Trade fair images for fashion brands: lookbook, catalogue and stand with Ai

Updated October 28, 2026

A fashion fair is won before the stand opens. Buyers and press look at the lookbook and catalogue weeks ahead, and the collection samples often arrive too late to shoot. With Ai you can prepare the lookbook, the catalogue, the big stand visuals and the fair week posts from prototypes, first samples or product photos, without waiting for a shoot. This guide covers what you need, in what order, and what is still worth photographing for real. We make it at Novaia, a studio for Ai fashion photography.

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Which images a brand needs for a trade fair

Five pieces cover most fashion, footwear and accessories fairs: the season lookbook, the catalogue or line sheet, big images for the stand, social content for fair week and the images for the message to buyers before the event.

They do not weigh the same. The lookbook and catalogue decide whether a buyer books a meeting. The stand and social reinforce what they have already seen.

When to start

Count back from the fair date. The lookbook and catalogue must be ready to send to buyers and press a few weeks before, so the images are commissioned earlier still. Photos take 7 to 10 working days from your approval of the direction and video as little as a week, but approvals and review rounds are what usually stretch the schedule.

If the final samples will not arrive in time, do not wait. With Ai you can start from prototypes or accurate renders and update the images when the final sample lands.

Lookbook and catalogue: what to send

The lookbook sells the story of the season and the catalogue shows every product clearly. Both can come from the same scenes, with the same casting and light, so a buyer recognises the collection in each.

The look list or line sheet, with every colour and reference.
Photos of each piece from front, back and side, plus close ups of fabric, hardware and soles.
Prototypes or first samples if final ones have not arrived, noting what may change.
Your moodboard and the tone of the season.
The formats you need: lookbook page, catalogue sheet, email send.

Big images for the stand

A stand competes in a busy aisle. A large, clear image in the same look as the lookbook lets a visitor understand the brand from a distance. We produce in-store and stand visuals at print size and as looping video for screens.

Tell us the final print size and viewing distance at the start, so the image is made at the right resolution instead of enlarged later.

Accessories fairs: jewellery, bags and footwear

Jewellery, bag and shoe brands exhibit at the Paris fairs such as Bijorhca and Premiere Classe, and the order of work is the same: line sheet and lookbook first, stand visuals second. Buyers of small accessories decide on detail, so the line sheet needs clean packshots of every reference and a few campaign scenes that show scale and material.

Samples often travel late or only exist as one prototype. We start from that prototype and build the line sheet in Ai jewelry photography or Ai handbag photography style, checking every clasp, stitch, logo and finish against the real piece, then update when the final sample arrives.

For the stand, add a short looping film of the product for the screen. See Ai video production for the films we have made for Mascaró and Pretty Ballerinas.

Social and buyer messages during the fair

Fair week needs a steady flow of content: collection previews, product details and short vertical pieces. Because the scenes already exist, 4:5 and 9:16 versions in the same look are easy to deliver without another shoot.

For the buyer email, use two or three strong lookbook images and a link to the catalogue. Fewer, better chosen images work better than a long gallery.

What is still worth photographing

Photograph what must be real: your team, the built stand, people at the fair and any image that documents a real moment. Never present an Ai model as a real person.

For the rest, the product and the mood of the season, an Ai studio is faster and has the images ready before the collection is available.

Key takeaways

A fair needs a lookbook, catalogue, stand visuals, social content and a buyer message.
Lookbook and catalogue come first: they decide whether a buyer books a meeting.
Start from prototypes or first samples and update when the final sample arrives.
Set the stand print size at the start.
Photograph what must be real and make the rest with an Ai studio.

Questions

Can I make a fair lookbook before the final samples exist?

Yes. We start from prototypes, first samples or accurate renders and update the images when the final sample arrives, always checking against the real product.

Do you also make the big stand images?

Yes. We produce print size images and looping video for screens in the same look as the lookbook.

How long do trade fair images take?

Photos 7 to 10 working days from your approval of the direction. Video as little as a week. Add time for review rounds.

Do the images need an Ai label?

Follow the rules of each platform where you publish and the transparency obligations of the EU Ai Act. Never present an Ai model as a real person.

Do you make line sheet images for jewellery and bag brands?

Yes. We make clean packshots of every reference plus campaign scenes in the same light, from prototypes or first samples, and check each detail against the real product.