California Apparel News

The youth are running the show at MAGIC International.

Organizers of the biannual Las Vegas trade show report that while some of the figures for exhibitors and exhibition space for the show’s upcoming edition, to be held Aug. 27–30, are comparable to those for last August’s event, MAGIC continues to expand in its young contemporary and contemporary categories for men and women.

MAGIC, which is comprised of four sections—MAGIC Men’s Apparel, MAGICkids, WWDMAGIC (women’s apparel) and the edge, a section devoted to alternative clothing and streetwear—drew more than 96,000 attendees in August 2000 and projects similar attendance numbers for its show this month. In terms of the exhibitors, however, some notable increases will be seen. Three areas of the show that will have particularly strong and expanded exhibitor presences this summer are the edge, the streetwear section of MAGIC Men’s and WWDMAGIC.

The edge, with its diverse offerings for young men and women, has been a part of the MAGIC marketplace for the last six shows and is increasing its exhibition space this year to 23,000 square feet, which represents an increase of 15 percent over last year, and its number of booths to 250. Approximately 140 exhibitors are expected to show, including newcomers Beta Project, Upper Playground, Black Chandelier, Ethnico, Base 09, NUFLO, Left Field and KU USA. Returning exhibitors include Ben Ryan, E-15, OBEY, Spoon, Cosmic, Geek Boutique, Asyura, Klozhorse and Fine Clothing.

“People have heard through word of mouth how good the show is and how a lot of people visit it and how it has a great vibe,” said Mark Encinias, account executive for the edge. “People are interested in the vibe of the show. It’s created a buzz and hype. Everyone wants to come by and see what’s going on at the edge.”

This year, the edge will present its traditional evening party on Wednesday night, as well as an eclectic group of deejays, most of whom are sponsored by the exhibitors to create the music behind the show’s ultimate-hipster atmosphere. Also, artists Freddie Cerasoli and Damion Silver will create a painting each day in the edge’s lounge.

The men’s apparel area will feature about 1,700 exhibitors overall and about 700,000 square feet of exhibit space—on par with the August 2000 show. The streetwear category, however, has been expanded to 300 exhibitors, according to MAGIC’s marketing coordinator, Ernae Mothershed. The section will include veterans Phat Farm, Sean John, Rocawear, FUBU, Triple 5 Soul, Esco, Enyce and BC Ethic as well as newcomers Lugz, Pos-Gen, Astronaut, Tomster, Swish NYC Clothing, DrunknMunky and Soy Clothing.

The streetwear section, which first opened in 1998, has exhibited apparel from several entrepreneurs who have crossed over from the music industry to the fashion business, including Russel Simmons with his Phat Farm label, Jay-Z with his Rocawear label and Sean “Puffy” Combs with his Sean John brand. The tradition will continue at the August show with new artist Nelly, who is making his apparel debut at MAGIC with Vokal, a streetwear line aimed at the 13–30 demographic.

MAGIC has also established a partnership with leading urban publication Vibe magazine to create the Vibe Streetwear Lounge, which will provide streetwear exhibitors and visitors with a central meeting place and feature recording artists and a deejay, a daily happy hour and a lunch buffet.

Mothershed explained that while the majority of the streetwear companies showed at the August 2000 show, their exhibition space had been split between the Las Vegas Convention Center and the Sands Expo & Convention Center. This year, the group will be centralized at the Las Vegas Convention Center.

“This will be the largest representation of streetwear [ever] at the Las Vegas Convention Center,” Mothershed said.

The streetwear section is now a “show within the show,” according to Lynda Harrison, MAGIC’s sales director.

“The companies that make up streetwear have their own unique approach to marketing,” she said. “They are profoundly influenced by music and that is evident in their fashion. They represent what’s new and all eyes are focusing on this category for the latest lifestyle trends.”

WWDMAGIC is planning to increase its exhibitor space to accommodate more than 1,200 exhibitors, including newcomers to the section Always Fresh, Dawls and Tag Rag, the last two of which previously had booths in the edge and the streetwear sections.

MAGIC Moments

Cotton Incorporated is sponsoring the Spring 2002 fashion shows on Aug. 27–29 at 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. and on Aug. 30 at 11 a.m. at the Sands Expo Center. The fashion shows are comprised of two segments: a more directional, trend-driven show geared toward the younger market, and a segment geared toward the Updated Missy and Swim markets.

For a look at menswear trends at MAGIC, GQ is once again sponsoring a video wall, which will highlight Spring 2002 trends from the European menswear collections and show interviews with leading menswear designers.

Mountain Dew will present a Vert Ramp in the Board Sports area, featuring some skateboarding pros from around the world on a 32-foot ramp, and ESPN will present a Magazine Sports Gallery, celebrating the link between sports, fashion and style.

MAGIC parties will include the edge party hosted by Mixer magazine and GuerillaOne on Aug. 29 at Baby’s in the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, OP’s Beach Bash, a retro beach party hosted by ’70s cover band Boogie Knights on Aug. 28 at the same hotel, the Lucky Brand Dungarees party featuring Booker T. and the MGs on Aug. 28, and the Parasuco Jeans party, set for Aug. 27 at the Hard Rock’s Joint.

Expanded WWIN

Buyers who drop by the Womenswear in Nevada (WWIN) show, which will also be held Aug. 27–30 in Las Vegas, can expect more missy coverage with a bigger selection of bridge and better lines offered at this year’s event, taking place at the Rio Hotel and Convention Center.

The show will feature 200 more lines than last year, according to Jeff Unis of Specialty Trade Shows, who added that last year’s show topped out at 1,000 exhibitors.

This year’s WWIN has expanded to 85,000 square feet, which includes all of the hotel’s convention space. Last year, the show occupied only the mid-size portion of the convention space because of previous bookings, noted Unis, who added that this year’s space is completely full and that he already has a waiting list of over 100 companies.