The Madness that is the MAGIC Fashion Trade Shows – Day 1

Up yesterday at 4.30am (after a refreshing three hour sleep), on the road by 5.30am to beat the brutal 30 mile radius of LA morning rush, four hours of mostly open highway while listening to my house music, and before you know it, I’m in the valley that contains the city of Las Vegas ready for eight hours of walking and talking at the madness that is the MAGIC fashion trade shows.

MAGIC is probably the most well-known trade show in the U.S. apparel industry. The show hosts global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. “MAGIC’, as it is ubiquitously known, is actually a series of distinctly focused trade shows under the umbrella brand. There is:

-       WWD Magic

-       MAGIC Menswear

-       Project

-       Pool

-       Slate

-       Street

-       FN Platform

-       Premium

-       Sourcing at MAGIC

You can research away at magiconline.com

The show provides me with an invaluable opportunity to see a lot that is happening in fashion at one place, at one time, and to speak with people across the industry. How being here translates into sales for participating designers and manufacturers is open to question. It is very difficult to get a believable, quantifiable straight answer to the question – So how is the show going? Whatever the reality is, the answer is usually in the positive. As to gauging the buyer foot traffic, it is also difficult to know who is who amongst the throng.

My experience at MAGIC has been mixed. I was first there in 2000 when Wildlife Works was launching its tee line. We had little success but then again we were in the wrong section.  Having attended the show for more than 10 years, I have collected lots of feedback from participants. Some designers I know will not come because they can’t get the order bang for their tradeshow buck. Others swear by the show, and are there every time.

As a buyer this time for Z Fabrique (zfabrique.com), I am also looking at jewelry and accessories. There is plenty on offer at a range of price points. I have already found three or four vendors that look promising. Will do some buying today.

Yesterday, I focused on the Las Vegas Convention Center portion of the trek – WWD MAGIC, PN Platform and Sourcing. One of the showcases at WWD MAGIC is ISAM Swimwear Show where I spotted two fabulous Australian collections – Lisa Blue (lisablue.com.au) and 2Chillies (2chillies.com.au). Both lines display the highly regarded Australian design flair, and use of color and fabrics. I will be following up with the collections after the show to get their feedback, which I will include in my coming show review blog.

In about two hours, I pick up my friend, pbc consultant and owner of Tracy Engelien Sales, the one and only Tracy Engelien, at the airport for Day 2 of the Madness that is MAGIC. Today, we will focus on The Mandalay Bay Hotel convention center showcases. The hip and happening Project and Workroom shows along with the emerging designers at the PoolTradeShow will take most of our time.

Keep an eye out for my coming review blog of MAGIC. We’ll breakdown what the trends were, what was selling, and get some feedback from participating designers and showrooms.

I’m glad these boots were made for walkin’ ….