MIF 68 in Marseille is open to French and Mediterranean fashion designers

With the Fashion Open Space, the wholesaler centre encourages the opening of new markets

Within the MIF 68 wholesaler centre, overlooking the sea and the harbour of Marseille, a new showroom showcases the young creation. The Fashion Open Space, officially inaugurated on 28 February 2019, opens onto a 350 m2 space. Its ambition is to give visibility to several fashionable creators, some of whom represent a universe linked to the Mediterranean. By walking along the two main open-air lanes "Shanghai" and "Marseille", textile professionals will discover new trends in ready-to-wear and also fashion collections. In 2019, the "Marseille International Fashion Center 68", MIF 68, will therefore be increasingly open, oriented towards new markets and active in encouraging synergies and business relationships.

The MIF 68, opened in Marseille in February 2018, is based on a new concept: to bring together in a single place of container spaces a myriad of ready-to-wear, footwear, leather goods and home products or electronics products to become the French reference centre for trade between wholesalers and BtoB buyers.

An investment of 17 million euros on a 27-hectare site where 95 coloured containers have been set up to display products usually sold in bulk and semi-wholesale. The Fashion Open Space occupies one of these containers but sometimes offers limited edition models. It enhances the collections of 12 designers such as Nj.cod, la Tige, Champa-bijoux, Lormar, la petite Sam, MinK, or Affekt.

 "We want to support creators and give them the opportunity to make themselves known," explains Selma Raoui, head of the Open Fashion Space. "If the container symbolizes world trade at the heart of the Marseille seaport, it is also an element that has been diverted from its use and becomes design and therefore very suitable for brand development".

This space is there to encourage fashion to develop beyond the Mediterranean countries themselves. It is located in an ideal location since the MIF 68 is located near major maritime transport terminals and thus attracts many buyers from the textile and clothing industry.

The Fashion Open Space, a place of exhibition and exchange

Marseille is home to a large number of players keen to support fashion design through devices and events to reveal talent. With the Fashion Open Space, it should be possible to create synergies. The inauguration on 28 February 2019 is an opportunity to discuss possible collaborations with the sector's ecosystem at local and national level.

Around a hundred guests were invited to attend a fashion show followed by a cocktail reception: stylists, buyers, distributors, manufacturers, institutional players, representatives of major brands, etc... An evening exclusively accessible by invitation.

And the involvement of the MIF 68 team in the territory does not stop there. Soon, the MIF 68 will officially launch Fashion South Design. In the same spirit of openness, the event, which will take place from May 31 to June 2, 2019, is positioned as a creative and economic springboard.