MAGIC Grows From August 2021, Increases Men’s Options

MAGIC enjoyed an increase in attendees and exhibitors across the board and also included a significant increase in men’s brands exhibiting.

LAS VEGAS: MAGIC

By Tyler Shultz | Thursday, February 24, 2022

Denim brand Dear John premiered styles for the upcoming Fall/Winter seasons. The brand has been growing ever since the pandemic began and saw its most business ever in 2021.

At the Las Vegas Convention Center, MAGIC returned Feb. 14–16 to showcase the latest in trends and young-contemporary apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children. This edition brought more attendees than the August 2021 show, with 35 percent being new buyers. The event also saw a rise in both men’s brands shown and the number of buyers purchasing menswear.

Ashley Murphy, manager of the eclectic boutique in San Diego, said she does not go to the show looking for particular styles or trends but loves the concept of shopping and browsing new vendors to fill the boutique.

“We have our people that we love, and we always make sure to stop by their booths, but we love just shopping around the event and finding new and different vendors that we don’t have. That’s always our favorite way to do things,” Murphy said.

Denim brand Dear John was at MAGIC showing off new styles and silhouettes for the upcoming Fall/Winter seasons. It was co-located with sibling brand Another Love, which offers a trendier type of product. According to sales director Ben Kotler, growth was occurring before the pandemic, and there is more business last year than any other previous year in the company’s history.

“Our business has been trending up ever since the beginning of the pandemic. In 2021 we were up over 40 percent compared to our best year as a company,” Kotler said.

Taylor Aycock, vice president of sales for The Remedy Group, one of the independent partners of Dear John, said buyer attitudes were different at this show. People had their best December or best January and carried that positive attitude to the show.

Although the previous few years have called for the death of the skinny jean, Dear John continues to do well with skinny silhouettes, according to Aycock.

“For us, skinny jeans are always going to be around. I don’t think they’re going anywhere because our age group is 25 and up, but the core customers are probably 35 to 55,” Aycock said. “So skinny jeans for us aren’t going anywhere and are still a huge fit for us. We also do slim straights and straights, which are trending right now, and flares and bootcuts are popular for Fall.”