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I woke up to a beautiful Sydney Monday morning streaming through the window of my good friend’s Surry Hills apartment that I’ll be calling home for the next three weeks. I’ve been in town since very early Thursday morning. Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia (MBFWA) starts this morning. I’ll be there all week. The following two weeks are filled with client meetings and networking.

Despite a smooth, sleep-filled flight aboard a comfy Qantas A380 (they might have cracks in their wings but they top the dear old 747’s handily), I was completely zonked Thursday as I moved through a day of work and logistics trying desperately to stay awake and avoid extended jetlag. If you need stimulation while trudging along on hazy autopilot, there’s no more appealing and vibrant place than Sydney.

Thursday and Friday were spent at Fashion Palette, a high-end showcase of Australian designers held at the exceptional Carriageworks event space in Redfern … more about the show in a separate blog in the coming days.

MBFWA is Australia’s premier fashion week that provides a platform for designers to showcase their collections to the world’s most influential media and buyers. MBFWA claims the mantle of the Asia Pacific’s stop on the international fashion week circuit joining Paris, Milan, New York and London.

Spring/Summer 2012-13 will be breaking. It is an extremely important week for me. I get to watch the runway shows of the latest collections from some of Australia’s most established (such as Bec & Bridge, Oroton, Toni Maticevski, Ksubi, Kooey, Zimmermann) and emerging designers (Ode To No One, Toi Et Moi Sydney, Akira, Watson X Watson). I meet with designers and their sales and PR agents and view their collections in the suites of the nearby Shangri-La Hotel. And very importantly, I meet and network with the movers and shakers of the Australian fashion industry.

I’ll be taking part in the excellent business matching program being coordinated by the New South Wales State Government, Department of Trade & Investment in conjunction with the Australian Trade Commission (Austrade) and the Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia (TFIA). I’ll also be meeting a delegation of Hong Kong designers promoted by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council.

I’ll be attending some off-site showcases of designers who aren’t on the official schedule but are taking advantage of the buyer activity and general buzz generated by MBFWA to launch their Spring/Summer collections and announce themselves to the world.

The official five-day schedule is centered at the Overseas Passenger Terminal (OPT) at Sydney’s fabulous Circular Quay. If you have never been to Circular Quay, it is one of the most spectacular big city vistas anywhere in the world. With the CBD at your back, Sydney Harbor Bridge on your left, the Sydney Opera House on your right, and the unparalleled Sydney Harbor lapping at the quay, you are in the heart of the historic Sydney Cove. The OPT is appropriately on your left as you head toward “The Coathanger”.

It’s going to be a very busy and exciting week. I’ll be blogging and tweeting constantly so stay tuned.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

The Spring/Summer 2013 Los Angeles International Textile Show (a.k.a. LA Textile) had the California Market Center (CalMart) in the downtown Fashion District jumpin’ last Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday. LA Textile is the largest textile, trim, design and production resource trade show in the United States in both size and variety of resources. The Spring/Summer show is held in March. The Fall/Winter show is in October.

My bestie and pbc colleague, Tracy Engelien (owner of the brilliant Boxie) and I had planned one of regular LA store scouting excursions for the Monday. We spent the first half of the day on the Westside in Venice and Santa Monica before heading downtown to walk the show and take advantage of the excellent seminar program that is presented by the show participants and the leading trade associations. This was my first time attending.

Tracy was particularly interested in the “Creative Vision: Spring/Summer 13 Trend Seminar” by highly regarded UK trend forecaster, Mudpie. Unfortunately, it was canceled. We are supposed be getting the presentation emailed to us.

I had signed up for Fashion Business Incorporated‘s (FBI) “LA State of the Apparel Industry Report” seminar. The research report which was sponsored by Los Angeles Department of Water & Power was presented by the supervising researcher, Peter Kilduff, Professor and Chair of the Apparel Merchandising and Management Program at Cal Poly Pomona. It sounded like a fascinating seminar, and it didn’t disappoint. The room was full, and the Q&A could have gone on all night. Sorry for the tease but I’m working on an extensive blog on the report and the seminar. I’ll try and get it out before I leave for the Mercedes Benz Australia Fashion Week in Sydney at the end of the month.

I like FBI. FBI is a non-profit organization that been around since ’99. It provides an excellent range of services to the fashion industry including entrepreneurial development, resources and training. Their seminars and panel discussions are well worthwhile – knowledgeable and insightful speakers, relevant and practical topics and the programs move along at a good pace.

Other seminars included topics like trends and directions for Spring/Summer 13 and Fall/Winter 13/14, purchasing, design, brand building, fabric development and innovation, and legal issues presented by partner organizations such as California Fashion Association, trend forecaster WGSN, fashion law specialists Fox Rothschild, LLP, and fabric innovator Lenzing.

Why attend LA Textile? As I said above, it is the largest, most diverse textile trade show in the US. It attracts more than 200 exhibitors from around the world showcasing fabric, textile, accessories and trim products, design and decoration resources, production tools, technology and sourcing, and the very important fabric, color and style trend forecasting resources. If you are a manufacturer, fashion or textile designer, interior decorator, architect, material supplier, trim or home textile retailer, distributor, fashion trend follower or a fashion student, LA Textile is for you.

The aforementioned seminars are a great value-add to the show. There are invaluable networking drinks at the end of each day. I never miss these because I always make new contacts, such as Jim Wallis, President of Montgomery Fashion Group from Australia. Jim was quoted in the official press release as saying, “We have seen many apparel makers and brands from the Western United States, Texas, and Florida. We’ve had great exposure at this Show and are very happy with the turn out.”

Registration is on the ground floor atrium, as was the Korea Pavilion in the Exhibit Hall. The rest of the show is held in the 13th floor Penthouse. The seminars are also held on the 13th floor. FBI held seminars in their 7th floor offices.

There was plenty of foot traffic, lots to see, the seminars were full, and best of all, it was a real learning experience. I would recommend checking out the next LA Textile show in October.

Paul Brindley

paulbrindleyconsults.com

To paraphrase Will Ferrell’s character, Mugatu in the fashion industry parody, Zoolander, “LA is really not hot right now”. That seemed to be the sentiment for many at this week’s Los Angeles Fashion Market Week.

In my blog from Day 1 of Market Week, I asked the question, “Where was everyone?”. The optimism generated at the Las Vegas trade shows and then in New York had us hoping for a bumper LA Market Week. It didn’t quite turn out that way. Foot traffic was choppy, feedback from showrooms was mixed, but buyers remain upbeat and optimistic. Don’t get me wrong. I am sure that a sustained recovery in the badly hit fashion industry is underway. I just wonder if LA will be up there leading the way.

The fashion industry is inherently cyclical – and not just in trends. The hotspots for fashion move with the trends. Los Angeles has had an extended period in the sun mainly due to the “dress down to dress up” trend that has become the signature LA chic. With more prevalent structure and tailoring now in the market, New York and Paris are eclipsing LA. Let me be clear, LA has never come close to those two cities in the fashion stakes but it has held it’s own over the past 10 years.

I think LA also suffers from buyer trade show fatigue. LA Market Week comes almost two months after Fall and Spring break each February and August in Las Vegas, and a month after the trade show roadshows move through New York. By the time, buyers roll up here they have seen most of what’s on offer twice at least. I had the owner of one very successful LA showroom half-jokingly tell me, “if this is what LA market is like, maybe we should stop having them. This should be a busy market for LA.” He agreed that there are too many trade shows back-to-back. As such, LA is becoming a big regional fashion week rather than a trendsetter.

All that said, there is definitely a need for LA Market, and if you are a designer or manufacturer, you definitely need sales representation on the west coast. There was plenty of business written during the week. I just think a lot more people expected to share in the love.

Designers & Agents

The d&a show on the 3rd floor of the New Mart had good energy and plenty of foot traffic. There were well over 100 booths with 150-175 brands on show. The show was freshened up by a sprinkling of new exhibitors.

Some Fall12 collections that caught my eye were:

• Christy’s London – National Sales Manager, Ben De Luca told me that wide brim floppy hats for women will continue to trend into Fall – the 60’s and 70’s looks aren’t going away soon. Men are going for a wider brim in fedoras after the short brim Mad Men-style craze. They were the styles that buyers were trying on as we were talking.
• IRO – this hip Parisian collection is rocking red and silver sequin bomber jackets with black leather epaulettes, shearling bomber jackets, and very cool shredded and distressed wool tees.
• Nigel Preston & Knight – an English collection that has been around forever is known internationally for it’s leather, suede and sheepskin collections. It makes you want to move to a cold climate just to wear their the raw leather and fur coats.
• Pip-Squeak Chapeau – this Indochine flavored collection of sheers, burlaps, and raw finishes is the epitome of intentional “high-casual” fashion. Chic, sophisticated tops, sweaters, jackets, pants, dresses, and skirts handmade in Brooklyn from 100% natural yarns and fabrics all have wonderful texture and purpose. I overheard one buyer describe the line as “well thought out” which is an intelligent departure from some of the adjectives used by buyers to describe collections.
• En Shallah – from Morocco, En Shallah is a unique accessories collection focusing on striking shoes and bags. En Shallah employs local women artisans to produce their one-of-a- kind pieces using recycled and reclaimed fabrics and materials, and natural vegetable dying and tanning processes. Their leather boots with vintage tapestry paneling and their distressed frilled bags using the same materials really stood out.
• Ticci Tonetto – this sexy and sophisticated collection was in the same booth as En Shallah (Nyali Showroom in the Cooper Building). The collection is named for the designer. Ticci has had great success for many years with her signature looks that have evolved over time. For Fall, Ticci is showing beautiful dresses in black and inky blue with corseting and boning as well as sexy camisoles and tops in lace and leopard print.

The d&a house DJ, Emma Ford was in great form over the 3 days. Emma spins for d&a in Paris, New York and LA, as well as at clubs around the world.

All in all, I think d&a was a success this time. Foot traffic in general in the New Mart building seemed a bit off this market but d&a still pulled plenty of interest. The now traditional Mexican fiesta at the end of the last day is always fun – margaritas, Mexican beer and food sent everyone off on a high with Emma’s beats jamming in their heads.

The Cooper Design Space

AKA “The Cooper Building”, The Cooper Design Space has taken over as the premier contemporary showroom building in the LA Fashion District. The New Mart had held this distinction for many years. However, the Cooper has become the home for the hottest, most fashion forward designers for men’s and women’s. With multi-line independent showrooms like Brand Equity, Namaste, Proper Fools, Community Service and Bond, and brands like Ted Baker, AG, Australia’s Ladakh, Wildfox, Trina Turk and the amazing Robert Rodriguez space, the Cooper has an aesthetic that the New Mart just can’t match.

I walked all the floors with good friend, Tracy Engelien of Boxie. There was a marked increase in foot traffic and energy over the New Mart. I will write more about the Cooper in a coming blog.

But I do want to mention a collection in one of the guest showrooms on the 3rd floor. Fiftytwo Showroom from New York was showing the truly inspired Jonathan Simkhai. I first saw the collection at Workroom in Vegas last August. It is one of my favorite of all the collections I have seen in the past year. Sexy and feminine with a classic styling, he mixes in accents of bright color against a dark palette with mesh cutouts and a wonderful sense of geometry.

The Lady Liberty Building

Elizabeth Hehir of SYDNY Showroom in the Lady Liberty Building was very happy with the week. SYDNY is an Australian designer specialist. They carry two collections that showed at Rosemount Australian Fashion Week last year – bless’ed are the meek and Flannel. blessed will be there again in May along with Aje – although now it is the Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Australia. I’ll be blogging from there starting April 30.

Elizabeth is having great success with Lilya. After doing very well at Workroom in Vegas, Elizabeth tells me, “its doing amazing business, and is really one to watch.”

“bless’ed is creating a lot of buzz. Sell through is strong. Stores are reordering within a week. Miley Cyrus bought 3 pieces of bless’ed at Westerly in Corona Del Mar.”

“Samantha Wills is doing phenomenal business in the first season with us. The presentation and packaging are special. There is so much bang for your buck.” I have met Samantha a couple of times through my involvement with the Australian community in Southern California. Samantha is an inspired designer and savvy businessperson, and very friendly and approachable. It is great to see the success her collection is having.

Well, that’s it for LA Market Week for March 2012. We didn’t get the business that everyone hoped for but the feedback was positive in general. The economy is definitely improving, albeit slowly. The fashion industry is cautiously improving along with it. A slow, steady, real economic recovery is what we need – no more of these bubble and burst nightmares. We’ll know a lot more by the next LA Market Week in June when retailers have had a full season to see how their Spring and Summer deliveries have sold.

As the Balinese saying goes, ‘slowly, slowly, catch the monkey”.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

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LA FASHION MARKET WEEK – DAY 1 – WHERE WAS EVERYONE?

It’s Fall12 Market Week in the downtown Los Angeles Fashion District. I got downtown around lunch yesterday for Day 1. The carparks were full. After the success of the Las Vegas trade shows and the good feedback from the recent New York shows, it looked like we were in for a big day.

I headed for the New Mart building to drop my bag at Michelle Roy Designs Showroom on the 8th floor. Michelle very kindly allows me to work out of her showroom during market. My good friend Tracy Engelien shows her brilliant new basics collection, Boxie, there. We all have a good laugh between buyer meetings and my recon missions around the fashion district. The elevators at the New Mart are usually a good indication of how busy market is. There are only two lifts servicing the 12 floors of showrooms. They are either so full you have to wait for the next one or you wait forever as they stop at every floor – sometimes they inexplicably skip the floor you are waiting on.

So I was expecting a long wait. But, nup – I got the first elevator that came and it wasn’t even half full. I asked myself, “Where is everyone?” It’s a question I heard all day.

My first mission of the day was to check out the relatively new accessories, lifestyle and gift show Coeur, on the 11th floor of the Cooper Building. This was only the second show for Coeur – their first was the Spring/Summer showcase at last October’s Market Week. They do two LA shows a year – Spring/Summer in October and Fall/Winter in March.

The 11th floor of the Cooper is a large, bright, naturally lit white space – perfect for a trade show. 70 brands are showing – mainly women’s with some unisex. The majority are US brands (mostly made in the US) with some French and German designers mixed in. The Co-Founder and Creative Director of Coeur, Henri Myers told me, “We are creating something different for the fashion retailer. We are looking to provide a diversity of options.”

As you would imagine at an accessories show, it is heavy on shoes, bags and jewelry. There are also some scents (Six Scents), leggings, scarves, and one knitwear and sweater line – Carolina K.

The trending native American motif is strong among the jewelry designers with lots of beading and turquoise. As is the use of brass.

Tote bags continue to be popular. Color blocking is all the rage. The raw unfinished leather look in bags is impressive.

Shoes are definitely the thing at present. Boots everywhere – ankle and calf lengths reign. I really like the embellished heels trend – lots of color, studs, jewels. You can just go for it right now with your shoes.

Some of the collections that caught my eye were:

• Gilda Grey with art deco undertones in Czech glass, Swarovski crystals, coral on sterling and liquid silver. I loved their novelty reflecting bowties in bright colors. They are doing the Native American thing in classic styling.

• Many Will See‘s inspired one-of-a-kind creations are new every month. Handmade in LA for natural materials, they also produce a reorder collection. For readers in Australia, you will soon be able to buy Many Will See at The Happiness Place that opens in Brisbane this month.

• Symmetry scarves are made in Los Angeles. The transforming pieces with a hardware and grommet attaching system use a mix of fabrics and prints make them a soft edgy feel. The scarf in the photo below is a good example. The tartan with the hardware reminds me of the punk skirts from back in the 70’s mixed with a classic grey wool.

• Graf & Lantz bags are also made in LA. Their color blocked felt and leather totes are their best sellers. I loved their range of felt and leather wine bottle carriers.

• Jo Handbags are deconstructed classics made in New York and Mexico. Shoulder bags, totes, clutches with removable chains and straps blend boot leather, woven vinyl, burlap, waxed canvas, copper, silver and brass. The raw, unfinished feel gives the collection substance and quality.  They are available in 150 doors in the US and internationally. For those in Australia, you can find them at Burnt Orange in Mosman in Sydney.

The foot traffic at Coeur was quite good. I liked the sake tasting table. I think the show has a lot of potential.  I look forward to seeing how it grows from here.

On the way down in the elevator, I was surprised to bump into the owners of a busy, highly regarded showroom in the New Mart. They are usually so busy at market, I had to ask what they were up to. Like a lot of people, they were trying to find out where everyone was. I’ll see if I can clear up that mystery today. But I suspect, we are experiencing buyer fatigue from the rolling trade show circuit that begins the year. The cars were there but where were the people?

Paul Brindley

paulbrindleyconsults.com

I couldn’t agree more with this article on SocialMediaExaminer.com. It is very frustrating to have to search for the price of items on a website, and then find out that many times there are no prices listed.

I find this a common problem on fashion and apparel designers’ websites that don’t have shopping carts. Don’t be scared to list a recommended retail price – you can set it at the high end (2.6X over wholesale) so you won’t show up your retailers. People want to know how much things cost. You will be doing your customers a favor when they go looking for your stuff in stores.

If you are wholesaling and you don’t want to reveal your wholesale prices to the public, include a secure password-protected section on the website for retail buyers to access.

5 Reasons Your Content Marketing Must Address Price | Social Media Examiner.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

We did this last year so let’s do it again. I want to look at what brought us here, where we are now and what to expect in 2012 for the women’s contemporary fashion market – all from the perspective of an expert in the field. So I turned to my close friend and pbc consultant, Tracy Engelien.

Tracy has previously shined as a senior sales executive for both large and small apparel manufacturers in the U.S. including BCBGMaxAzria.  She spent years working with buyers in some of the most prestigious boutiques, specialty and high-end department stores in the U.S.  A true industry insider, Tracy knows the west coast and national players, understands regional market trends, economies, and fashion preferences.

Until very recently, Tracy was the Prinicipal of Tracy Engelien Sales representing lifestyle, fitness and yoga brands … until she made the big move!

Tracy is now the owner and designer of Boxie. Boxie tees are 100% organic brilliant basics for women. Boxie is a resort lifestyle collection born and bred right here in Los Angeles. Boxie reflects the aesthetic of the California Riviera in carefree styles of cotton basic tees. Fashion pieces accentuate the collection with the same essential lively, clean colors and yummy, soft fabrics. Boxie tops can be paired with any style or look. You can wear them with suits, jeans, skirts or to the gym. Sleep in them. Layer them. Wrinkle them. The Boxie motto is Wash, Rinse & Repeat.

She has done it all. Who better to ask what’s going down?

Q:   Use one word to describe 2011 in the women’s contemporary fashion world?

A:   Regenerative.

Q:   What was expected in 2011?

A:   I think the expectation was there would be a second bottom to fall out economically. To some extent, the garment industry did see more fall out. However, I really believe companies regrouped and reorganized and put their plans together to achieve real growth for the future. They looked at a hard road of slow climbing out of 2011 into 2012 and reaching for 2013 as the next profitable year.

Q:   What changed in the industry in 2011?

A:   Retail became the big focus for corporate profits in 2011. Some examples are True Religion, Lululemon, Madewell, and J Brand. The wholesale segment was still finding it’s new place in the market and brand retailing became a driving force.

Q:   What were the biggest trends of 2011?

A:   Oy, I forget already! – feathers, animal prints, accessories, and SHOES.

Q:   What do you think will continue?

A:   Shoes and animal prints have continued strong into 2012. The printed denim trend for Spring12 is really present, and the shoe is a big focus still with all the ankle length trousers and crop styles out there.

Q:   What is your trend outlook for 2012?

A:   Highlighter colors are going to be the big deal all year. Brights, brights, brights. I notice a strong shift away from the Boho flowing silhouettes into more tailored details and dressing up more – think trousers, jackets, and blouses as key elements to any woman’s wardrobe. We are much more ladylike this year.

Q:   What is the industry outlook for 2012?

A:   Overall the outlook is positive. Again, I think we are looking at a year of slow growth and the setting up for a real push in 2013 for more dynamic strategies and creativity. There have been some interesting moves by big companies (Target, Kohl’s) already this year where they are opening up boutique-like stores in very specific locations in the States and testing that specialty market. Private label business is excellent because of that now. Smaller brands have an opportunity to support their own labels by producing limited products for the larger players. I also think we will be introduced to some new things by the end of the year.

Thank you for the insights, Tracy. With Fall12 breaking next week in Los Angeles at LA Fashion Market Week, we’ll see if the positivity that Tracy feels and the increased activity we experienced at the Las Vegas fashion trade shows continue picking up momentum. I have spoken to a number of LA showrooms that have had very good responses from buyers to their pre-market calling and promotions. It is going to be an interesting week. I’ll be there all week keeping you updated.

Paul Brindley

paul brindley consults

Las Vegas Fashion Trade Show February 2012 Blogs:

LAS VEGAS FASHION TRADE SHOWS – FEBRUARY 2012 – DAY 1 MORNING

Last week, I started writing this review of my final day at the February 2012 Las Vegas fashion trade shows with an old business axiom in mind – “it’s all about location, location, location” Why? Because for reasons that are privy to the high minds that produced the Project trade show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, the booths on the floor had been completely reconfigured from the layout that people were accustomed to (I think buyers like the familiarity, I know I do – it saves lots of valuable time not having to reinvent the wheel every show).  This had caused some choppy sales results for brands that usually do well at Project. I thought that was a interesting takeaway from the week, and a good way to theme this blog.

Lo and behold, I open my daily email update from Apparel News the next day, and the second article on the email is their review of the Vegas trade shows with the same quote in the first line! Except they called a maxim, instead of an axiom. Great minds think alike? I hope the folks at Apparel News think so.

The Mandalay Bay hosts 5 of the week’s showcases – Project and PoolTradeShow on the first floor, and Mens/Wear, s.l.a.t.e and Street on the second floor. I concentrated on Project and Pool.

PROJECT

Project is where you’ll find the most influential and commercially successful contemporary brands in the marketplace.

I dropped by to check out the traffic on Tuesday morning on my way to MAGIC – it was busy, busy. On Wednesday, it had dropped off considerably.

Welcome to Project

It seemed massive this time; with a higher proportion of men’s to women’s collections than usual. (The Spring show in August is usually bigger for women’s due mainly to the compression of the other trade shows around the country at this time of the year). For us trained seals, it took some getting used to. As I mentioned above, the producers reconfigured the floor set-up; they flipped the men’s booths with the women’s so that the main entrance lead into the men’s section, and they moved Workroom from it’s own nook and had it floating in the sea of booths. The feedback on foot traffic and sales from the collections was mixed but largely positive.

The main trends were consistent with the other shows in town:

• men’s workwear is big – check shirts, lots of dark denim, and work boots everywhere.
• bright pop (blue, green, red, yellow, orange) and burnt subtlety (orange and rust) continue into Fall.
• inky blues and greens (I particularly liked the green that Fluxus is rocking) are mixing in with the usual black and greys.
• the 60’s and 70’s motif is still strong across the board.
• printed denim was everywhere.
• the western motif is strong – the cowboy and Native American look, lots of fringing.
• knits and layering are dominant – ‘comfort’ with style and construction is the motto here.
• brown leathers with accents in boots for women seem the go – pointed and round toe.
• wide brim hats for women with the men are going for a wider brim in fedoras after the short brim Mad Men-style craze.

The Australian Connection

It was like Australia Week at Project. Lots of Australian collections were showing with quite a few featured in the Workroom section. I didn’t like the fact that Workroom had been moved from it’s previous location. It is only three shows ago that Workroom was walled off from the rest of Project and you had to specially register to attend. The space had the look and feel of a working collective. Since then, it has been steadily integrated into Project proper.

Workroom is the most fashion forward section of the entire MAGIC Marketplace. The clothing, accessories and shoe brands are carefully selected, juried, and well worth a close look.

A number of US-based showrooms specializing in Australian contemporary women’s collections were there; most notably, LA’s The SYDNY Showroom (Workroom) and the bi-coastal Melt Management (Project). The showrooms do both the sales and PR for their clients, as well as consulting on brand strategy, product placement, and market planning. I know that SYDNY also does the product distribution for their clients. The biggest barrier to success for an international brand is creating the right partnerships in the market. The holistic approaches of these two firms ensures probability of success is maximized and risk is minimized.

Elizabeth Lewis, one of the partners in The SYDNY, was very happy with week. The SYDNY were showing Samantha Wills jewelry, Lilya and bless’ed are the meek. All the collections did well. Elizabeth was especially happy with Lilya which is selling well everywhere in the US. It is a medium price point range with soft knits and pastels in a 60’s and 70’s feel which are great for layering – as Elizabeth expertly pointed out, “…. it’s something Anita Pallenberg would wear back in the day …”

Elizabeth working the SYDNY booth at Workroom

Other notable Australian collections in Workroom were the well established trend-setter Ksubi, the fashion forward and sophisticated Shakuhachi and an exciting newcomer to the US, Elliat.

It was great to see a couple of collections that I saw and spoke with at the Rosemount (now Mercedes) Fashion Week in Sydney last year at Project – Friend of Mine (repped by Melt) and Talulah (by New York based Bui-Lavry PR).

Back in the USA

Alfred Davis, one of the partners of the highly regarded LA showroom, T & A Showroom had a bumper show with all his lines, in particular the new Simon Hart by Dorsia and the on-trend Publish men’s collections.

The fabulous Chelsea with German bag collection, George Gina & Lucy told me all their 16 lines everything were selling well. Lots of bright colors and color blocking are big for them into Fall. Plus I got to pick up their always fun giveaways. This time they were thick rubber bracelets with affirmations and purple and orange cut-out cardboard ears as GGL Bullshit Protectors guaranteed as “essential protection against any gossip, shit talk & fashion chit-chat”. Love it!

Monica Gordon, owner of Chantal Accessories Showroom in the New Mart in Los Angeles, reported that she “had a good show” and opened new domestic accounts with the stylishly edgy bag collection, christopher.kon.

I missed one of my favorite people this time, Ginny Wong. She was at a meeting when I dropped by. Her peeps told me that they were definitely feeling the effects of the booth reconfiguring. While the show had been OK, they hadn’t seen as many of the buyers they usually do. Ginny has had the same cluster of booths for a while. I always knew where to go to find her.

From what I saw and from what I heard, Project was a busy show. Buyers were writing orders and leaving paper, and most showrooms and salespeople were very happy with the week. We have seen these mirages over the past couple of years. Let’s hope that this time the improvement is real and lasting.

POOL

Pool was fun as usual. Lots of emerging young contemporary designers showing the full range of clothing, shoes, bags, hats, jewelry, accessories of all kinds. There is also a cash and carry section.

Pool gets busy

The whole section is bright and colorful. They have drink, food and candy giveaways each day.

Again, the color palette in Pool was mostly brights, brights, brights. As usual, lots of junior and young contemporary fashions mixed in with accessories and shoes.

I really liked the wearable art accessories of Studio Manhattan Art + Design, and the eco-friendly watches of Sprout.

The Rockabilly/Punkabilly styles of Queen of Heartz and Rock Rebel Shop, and the ‘Scare Wear’ of Kreepsville 666 spiced up the aisles.

Well, that’s it for the Las Vegas round of fashion trade shows for February ’12. Make sure you check out my series of blogs covering the week. I would love your feedback. If you have any questions about anything in the blogs or about paul brindley consults, please contact me at info@paulbrindleyconsults.com.

Cheers, Paul

paul brindley consults

Related Blogs

LAS VEGAS FASHION TRADE SHOWS – FEBRUARY 2012 – DAY 1 MORNING

Make sure you check out my Day 1 blogs.

I spent today at the MAGIC trade shows at the Las Vegas Convention Center. On the way there, I dropped by Project and PoolTradeShow shows at the Mandalay Bay to check out the foot traffic – it was huge. The energy at the shows was electric. More about those tomorrow.

At the Las Vegas Convention Center, I walked:

• WWDMAGIC including the ISAM Swim
• Sourcing at MAGIC
• FN Platform – the shoe show at MAGIC

There is more than product on display. There are fashion shows, buying workshops, roundtable discussions, market forecasting, industry service providers and seminars highlighting e-tailing, emerging technologies, social media, and more. It’s all here.

WWDMAGIC

The largest of the week’s showcases, WWDMAGIC takes up the Central and North Halls of the Convention Center. As the name suggests, the show is presented in collaboration with the industry’s leading newspaper masthead, Women’s Wear Daily.

The main floor at Central Hall

WWDMAGIC likes to brand itself as Fashion’s most comprehensive collection of women’s apparel, accessories and footwear … across every pricepoint and trend. It’s certainly comprehensive; there are more than 2000 labels on show. There is so much here that you need to know what you are looking for or it starts to feel like you are standing still and the booths are moving past you. There are quality contemporary collections located in the Premium and Young Contemporary sections in the Central Hall, and some in the North Hall.

The great news is that the activity on the floor was markedly better than in August.

Industry veteran Leila Ross of Leila Ross Showroom in Los Angeles (working the Anama booth) told me that they had “been slammed”. Leila thinks, ” .. maybe things are finally turning around”. I would take this to the bank because Leila told me 2 years ago that the market was worst she had seen it and it would get worse – she was right. Let’s hope she is right again.

I then bumped into Rose Cato who used to work for Leila and is now with Live Free Fashions. Rose was very happy with the show. Rose introduced me to Stephen and Jen Kelly of Bird & Vine. Bird & Vine is another of a growing trend – it is made in the US. As their Facebook page says, it embodies the free spirit of chic California style. It is all about comfortable, feminine clothing with a hint of edginess. Jen was very happy with the foot traffic, and buyers have been leaving orders.

The fabulous Aimee Mercer, the new Sales Manager, Major/Discount Channels for BB Dakota said they had a huge show with their BB Dakota and Jack Fall collections. I dropped by the booth a number of times to try and catch up but they were jamming constantly. They were showing jackets and coats in a range of silhouettes from London Rocker and LA Gal in buttery leather, suede’s and shearling to Jackie O styles in wools, plush and tweeds.

Aimee said they also booked tons of sweaters, which hit that “sweet spot” price point. We are using luxe yarns to create solid knits, Navajo prints and cables.

Another good friend, Bernadette of Bernadette Mopera & Co., took a different view, “MAGIC was a little strange .. too many vendors and little customers or too much ground they are covering … ” However, Bern went on to say that she did very well especially with Knitted Dove sweaters (recently worn by Zooey Deschanel on her hit series, New Girl) … “Fall is her season.”

Zooey Deschanel in Knitted Dove on "New Girl"

Betsy Johnson get mobbed at MAGIC

Check out this shot of the scrum that was pressing in on the Betsy Johnson booth for Betsy’s personal appearance. She is a legend of the industry.

Rande Cohen was busy as usual at the PJ Salvage booth.

ISAM Swim was smaller than August but that is due to selling seasons.

FN PLATFORM

Platform is enormous. There are over 1500 brands. When you see how big it is, it is amazing to think they sell it out!

The trend for Fall is boots, boots, boots of all lengths – ankle and calf length were most popular.

The innovative new Mojito

The standout collection for me was the English brand, Hakes. Julian Hakes is an architect who has designed an innovative new style called the Mojito. The Mojito does not have a foot plate. It has a piece that wraps around the foot to support the ball and heel, and to take the flex of the shoe. They look really stiff and hard, and I wondered how comfortable they are. The fabulous Michelle Roy of Michelle Roy Designs, who took me to the booth, tried them on. She said they are very comfortable. They are made of carbon fibre and laminated with rubber on the side. The inside lining is leather. You are definitely going to hear more about Hakes.

more Mojitos

Sourcing at MAGIC

Sourcing is another enormous trade show. There are more than 800 apparel, accessories and footwear resources, merchandised by country and category: contract and original design manufacturers; fabric, trim and component suppliers; and service and technology providers.

Market leaders like Pantone are there.

Tomorrow is Project and Pool …