It was a hot one in the desert for Day 1 of the Spring/Summer 2014 round of the Las Vegas Fashion Trade Shows.
I spent the day at the Sands Expo Convention Center at the Venetian Hotel. The Sands is hosting the first edition of Modern Assembly. Modern Assembly is a marketing collaboration between the Agenda, AccessoriesTheShow, Capsule, Liberty, MRket, and Stitch apparel and accessory shows. Modern Assembly is a direct challenge to the Advanstar trade shows at the Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Convention Center that are highlighted by Project, ENKVegas and WWDMAGIC.
Modern Assembly got off to a flying start. There was a real buzz all day with lots of buyer leaving paper rather than just taking notes.
Liberty the new project of Project founder, Sam Ben-Avraham is a contemporary men’s and dual gender apparel, footwear and accessories showcase that is the new headliner at Modern Assembly. It looks like this:
A mermaid at Agenda.
A very cool look at Capsule.
Stitch, MRket and Accessories The Show were in a new configuration but there were many familiar brands.
It was great to see solid activity at CURVENV, the swim and lingerie showcase. I visit CURVE every show but must have been choosing the quiet times to walk the booths. This time there was plenty of buyer activity.
One of my former clients, Wood Underwear, was exhibiting at CURVE for the first time having previously shown at Project. Terresa Zimmerman, the owner/designer of Wood was having a great day. Wood had a strong showing at the recent CURVENY, and the momentum is continuing here. Wood is currently in 12 Equinox stores nationwide. At the Curve shows, Terresa has worked with buyers from Blue Collar in Buffalo, NY, Under U 4 Men in Portland, OR, Birdies in Kansas City, MO and City Drawers in Belfast, ME, to name a few.
Terresa finds the CURVE trade shows to be more personal and focused than Project. Wood doesn’t not get lost in the crowd compared to the massive Project show. Terresa is also impressed with the personal attention she gets from the CURVE staff, and has had success with the marketplace option on the CURVE website.
Now, off to Project and MAGIC, as well as a buying trawl through the OFFPRICE for some bargains for Z Fabrique.
Paul Brindley