California Apparel News

Organizers scale back runway shows to focus on remerchandising and show floor activities.

Organizers of the MAGIC Marketplace will launch a 6,000-square-foot section devoted to contemporary and premium women’s apparel at its upcoming trade show, set for Feb. 17–19 in Las Vegas.

The new section, Premium at WWDMAGIC, housed among the women’s and young contemporary resources in the North Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center, will include a curated mix of about 50 exhibitors—includingcontemporary lines Single, Laquette, Royal Plush, Thursday Island and Yvette Mandell—as well as footwear brands Dolce Vita, Faryl Robin and Matiko Footwear.

The new women’s section was created as a companion show to the newly launched Premium at MAGIC section, which will include contemporary menswear and contemporary brands with both men’s and women’s collections. While Premium at MAGIC will be housed in the Central Hall of the convention center, Premium at WWDMAGIC will be located among the offerings at WWDMAGIC in the women’s wing of the convention center.

Both new Premium sections launched in the wake of announced changes at MAGIC’s Project Global Trade Show, which will be scaled back to include higher-end, more-directional lines at the February show.

“We felt [Project] had grown so fast that it blurred the lines somewhat,” said Chris DeMoulin, MAGIC International president and executive vice president of the Advanstar Fashion Group, parent company of MAGIC. “So in looking at Project and getting feedback from retailers, they wanted us to be very clear about what was where. So Project is going to be more advanced and directional. Advanced contemporary is much more about more-limited distribution, whether that’s the American Rag, Scoop, Atrium, Villains Vault side of things or Barneys Co-op, Harrods and Selfridges and those sorts of [retailers] that are really more what’s-new-and-what’s-next directional. That left a lot of the market that wasn’t young contemporary, which we already had at MAGIC, but was in between those two. It’s a fairly broad range. That market needed its own distinct home.”

Distinct from other contemporary sections of the show, Premium at WWDMAGIC will feature brands with opening wholesale price points in the $80 to $100 range, said Christopher Griffin, show director of WWDMAGIC.

“It’s a nice cross section of better contemporary lines with boutique distribution and minimal department-store distribution,” he said. “These folks are geared toward boutiques, which happens to be a big percentage of what’s on our floor.”

The new Premium section will also be distinct from White, MAGIC’s section devoted to better and bridge brands such as Lily Pulitzer and Eileen Fisher.

“White is better to bridge resources, more-updated contemporary, if you will, so it’s a very different customer,” Griffin said. “It really gives us a nice bookend, with one side beingPremium, which is true contemporary, and, on the other side, White, which is updated or modern contemporary.”

The two new Premium shows mark an effort to more clearly define the merchandise categories at all of MAGIC’s shows, including the MAGIC Marketplace, Project and Pooltradeshow.

“We really took a step back and looked at the entire marketplace and said, ’Project is going to be about directional contemporary, Pool is about emerging, art- and design-driven brands, and within MAGIC there will be a variety of sections that speak to juniors or contemporary or premium but all with a very clearly defined area,’” DeMoulin said. “One of the things you’ll see more of going forward is that brands may launch at Pool or Project and as they grow and their distribution expands, they’ll naturally move to a different part of the show.”

Premium look

Like Premium at MAGIC, Premium at WWDMAGIC will feature a pared-down look, with more-uniform booths instead of the large custom booths prevalent in other areas of the trade show.

“That design aesthetic of clean lines and more open and more about the product and the brands will translate over to Premium at WWDMAGIC,” DeMoulin said.

Like the premium men’s show, Premium at WWDMAGIC will be a distinct section, although it will not be completely enclosed, and will feature its own lounge area running down the center of the section.

Exhibitors will be listed within their own Premium category in the main show directory.

“One of the things we found with the last show is we had a lot of different directories that spoke to different areas within the show,” DeMoulin said. “The reality is the vast majority of buyers who shop our show are responsible for a variety of [merchandise categories], so we wanted to make things a little easier for them and combine things together.” Less runway, more show time

Among the other changes at the upcoming show is a greater emphasis on activities that keep buyers on the show floor. That likely means an end of the daily runway shows in the convention center’s main lobby.

“At this point, there may not be fashion shows the way there have been in the past,” DeMoulin said. “The variety of the initiatives we have are about moving some of the amenities onto the floor to make it more convenient for the buyers and exhibitors to spend more time on the floor.”

Among the initiatives are later hours and more parties and other events on the show floor, DeMoulin said.

“We started doing twilight hours with the last show, and it was a big hit,” he said. “We’re keeping the entire show open on Tuesday, the first night, until 7 [p.m.] because last time, there were so many people at the show at 6, writing business, and they wanted to stay on the floor and keep working. Also, we are allowing people to have more social time on the floor at the end of the day—whether it’s a cocktail party or a hosted reception or some entertainment. Given what’s going on in the marketplace, people want to spend their time as efficiently as possible on the floor looking for resources and writing orders.”

Although specific details are still in the planning stages, DeMoulin said events include some sponsored by MAGIC, some hosted by third parties and some hosted by MAGIC in conjunction with exhibitors.

“The thing we heard loud and clear from retailers and exhibitors was they’re trying to be as efficient as they can be,” he said. “So, the more definitive we can be with how we merchandise, the more opportunities we give them to stay on the floor and see the people they need to see and get their business done, the more we’re helping them.”

One thing that will remain the same will be the staggered scheduling of the trade shows.

Sourcing at MAGIC will open a day early on Feb. 16 and run for four days. The MAGIC Marketplace—including MAGIC Man, WWDMAGIC, WWDKids, MAGIC Swim and ISAM, eco-focused Ecollection and the new Hispanic-focused MAGIA show—will run for three days from Feb. 17 to 19. Pooltradeshow will also run Feb. 17–19, but Project will start and end a day later, running Feb. 18–20 offsite at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center. (The concurrent satellite apparel and sourcing trade shows are similarly staggered during the same week in Las Vegas. For a complete listing, see the Las Vegas Trade Show Calendar here.)

“We’re giving buyers who need to shop both shows time to really spend shopping MAGIC and then go shop at Project,” DeMoulin said. “There’s no single solution that’s perfect for everybody, but the feedback we’ve gotten overwhelmingly from all the retailers and most of the exhibitors is that staggering the shows helps them get their business done.”

Premium at WWDMAGICThe following is a partial list provided by MAGIC organizers of the exhibitors showing at the new Premium at WWDMAGIC show at the MAGIC Marketplace at the Las Vegas Convention Center Feb. 17–19.

Ani-MadonnaBrokedown ClothingChaudryDesert BlueDeux LuxDolce VitaFaryl RobinIsi by Jane WangLaquetteMatiko FootwearMink PinkRoyal PlushSingleThursday IslandVelvet HeartYvette MandellZENsei

Premium at MAGIC The following is a partial list provided by MAGIC organizers of the exhibitors showing at the new Premium at MAGIC show at the MAGIC Marketplace at the Las Vegas Convention Center Feb. 17–19.

100 Styles and Running191 UnlimitedAl Beres Design StudioAlly ProjectAmbigram Couture Inc. AnamaAnoname JeansAnthony VegasBBK Inc./TokuBC CollectionBejeweledBillion Dollar BritchesBrentsBulzeye ClothingChrome AngelsClever ModaDavid KahnD-coyDesign Factory/CalypsoHommeDivision EDo DenimEd Hardy Knit Men’s English LaundryEnzo DenimEon CollectionFossilFrench Connection MenswearGigo UnderwearGinch GonchGo SoftwearJ-ArtyJockoJoe Snyder Sa De CVJohnny MaxJonathan A LoganKey ClosetKo’s Menswear/Lagos/ Zeus/DangerLASCLevi Strauss & Co. LTB JeansMarithe & FrancoiseGirbaudMichael BrandonMission ClothingPavi Inc. Pistol PetePlatini Jeans CougarPriape Wear Project RawPure VenomRanghartRebel SpiritRecessRed & BlueReunionRivet De Cru JeansRoyal TestamentSabitSauvage Inc.Schott NYCSeduka JeansSilver JeansSmash Men’s Inc. Soul DenimSynergy Corp. Timoteo LLCUFOUnico Interior LLCU.S.A. Apparel GroupVe’celYellowman