❀ vina@bmtv ❀

It’s never easy short-listing the outstanding accessory design of incredible designers when you’re confronted with over 400 exhibitors (September 2005 figures at 468 and February 2006 figures at 418 exhibitors), and you have to go through the whole exhibition site in four days. That would be monitoring an average of 100 exhibitors a day. If you’re even able to devote full attention to just that one exhibition.

I have to cover over 20 exhibitions per season, bi-annually in Paris, and you can already imagine the load of information I have to deal with, not to mention how often my back and feet ache from carrying piles of press releases back with me for further homework. After Paris, I sometimes move on to Milan, but here is where I’ll spare some insight into what you should cover if you’re into the Euro buying scene.

For fashion and trend, Paris dominates – so we won’t go into the German and U.K. scene and they really don’t count to me unless you’re going for specific trade.

Paris is key for anything related to trends, and Milan follows closely, but Milan’s shows are more cloistered than the Parisien shows simply because the Italians know the risk they face when their designs are “copied” around the world, and the French tend to think more that the world should know about copyright protection.

Two different sets of mentality, just like their architectural façade.

In Paris, everything is out there and in your face, you see beauty, lines, feel the atmosphere of openness and breathe inspiration. In Milan, it’s bland, industrial and somewhat dull, but what you have on the outside is completely different inside.

I always like to explain that Paris is a woman, she is female, feminine and loves to show off and flirt, whereas Milan is a man, masculine, macho and conservative, but classic, complex and deep. It’s easier to understand why Paris tends to host the best design et mode pour la femme, and Milan excels in modo per l’uomo.

My personal shortlist of the most outstanding accessory designs and designers for 2005 in true Oscar mode (and I’m still compiling 2006 so this is a partial listing) are:

BATUCADA, FRANCE @www.batucada-fashion.com

BUDDHA TO BUDDHA, NETHERLAND @www.buddhatobuddha.com

CELENE SITÔNIO, BRASIL

DORI CSENGERI, FRANCE

DYRBERG KERN, DENMARK @www.dyrbergkern.com

FRANCK HERVAL, FRANCE

GIAN PAOLO MARIA, FRANCE

GIULIANA BIJOUX, ITALY

MAYA, U.S.A.

NATURE, FRANCE @www.nature.fr

RÉMINESCENCE, FRANCE@www.reminiscenceparis.com

SATELLITE, FRANCE@www.satellite.fr

Please buy the ORIGINAL and resist from purchasing IMITATIONS.

If you’d like to know where to source the brands, email me and I’ll put you in touch with the designers.