As buyers started canceling or shortening buying trips to Milan and Paris last February on the brink of the global outbreak of the Coronavirus, Joor CEO Kristin Savilia knew the fashion wholesale and buying industry would need to adapt. In this case, it meant finally embracing a fully digital manner of working. What she didn’t know at the time was those changes would become permanent. As London Fashion Week kicks off tomorrow, it will mark the third time since June 2020 that the digital omnichannel buying service is its exclusive partner. While it may be the most prestigious of the online trade events, it’s far from the only one Joor has secured since launching its event-driven Passport service amid the pandemic last year.

As usage soared, Savilia and her team quickly enhanced the virtual showrooms to include ORB360-degree imaging technology working with partner ORDRE, added videos by style to optimize search as well as an edit function. A standard aspect of the IRL buying process is surveying a rack of goods for purchase and assessing if the assortment was sufficient. The edit feature could show subscribers on the pro platform the buy across the store by style, location, item type, etc., for real-time brand forecasting. Currently, some of the retail partners using the Joors upgraded paid pro service include Harrod’s London, Selfridge’s, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Shopbop, Level Shoes, Liberty London, Dover Street Market, Forty-Five Ten, Intermix, and Samaritaine, the soon to reopen LVMH-owned retail and hotel project in Paris.

Along with LFW, they picked up events in countries for the first-time hosting trade shows and non-profit fashion week events in China, Turkey, Colombia, Japan and Brazil, with a footwear market show about to launch the morning I spoke with Savilia. Currently, Passport is hosting Show Room Canada, Liberty Fairs X LA Men’s Market, Brazilian Footwear, Joor Showcase, Destination Italy alongside London Fashion Week in its preview stage, and the Premium and Seek shows that show in tandem seasonally.

VR Niti Sejpal