California Apparel News

Held Feb. 13–15 at the Las Vegas Convention Center, Sourcing at MAGIC Las Vegas drew 800 exhibitors from 40 countries including African nations, Brazil, China and the United States. Among the offerings were technology suppliers, service providers, manufacturers, industry experts and nonprofit organizations. The event featured three critical pillars in the fashion industry: entrepreneurship, sustainability and social good with verified-sustainable exhibitors.

“It’s been great to meet so many companies from around the world. I didn’t expect it to be a global show for us, but it is,” said Richard Jessup, VP sales for Optitex. The Tel Aviv, Israel–based company provides 2D pattern making and 3D avatars to guide clients through product development to production.

First-time exhibitor jellibeans, based in Los Angeles, is an AI-powered design-to-production collaboration and intelligence platform to help users identify and forecast trends. “We’re here to help you make money doing what you love to do,” said Brian Marsh, co-founder and COO.

Israel-based Stratasys, one of the world’s largest 3D printing companies with the capability of printing a 3D design directly onto any fabric, made its Sourcing debut. “We’re able to achieve designs not possible with other techniques—perfect for high-end brands on the level of Dior, Louis Vuitton and Alexander McQueen,” said Colton Mehlhoff, manager, applications engineer.

Hong Kong–based quality-control service provider QIMA provides feet on the ground within 48 hours nearly anywhere in the world to check and audit factories and products to verify the source is real, quality controlled, workers are treated based on international labor laws and products comply with necessary regulations—all with same-day reporting back to the client. “We’re extremely client focused and based in technology, which makes everything run faster, smoother and more accurately,” said Dory Lanenter, senior business development manager.

Oklahoma City, Okla.–based Heartland is a global payment company making point-of-sale software for payments, POS and payroll. “We’re high-end technology at fair market value, making every day work better,” said Jessica Rall, dealer, sales-product engineer.

Andreu David, vice president of the show, said, “I direct and lead the show through the buyer’s lens, which I believe leads to a strong ROI response with the buyers as well as the exhibitors, who find the value because I see it from both sides,” said David.