TRADE SHOWS
Project Womens Takes Off With Lots of Business and Buzz
It was pajama-game time at Project Womens for Ban.Do, a 10-year-old Los Angeles accessories label that has been branching out into lifestyle items, apparel and, now, pajamas.
Ruthann Clawson, the brand’s merchandise director, was wearing a long, bright pink-and-blue-stripe pajama top, which was part of the company’s new woven sleepwear being introduced at the trade show.
The bright colors of the booth, dominated by pink, added a girly feel to the space, which contained planners with stickers, desk items and greeting cards. The colorful array of items was attracting a number of buyers. “The show here has been great for us,” Clawson said. “This has been one of our busier shows, and we have been here at least three times.”
Casual-lifestyle apparel company Mododoc, based in Torrance, Calif., has been around for more than 25 years and has exhibited at a number of the Las Vegas shows, including Stitch and WWDMAGIC. But for the last three years, the company has been at Project Womens, which has turned out well.
Alanna Unkovich, the brand’s Western region sales manager, said by Monday she had set up accounts with three new stores interested in the collection, which is 100 percent cotton and garment dyed. Wholesale prices range from $20 to $50. “Tuesday was definitely humming,” she noted.
Most of the retailers she was seeing were from the Western region of the United States. Mododoc sees many of its East Coast clients at the Coterie show in New York.
Over at the Hale Bob booth—filled with vibrant print tunics, tops, kimonos and dresses—Cathy Cooley, the Los Angeles contemporary company’s sales manager, said she felt the show wasn’t as busy as the February show, but people were still writing orders. “It has been good for us,” she said.
