California Apparel News

LAS VEGAS—The aisles were crowded at many of the apparel, accessories and sourcing trade shows in Las Vegas, where many designers and sales reps reported landing some welcome orders from retailers whose buying behavior has been cautious since the beginning of the year.

“Today was a really good first day,” said Melanie Forbis on Sept. 1. Forbis, who is with the Pulse Showroom in the Cooper Design Space, was working the Eva Franco booth at the Project Global Trade Show, where the turnout included specialty-store buyers and retailers from multi-door stores.

Opening day at the MAGIC Marketplace was similarly strong, according to !iT Jeans owner Kimme Song, who said appointments and walk-ins showed up first thing in the morning at the !iT Jeans booth at Premium at MAGIC. “People have a little hope for the next year, as business is getting better,” Song said, adding that new trends were helping keep optimism up. “The women’s buyers are excited about the new fashion,” she said, noting that the boyfriend-jeans style and shorts in all lengths are selling well.

“This is better than last February,” said Pete Delantar, president of Las Vegas–based Naturescast, which manufactures eco-friendly accessories and furniture made from compressed “agro-forest waste,” such as dead bark, shrubs, and fallen twigs and leaves. The company was showing its accessories at Ecollection at WWDMAGIC, and its eco-friendly furniture was featured in the section’s lounge area.

“August last year was the best,” said Delantar, adding that Naturescast was one of the pioneer exhibitors at Ecollection’s launch.

Organizers of the various MAGIC shows were upbeat about this season’s event. “What defines a good show for us is the feedback from our exhibitors and retailers—which was extremely upbeat and positive. Overall, it was a great show for all, and we’re excited for February,” said Chris DeMoulin, MAGIC International president and executive vice president of Advanstar’s Fashion Group.

Something for everyone

Buyers made the rounds among 14 trade shows held around Las Vegas. In addition to the MAGIC Marketplace and Project, concurrent trade shows included the Pooltradeshow, Capsule, Off-Price Specialist Show, Mrket, Accessories The Show, Moda Las Vegas, CurveNV, Women’s Wear in Nevada, ASAP Global Sourcing Show, Guild, ENK Vegas and the PGA Fall Expo.

Alisa Loftin, owner of the Aero & Co. store in Los Angeles, spent two days at the Las Vegas shows, shopping the lines at Project, Capsule and Pool. “Pool is always better for me—it has all the upstart new lines, the young blood,” she said, adding that Pool’s expanded cash-and-carry section was a welcome discovery.

“I spent a couple of hours there,” she said, adding she found several new resources among the cash-and-carry exhibitors.

At Accessories The Show, buyers crowded around the Schandra booth, checking out the Dallas company’s offerings of cocktail rings, jeweled watches and limited-edition handbags.

This was the first time the company participated in the Las Vegas show, said designer Bobby Schandra, who saw a few existing accounts but primarily was meeting new retailers.

“Most are ordering,” he said. “People are doing a lot more thinking [about their purchases], but we’re writing orders, so that’s good. We’re definitely building new accounts and getting good feedback.”

Double time

Several companies opted to show at more than one venue. That was the case for Seoul, South Korea–based Resurrection, which was showing at Pool and at Capsule. “We’re testing what is out there,” said company representative Jessica Hwang. Resurrection wholesales for between $250 and $700 and features very detailed pieces, many of which are in leather or wool. Hwang said next season the brand planned to switch to Project and Capsule.

Another company showing in multiple venues was German outerwear brand Wellensteyn, which maintains a showroom and warehouse in Los Angeles.

“Our tag line is ’function meets fashion,’” explained James W. Benton, director of sales for the company. “[At Mrket], we have more traditional customers—and the more functional product. At Project, we have a little more fashion product.“

Next up for the company is an emphasis on its women’s line, according to Benton, who said the brand is currently carried in 250 doors and recently landed orders from several stores such as Nordstrom, Fred Segal and Atrium.

Among the other shows, WWIN, in particular, remained busy beyond opening day as retailers browsed the misses and plus-size offerings.

For expanded coverage of all the shows, see next week’s issue.