UBIFRANCE United States is organizing for the second consecutive year a French Pavilion to showcase 14 established and emerging French designers at the Accessorie Circuit Show . The event will be held May 7-9, 2012 at Piers 92 & 94 in New York City. Among the exhibitors, some familiar brand names stand out: Vanessa TUGENDHAFT , Appartement à louer , Créations Jean-Louis BLIN, Françoise Montague, Bernard Serra et Philippe Audibert . Among the newcomers, we are pleased to welcome: Recife Paris , Katarina M , Saoya , Elisabeth Riveiro , KMO Jewel , Victoria & Yo , Caroline Najman , Maire International. The collections feature a variety of trendy jewelry, chic handbags and hair accessories. This is a great opportunity for industry designers, consultants and retailers to network, to learn the latest trends and to acquire further exposure. The pavilion is organized by UBIFRANCE , and brought to you in partnership with Francéclat , The French Federation of Jewelry. For more information, please contact: anamaria.schell@ubifrance.fr or visit the website . The tradeshow is open to trade and press only. You can order your trade visitor badge to Accessorie Circuit here: www.enkregistrations.com    We invite you to connect via Twitter @UBIfashion and to join our  French/North-American Fashion Business  Group on LinkedIn.

As Playtime New York is drawing more and more attention : discover the innovative and authentic French brands that will display their collections with UBIFRANCE!   Moon & Miel will bring an international style to little kids’ wardrobe! Inspired by her multiple journeys in India and Morocco, the designer has created tops for boys and girls, dresses and skirts, as well as ballerinas and tights, whose embroidery and ribbon finishing make little kids travel through the One Thousand and One Nights tale … Trendy and timeless, Moon & Miel invites us on dreaming journey. http://www.moonetmiel.com/collete_hauts.html “Color your T-shirt and wear your creation!” Gribouille has made children’s oldest dream come true! The designer offers a line of T-shirts, pyjamas and accessories on which kids can express their creativity without being scolded. The little kid can color in, and the adult fixes his/her creation by ironing the cloth. Gribouille products are made with 100% organic cotton. www.gribouille.com Le Vestiaire De Jeanne was born from the love from a young woman for her little sister. Her intention was to create warm, soft and sober clothes, which are hard to find in kids fashion. The Spring/Summer 2012 collections are inspired by children photographed in the North of India and Tibet: indigo and linen predominate, giving the line a pure, raw and wild aspect. www.levestiairedejeanne.com Chic, contemporary and elegant, PilePoil Paris is THE specialist of “Made in France” faux-fur. Their faux-furs are always softer and more elegant, with subtle colors: black, brown, dark purple … The brand encompasses two universes: fashion & accessories on one hand; home decor on the other hand. High-end collections for children include gloves, wraps, cardigans, scarves, as well as carpets for baby’s room decoration (round shape, star / cloud shape …). http://pilepoil.biz/?ikObject=S201 Pom d’Api has been a renowned designer and manufacturer of high-quality shoes for children since 1973. This authentic brand is THE reference on the French market and has developed an extensive line to fit babies to teenagers. www.pomdapi.fr LouAnn’s collections are designed for modern little girls. Ludic and elegant, the products are made with high-quality materials and signed with detailed finishing: hand embroidery, engraved pearly buttons and wonderful color shades. LouAnn’s universe is associated with poetry, which pleases both young girls and their mummy. www.louann-kids.com L’Esprit De Luna has developed a “Cocoon” universe for children from 0 to 12. Very soft fabrics and colors, as well as detailed finishing represent the core of the brand. www.espritdeluna.com          Playtime New York is located at 82 Mercer Street in SoHo, NYC For more information: www.playtimenewyork.com To pre-register for free: http://playtimenewyork.com/quest/   Follow us on Twitter or join the  French / North- American Fashion Business Group on LinkedIn  

Ubifrance is thrilled to announce that 20 French mills with be presenting their Spring-Summer 2013 collections at the Premiere Vision Preview Show January 10-11 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York. The French Pavilion is an exclusive opportunity for the most sparkling North American designers to discover new designs, ideas and trends coming from the most renowned French textile mills.     The French Pavilion will include: -           Print (AB Creations) -           Silk, jacquards (Belinac, Denis&Fils, Malfroy Million, Philea, Soieries Chambutaires, Sprintex) -           Wools (Clarenson) -           Lace (Sophie Hallette, André Laude, Goutarel, Riechers Marescot, Solstiss) -           Knits (Deveaux, Philea, Sprintex) -           Tweeds, muslins, taffetas (Malfroy Million) -           Prints (Price, Vernet, Minakani) -           Production of small & big series of metallic accessories (Mettetal Creation)   Please come take a look at the collections – www.premierevision-newyork.com  

HERE is a holiday enigma, wrapped in a big Christmasy bow. If the perfect gift can be defined as something someone would love to have but would never buy for himself, what does it mean if, as it turns out, he is perfectly willing to buy that something for himself after all? Would we then have a present on our hands that was, at best, past perfect? Perish the thought. Especially, that is, if the presents in question are great socks. Is any gift more foolproof? High-quality socks are indeed the kind of small luxury a man can secretly and blissfully appreciate all day long but that can seem like a perverse expenditure when he is faced with a $35 price tag for them. (Corollary enigma: Is a status symbol a status symbol if no one else sees it?) Granted, as brain-imaging scans would surely reveal, the cerebellum’s gift-receiving quadrant does not light up with quite the same intensity upon unwrapping a packet of black cashmere socks as it does upon finding, say, a gold Cartier Tank, no matter how they cushion one’s sole.  read the full article on www.nytimes.com

For years, Bea Crowder’s samples of cashmere gloves and printed scarves that she makes for notable clothing labels piled up in the garage of her Central West End home. When she ran out of room, she expanded into a neighbor’s garage. "Finally we said, ’We should do something with this,’" she said. "Let’s have a pop-up sale." Seven years later, her month-long holiday sample sale has developed a loyal following. She emails a list of about 1,500 people in November to tell them when and where her unnamed temporary store will open; her location changes every year depending upon available storefront space in the neighborhood. Sample sales such as these are a more frequent phenomenon in the fashion capitals of New York and Los Angeles. But while St. Louis may not be the retail hub it once was, the city still has a smattering of firms that host a handful of sample sales around the holidays. read the full article on stltoday.com

French Fashion brands came to New York and Philadelphia November 14 th through 17 th 2011 to present their collections to American partners. They met with showrooms, retailers, department store directors, distributors, agents, logistics, among others contacts. This program of B2B meetings was organized by UBIFRANCE, the French government trade agency, whose goal is to boast sales for French companies abroad.  Brands included : -          BAGLLERINA, www.natkinparis.com (footwear accessories – Ballerinas on the go) -          CECILE & JEANNE, www.cecilejeanne.com (costume jewelry and handbags) -          GERBE, www.gerbe.com (gorgeous hosiery) -          JAYKO, www.jayko.fr ( prêt-a-porter for contemporary women) -          MALFROY, www.malfroy.com (scarves) -          TINTAMAR, www.tintamar.com (bags and luggage for women to carry their essentials)   Meetings included Ralph Lauren, Tory Burch, Vera Wang, Organico Showroom, Juju the Showroom, The Hive Showroom, Bloomingdale’s, Joan Shepp, Miriam Rigler, and more. Keep an eye out for these fabulous products at your local shops soon!  

In what appears to be a rapidly developing trend, Chinese visitors to the United States are being noticed more for the flash of their newly-bought designer bags than that of their Nikons. Tiffany & Co. ( NYSE :TIF), Coach, Inc. ( NYSE :COH) and Ralph Lauren (NYSE:RL) are just a few the companies in the luxury retail sector that have recently noted how higher revenue at their North American operations has largely been boosted by Chinese shoppers on vacation.   Read the full article on InternationalBusinessTimes. com