California Apparel News

Liberty Fairs saw a number of debuts for brands attending the Aug. 13–15 show at the Sands Expo and Convention Center.

Danish denim brand Jack & Jones made its U.S. trade show debut at the event with a 600-square-foot booth. It also sponsored Liberty’s Indigo lounge, where buyers could detail T-shirts and denim jackets.

Across the trade-show floor, Crooks & Castles, a veteran Los Angeles streetwear brand, made a return to the wholesale business with a booth. It had been selling its merchandise on its direct-to-consumer channel since 2017.

Also, the Japanese contemporary Aloha brand Mookie Sato made its first foray to a U.S. trade show, being introduced by the Black Circle Agency showroom.

Retailers ranging from department stores Macy’s and Nordstrom to high-end specialty stores such as Ron Robinson and Maxfield shopped Liberty, according to a Liberty spokesperson.

This was the first Liberty Fairs show to take place after the show organizers acquired the Capsule trade show in April.

Liberty absorbed a number of Capsule’s vendors at the current show. Former Capsule vendors gave mixed reviews to exhibiting at the much larger Liberty trade show.

“Capsule was more intimate,” said Gil Gomez of the Black Circle Agency. “Here, it is harder to find us. There was a bigger sea of brands.”

Brandon Svarc, founder and designer of the Canada-based Naked & Famous denim label, also relocated from Capsule. Business was good, he said, but his customers had to order from him at the trade show. “We don’t have a showroom in the U.S.A.,” he said.

This fall, the brand is scheduled to open its first American boutique in New York City.

There also was talk about Liberty’s scheduled move to downtown Las Vegas next February. Gomez thought that if buyers were already complaining about having to travel to different convention centers now during the Las Vegas shows they weren’t going to like making a trip to attend a show in downtown Las Vegas.

But Robert Myers, president of Pretty Great LLC, which owns brands such as SLVDR, hoped that buyers would give downtown Vegas a chance. “It’s so much more affordable. There’s great food and bars. There’s tons of great artwork. They should go there,” he said.