California Apparel News

NEW YORK—For the Jan. 21–23 run of the Project Global Trade Show, show organizers moved the show from the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center to 7 World Trade Center, where the sweeping, panoramic views of the New York City skyline enamored Project’s exhibitors and attendees alike.

“Sam Ben-Avraham [president and founder of Project] has done a great job of keeping the show fresh,” said Jean-Claude Martin, owner and designer of Los Angles–based JC-US. “I think this change in location is attracting specialized boutiques.”

Martin, who has shown his line at Project for the past three years, attributed a great deal of his company’s success during the week to Project’s ability to understand and evolve with its customer base.

JC-US featured its Fall 2008 collection, with pieces from both the men’s and women’s lines. “Buyers are responding to our decision to feature women’s pieces along with the men’s line,” Martin said. “They still love the men’s knits, but the response [to our womenswear] has been so strong that we are releasing a women’s denim line later in the year. This season, we focused on merchandising a balanced collection at Project, and this has brought in a strong amount of business, in particular from Pocket Blue, emoda.com and The Great Put On.”

Ben-Avraham launched Project in New York in 2003 as a contemporary menswear show before launching a Las Vegas edition in February 2005. Last year, the Las Vegas show opened a women’s section in which contemporary and designer lines showed alongside Project’s men’s resources.

This season’s show in New York featured 273 exhibitors, including many who also brought women’s collections to the event. Companies such as Evisu, Christian Audigier, Lodis and Nexus Showroom all prominently featured women’s apparel.

Evisu made the decision to show at Project this season instead of at ENK International’s Blue, which ran concurrently Jan. 20–22.

“We respect and have had great success with both trade shows, but we wanted to have the follow-through with our buyers to the upcoming Project show in Las Vegas,” said Evisu Marketing Manager Chad Jackson. “We feel that the New York venue change has generated great buzz for our brand.” Evisu commissioned Japanese artist Pesu to do live paintings at its booth, which drew in a crowd of admirers and buyers.

“Traffic has been good, and this is such a great place for us to touch base with our accounts,” Jackson said. “We are really known for our Japanese and selvage denim, and this show is exciting for us because we are showing new washes.”

Retailer William Wilson said he was pleased with the venue change although he joked that parking was challenging.

“We are still in recovery from a rough third quarter, but overall, business has been good for my boutique,” said Wilson, president and buyer for Kalomo Kreationz in Connecticut. “I cater to the mature and fashionable crowd, and I typically find high-end casual looks at Project. I came here looking for transitional pieces, and I have been impressed with True Religion jeans as well as Mek.” Wilson said his customer wants to be on-trend and still have denim that fits well. “Everything is truly about the fit, and this type of look is not always so easy to find,” he said. “But I have had great success with Project, and that is why I continue to come back.”

Denim still strong

Project’s mix of premium denim and contemporary streetwear was a draw for many of the buyers who turned out for the show.

Retailer Steve Ford, president of Decade boutique in Pennsylvania, was on the hunt for contemporary menswear.

“For a number of years, I attended Project as a buyer for different brands, and I am now finally looking for my own store,” he said. “In terms of menswear, I am extremely open. I am not focused on Fall 2008, but I am intent on finding edgy, cool pieces. In terms of denim, I thought Kasil Jeans and Wesc showed interesting rinses that stood out from the crowd.”

Exhibitor Elton Chung, president of Vintage China, has been showing at Project for almost four years, showing his denim collection with unique washes. Among Vintage China’s more-unusual details are gold threading, mud washes and a fabric that distresses down to reveal a red shade the more it is washed. Chung said he was not sure how he felt about the venue change but, overall, thought traffic was good. “The response has been mixed. We’ve been writing a lot of business, but some people are just taking notes,” he said. “Overall, though, I think the response has been positive to our line. We incorporate elements from the Chinese empire, and we have 5,000 years of history for inspiration.”

The collection caught the eye of David Mazil, a buyer for Exclusive New York. Having attended the show several times, Mazil said that things felt like they were moving forward. “The vibe for this Project show is a little different, but I think change is good,” Mazil said. “I came looking for Fall 2008 menswear, and I was a bit surprised to see so many pieces for the ladies. But I was really happy with Ringspun Denim, Robin’s Jeans and Grail.”