Agenda Enters Men's Trade Show Run
Menswear buyers coming to the Project Global Trade Show and the Westcoast Exclusive trade show in Los Angeles will have one more stop to make: Agenda, which will feature young men’s streetwear, better activewear and up-and-coming designers. The show is set to bow Aug. 1–3 at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles.
Some 50 exhibitors will occupy about 22,000 square feet on the 11th floor of the CMC for the Spring edition of Agenda’s menswear show, said Aaron Levant, the trade show’s director.
New York–based Project Global Trade Show will hold its event across the street in the Cooper Design Space. The Westcoast Exclusive will be held at the W Hotel in the Westwood section of Los Angeles.
“When we heard that the Project Global Trade Show was coming, we thought that doing our own show would create a synergy, and that’s a good reason for buyers to go to the shows,” Levant said. “With our menswear offerings, it makes more sense for us to be on the menswear dates.”
Agenda’s organizers said they hope to get some attention from buyers already planning to attend the other two trade shows. Levant said the show is not just riding on the coattails of the other menswear shows—it’s giving buyers a true representation of the West Coast menswear market. Many of Agenda’s lines are produced by up-and-coming young California designers.
Levant said he is in the process of recruiting some of Agenda’s loyal contingent of trend-setting underground labels, including Grn Apple Tree, Leche, 3rd Born, Rvca, Square and Milk.
“We launched the show to provide buyers lines that are under-represented at other shows,” Levant said. “This show will differ from the other shows because it will represent practical lines that are geared toward specialty stores as opposed to high-end boutiques.”
Agenda has a 5,000-square-foot permanent showroom in suite B1169 of the CMC. During trade shows, Agenda’s exhibitor space expands into other sections of the 11th floor. Levant said the men’s edition of the trade show will be held at the CMC in February and August. A women’s edition of the trade show will be held during the April and November market weeks. The women’s show will feature the same format as the men’s show but will focus on small, independent labels for women, Levant said. “We’ll have to find our niche in the underserved women’s market, put our spin on it and give them a reason to come and check it out,” he said.
Agenda co-organizer Luis Pulido has been hosting art and music events since 1996. Pulido and Levant added fashion to the mix and launched the Agenda trade show in January 2003 in Long Beach, Calif., to coincide with the Fall edition of the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo. The trade show organizers hold six events annually in Los Angeles and San Diego. Levant and Pulido are currently working with distributors in the Far East to produce one-day shows in Japan.
Men’s fashion week comes to L.A.
Agenda and Project are entering a men’s trade show scene carved out by the Westcoast Exclusive, which has been hosting its upscale men’s trade show since 1996. With the three shows set to run concurrently, several industry observers said this could lead to the creation of a Los Angeles men’s fashion week.
“The men’s business is doing very exciting things, and it’s become very important to Los Angeles,” said Karen Mamont, the CMC’s director of merchandise. “We recognized the coming of Los Angeles men’s fashion week when we brought Agenda to the building in August 2003 and expanded on the show for the November market.”
Mamont said the show started out with 60 resources in August and expanded to 80 exhibitors at the November show.
A growing number of contemporary menswear and “street couture” resources are helping Southern California become a menswear destination. “The young men’s category will once again become important to California, and Los Angeles will be the hub for that,” Mamont said.
Coalition of Los Angeles Designers President Darren Gold was equally enthusiastic. “I think it is amazing for all of the shows, for retailers, for men’s standalone showrooms and, ultimately, for the male consumer,” said Gold, who designs Gold, a contemporary men’s line, and co-designs women’s contemporary line Mhope.
“With the growth in the menswear business, there is definitely enough to go around, and the diversification of shows gives many more vendors that might not be right for one or the other shows an opportunity to show,” he said. “It also gives men’s a complete presence, an actual market week and a home.”
—Claudia Figueroa
