Next year’s event will focus on fashion licensing: apparel, footwear, accessories and beauty.

This year’s BLE event achieved record visitor numbers – a rise of 3% to 8,062 – and saw the number of exhibiting companies increase. Following the show’s success, the organisers have announced that fashion will be the sole theme for 2020.

Informa Markets VP licensing Anna Knight commented: “We are so excited about next year’s theme, we’ve been planning it for months. For years, the toy category has traditionally been the gateway to consumer products for brands, but apparel is now helping to drive experiences and build brands, especially for categories like eSports, which have an older, hardcore, merch-driven, fanbase. At BLE 2020, we will be exploring fast fashion, haute couture collaborations, sustainability, the economy and more.”

Returning to ExCeL London on 6th-8th October 2020, early stage plans include a live catwalk, with themed shows beamed onto digital screens throughout the venue.

“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, “added Anna. “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 6th-8th October. Find out more at www.brandlicensingeurope.com