New Location for Ecollection
Vendors at eco-fashion trade event Ecollection at MAGIC reported good business at the sophomore show.
MAGIC’s Web site reported Ecollection debuted with 90 exhibitors in August, and the current vendor list included more than 61 exhibitors. Still, business was brisk, with independent boutiques and major retailers such as Nordstrom among the reported attendees.
For exhibitor Sandy Skinner, one of the secrets of this show’s success was all about location, location, location. Last season, Ecollection was located behind the men’s casual section at MAGIC. “If you did not know it was there, you would not find us,” said Skinner, the chief executive of Los Angeles–based label EcoSkin.
For the most recent MAGIC, Ecollection was located at the edge of the women’s and juniors section at WWDMAGIC. A big banner called attention to the show. On the grounds of Ecollection, DJs played music under a forest-like backdrop of leaves and trees.
Many of the designers exhibiting at the show intended to confound stereotypes of eco fashion. Austin, Texas–based Rene Geneva Designs exhibited corsets constructed out of eco materials, including one made with material produced from wood bark.
Los Angeles–based Deborah Lindquist called her eco collection “Goth Girl Goes to the Country.” It used eco materials such as hemp/silk and organic cotton, but its black mini-dresses and pencil skirts stayed true to their inspiration. They looked like Goth styles from the punk-rock era, not the summer-of-love fashions often associated with environmental fashions.
Lindquist reported retailers being interested in ordering Immediate and Fall deliveries.
Skinner said traffic and business was brisk during the Ecollection show. Retailers might have been making smaller orders, but she estimated she sold as much as she had at the August MAGIC in 2008. “It’s smaller, but I’m seeing more serious buyers this year,” Skinner said. —Andrew Asch
