-Star, Juicy Couture and Rock & Republic were among the 892 exhibitors in the event’s eight showrooms, which were emblazoned with names like Denim Base, Urban Superior, and Fashion Now.

Almost 900 exhibitors showcased their product at Bread & Butter earlier this month.

In terms of color, the show emphasized bright, vivid hues. For footwear, decorative soles for tennis shoes, ballerinas, and stilettos dominated the field. Tokidoki, the cheery, ultra-now label launched a few years back by Italian designer Simone Legno, led the way with it's highly stylized sneakers. The manga-inspired designs were tweaked out with colorful inlays, printed soles and embroidered logos.

Established lines like Faith Connexion, the luxury lifestyle label often featured on the HBO series “Entourage,” promoted a positive message imbued with a towering gothic style. The label had a successful show, with brand communications director Lacrita Keller noting that top sellers included “sunglasses, handbags and long dresses.”

Ed Hardy goes bold with brights.

The rainbow brights evident on the floor had an uplifting effect on buyers. Sunny Min, manager of the Rhinox Group based in South Korea, said, “I really, really like this trade fair,” adding that her company purchased a lot of accessories and sportswear from a variety of companies. She bought shirts from the Spanish label, Custo Barcelona, and sportswear from Digiwear. Rob Williams from Footgear, one of South Africa's leading footwear retailers said, “My impression is this show is definitely something to attend.”

Denim Base was one of the event's eight showrooms.

Apparently other buyers agreed. More than 30,000 visitors turned up on opening day. By the close of the week almost 90,000 bodies had made their way through the Barcelona exposition center with 33 percent hailing from Spain and Portugal with Italy having the next largest presence, while 2.5 percent came from the U.S. and Canada.

Attendees had more to celebrate than just the product on display. Luna Park, a super-sized outdoor area buttressed by Wrangler jeans, was ground zero for the opening reception. In between meetings attendees were able to rock out to Swedish cult band the Hives, munch on barbecue, or grab a beer. Karl Heinz Mueller, president of Bread & Butter, said this year the organizers sought to “create more space, more brands, and large outdoor areas.”

Denim from Ben Sherman

The Source, a sourcing tradeshow within Bread & Butter exclusively, was launched this year with 56 exhibitors. Denim and fabric weavers, knit and jersey producers as well as accessory companies such as Swarovski made up most of the mix. Swarovski, continuing its foray into the garment side of the fashion industry, hosted 6 intimate workshops in a makeshift kitchen called “How to Cook a Collection.” The modern master classes were all about accessorizing fabric using crystallized elements.

Camper

This year Bread & Butter experimented with multiple catwalks in three separate locations for ruway shows. According to Mueller, this was because “A lot of designers didn't want to work together. They wanted to have their own shows.” He noted that this was primarily due to the desire to immediately connect with buyers between shows and to ring up orders.

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