California Apparel News

The UBM Fashion Group—parent company of MAGIC, Project and FN Platform—recently hosted a holiday event for retailers and brands to kick off the holidays.

Held on Dec. 8 at the Palihouse in West Hollywood, Calif., the party was part of UBM’s Connect series, which UBM hosts around the country for retailers and brands.

“My team is constantly on the phone with retailers and meeting with retailers,” said Celeste Boehm, UBM vice president of retail engagement. “The premise behind the events is to connect our retailers and our brands together in a space outside of a trade-show environment. That can be anything from a dinner with a whole group of retailers and exhibitors or just retailers on their own. A Connect event can be big like we did at the Epic Hotel in Miami during Swim Week [in July]. We did a cocktail party on the 18th floor overlooking Biscayne Boulevard. We did another one in Dallas at the Hotel ZaZa. We had about 34 retailers and exhibitors in a private room.”

For the Los Angeles event, UBM added a charitable component by partnering with Spark of Love, the organization spearheaded by ABC7 and the Los Angeles Fire Department to collect toys for underserved children and teens across Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, Ventura and San Bernardino counties.

For UBM, this is an opportunity to give “back to the communities in which we serve and are a part of,” Boehm said.

The holiday party drew brands and retailers from across all shows under the UBM umbrella as well as stores and brands that might not have attended or exhibited at a UBM show in the past.

“We invited them to get to know us. It’s a hello and welcome to join us for a night of giving back,” Boehm said.

In addition to collecting toys, the event featured cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as well as a visit from Fashion Santa.

UBM plans to host four major Connect events per year as well as smaller events around the country.