The organisers of Brand Licensing Europe (BLE) have confirmed that fashion will be the sole theme for BLE 2020. Next year’s event, which returns to ExCeL London on 6-8 October 2020, will live and breathe fashion licensing – apparel, footwear, accessories and beauty.

Ambitious early stage plans include a live catwalk, with dramatic themed shows beamed onto every digital screen throughout the venue

This year’s BLE saw record visitor numbers with a rise of 3% to 8,062. Exhibiting companies also increased from 264 to 268.

Commenting is Informa Markets VP licensing, Anna Knight. “BLE has become infamous for its themes. We are so excited about next year’s; we’ve been planning it for months. What I love about fashion in licensing is how inclusive it is. It’s accessible to every BLE exhibitor and its appeal is universal. It’s relevant to every demographic and is gender, race, age and generation neutral. We all have an emotional connection with fashion.

“For years, toys have traditionally been the gateway to consumer products for brands. However, apparel is now helping to drive experiences and build brands. Especially for categories like eSports, which has an older, hardcore, merch-driven fanbase. At BLE 2020, we will be exploring fast fashion, haute couture collabs, sustainability, the economy and more.

“One of the reasons we moved BLE to ExCeL was the potential it offered to create a more experiential show. We proved that this year with our activations and Fresh off the Runway showcase. But, next year, our fashion theme will really highlight what ExCeL can offer BLE and our exhibitors and visitors.”

BLE 2020 takes place at ExCeL London from 6-8 October 2020. Click here for further information.