Rodolfo Ramirez co-owner of Pocket Square Clothing, pictured right with Donovan Briggs at Venue.
VENUE
Bigger Brands, Bigger Venue
Venue, a trade show that started as a platform for emerging streetwear brands, went on a growth spurt for its May 19–20 run.
The trade show moved to its biggest venue yet in its two-year history. With 80 booths, the show filled 85 percent of the 60,000-square-foot second-floor events space at The Reef, formerly called the LA Mart, said Miles Canares, Venue’s founder. Venue’s previous address was the events space at the Cooper Design Space showroom building, where it hosted 50 booths in July.
Previously a trade show for emerging brands, the recent Venue included high-profile labels such as LRG, Diamond Supply Co., Huf, Primitive, Black Scale and Crooks & Castles. Gee Dela Cruz, marketing manager for Los Angeles–headquartered Crooks, said it was good that high-marquee brands participated in the show and had fostered a community. “I like what [Venue] is doing for all of the brands at the grassroots,” he said.
The show also hosted more lifestyle and contemporary brands than it has in the past, including Matiere, Michael Stars, and I Love Ugly, a New Zealand–headquartered lifestyle brand.
Mark Encinias represented premium-denim label Lee 101 and its action sports-ready sibling brand, Lee Mercantile Co., at Venue. He noted that the streetwear-focused Venue did not seem like an obvious platform for premium denim, but he thought it was a good place to spread the word on Lee.
“It is important that the rest of the industry knows about us,” he said. He also noted that many streetwear-focused stores want to diversify their mix of brands.
Other brands made their first appearance at a California trade show at Venue. Kali Kartel, a San Juan, Puerto Rico–based brand, wanted to introduce its high-end streetwear brand in California and the U.S. mainland, said Felix Rosado, the brand’s sales manager. Freelance, a Hawaii-headquartered brand, made its third appearance at Venue, said Kiki King, a co-owner.
“You can only connect so much on Instagram and email. It’s not the same as a human connection,” she said.
At Venue King networked with owners of other brands and media. Nyzak, a downtown Los Angeles clothing brand, also made its trade-show debut at Venue.
Retailers reportedly visiting the show were Tilly’s; Forever 21; Nordstrom Rack; Jimmy Jazz; a New York–headquartered chain; boutiques such as Attic and P’s & Q’s from Philadelphia and King & Duck from Scottsdale, Ariz.; and Culture Kings, an Australian retailer.
Canares acknowledged that there were grumblings from exhibitors about low buyer traffic. He said that Venue hopes to build traffic by serving as an alternative show. Instead of running shows during the major seasons for Spring and Fall, Venue will produce shows for the Holiday and Spring II seasons.
The show also hosted an art show featuring the work of Knowledge Bennett, a New York artist, and some produced two industry panels. One panel featured participation of brand chiefs Dennis Calvero of Crooks & Castles, James Bond of Undefeated and Lanie Alabanza of Hellz Bellz.
