In conversation with Sylvie Pourrat, Director of Development & Offer at WSN, organizer of Who’s Next, Bijorhca and Interfiliere Paris shows. She has been with WSN for the last 25 years and oversees the strategic segmentation of shows, she is the brain behind the development of the sourcing offers at all three shows.
TextilesResources.com: Share with us about your journey with WSN, your experience, challenges and achievements and your current work portfolio and responsibilities.
Sylvie Pourrat: Twenty-five years of experience means, above all, having had the opportunity to build up a track record. My profession has evolved over the years, in step with fashion and its ever-changing system. I started out at a time when digital technology did not exist, and today, AI has become an indispensable tool.
These major changes have been my main challenge and still are today: knowing how to observe and listen in order to better understand fashion and the needs of its players, and thus be able to provide solutions. Today, as Director of Development, my mission is to create collaborations with international partners: to promote Paris as an international image vector.
TextilesResources.com: Is the current geo-political situation impacting your shows?
Sylvie Pourrat: Geopolitics has obviously become part of our discussions: we cannot live in this world without asking ourselves questions about the future: the younger generations are the ones from whom we have the most to learn. Today, in our ever-changing world, our challenge is to identify new opportunities… this world requires us to be constantly alert, agile and quick, and above all, convinced… at WSN, we have learned to cultivate these qualities since the inception of our trade shows.
TextilesResources.com: How you manage to give a fresh approach to each edition of the shows? How you differentiate your shows from other?
Sylvie Pourrat: This season, we want to offer a brand new version of our sourcing: for the first time in the history of our trade shows, we wanted to highlight the stages of the production chain and thus communicate about the upstream players in our global fashion industry. Five markets will be represented on 25 September: ready-to-wear, lingerie, knitwear, accessories & leather, and jewellery. A forum has also been designed to showcase all the professions and trends of the season.
Putting sourcing alongside finished products is above all an opportunity to facilitate encounters between brands and manufacturers.
TextilesResources.com: Your opinion about the current trends, emerging territories and potential in the fashion and apparel industry, specifically in the lingerie, swim wear and active wear.
Sylvie Pourrat: WSN has long understood the value of building a diverse product offering: ready-to-wear and accessories sit alongside lingerie collections and a comprehensive range of jewellery. This coming season, we are also incorporating a lifestyle offering of design and objects to better reflect the broader market trend: each boutique is a concept store.
TextilesResources.com: Any message to the industry professionals and reader of Textilesresources.com
Sylvie Pourrat: In September 2025, in Paris, the WHO’S NEXT trade show will inaugurate its section dedicated to sourcing: the unique feature of this section is that it brings together players from highly complementary sectors: it is an unprecedented approach to pooling expertise in textiles, lingerie, accessories, and jewelry. The second unique feature is that this event is being held on a brand new date, during Market Week in Paris, a time when international brands are in Paris to present their collections.
I therefore invite manufacturers and brands to come and visit, find inspiration, and discover solutions.
Interfilière Paris 2025
September 6-8 2025
Parc des Expositions, Porte de Versailles, Paris, France
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