Despite Competition, Project N.Y. Still Going Strong.

NEW YORK—The Jan. 22–24 run of contemporary menswear show Project Global Trade Show in New York bowed with a new location, a new winter-themed look and intense competition from veteran show producer ENK, which held its longstanding menswear show, The Collective, and its 1-year-old denim-themed show, Blue, at the same time.

Plus, Project New York was held only three weeks before the Feb. 14–16 run of its Project Las Vegas show, held at the same time as the massive MAGIC Marketplace and its satellite trade shows.

Despite all the competition, Project New York, held at the Show Piers in midtown Manhattan, offered a sophisticated atmosphere that attracted more than 400 exhibitors and more than 6,000 attendees, according to show organizers, who are still compiling final attendance figures.

“I like coming to Project New York, because I always find the hottest styles in men’s denim,” said Peter Clarke, a consultant and buyer for New York–based boutiques All Star Player, Vinyl Styles and Denim Library. “Everything is set up well, and this year, I found cutting-edge styles at Taverniti So and Denim Design Lab.”

Damien Wongsang, owner and buyer for Cricket Wealth Boutique in Brooklyn, N.Y., had a similar take on the show. “I will attend the Las Vegas show this year, but I often find it a bit overwhelming,” he said, adding that he’s looking for a wider selection than Blue’s denim focus. “I like that vendors [at Project] have mixed in fabric-driven products with the denim,” he said.

Wongsang was on the hunt for Spring merchandise and competitive prices. “I think [for] Spring, guys are looking for patchwork and seersucker, and I have seen some great pieces at Vintage Red and Tailor Vintage,” he said.

Jean Claude Martin, owner and designer of Los Angeles–based JC-US, showed the Spring and Fall collections of his sophisticated men’s line, which “is clean, with a touch of bright colors.” Martin said he likes the consistency of Project New York, and he saw more traffic at this season’s show than last year. “Project New York works for me, because I am able to present transitional garments, which I think is helpful for the buyers,” he said. “This kind of flexibility doesn’t lock them into a specific season.”

Sean MacDonald, a representative of 4 You, a Denmark company that specializes in men’s premium and contemporary lines, agreed that traffic seemed stronger this season. “We thought about showing at Blue, but it’s too small,” he said. “We’re going after bigger markets, and the big-name retailers come to Project. We will also show in Las Vegas. We want to reach a large audience.”

The majority of the exhibitors said that drop-in appointments were surprisingly high this year, and retailers were in the mood to buy, not just browse. Jamie Forman of Los Angeles–based Johnny Was showed the company’s 3J Workshop collection and commented that retailers wrote orders for Summer and Fall. “We came here to meet with the big department stores, and the response has been really good,” he said.

New faces

Among the new exhibitors at Project were Smet, 192 Doves, Smooth Company, Coogi, Property of, 24 Standard and Matiko.

J Brand was also a Project newcomer. J Brand men’s representatives Jared Meyer and James Vazquez were on hand to show the Los Angeles–based company’s latest Spring and Fall collections. “This is our first year at Project, and this is a great opportunity for us to debut the new Fall looks, said Vazquez. “Retailers have been responsive to everything— especially the silver fox reverse denim.”

I.N.D.E.P.T. Inc. brought men’s and women’s pieces from its D.E.P.T. and J.C. Rags Fall ’07 collections, according to Sheila Hill, a managing member of Los Angeles–- based I.N.D.E.P.T. Inc., who said 85 percent of retailers who stopped by the booth wrote orders.

“We are very happy with the results of this year’s show,” Hill said. “Project is especially important to us, because we are already in most countries around the world, but this show allows us to tap into the boutique U.S. markets.” One of the orders Hill picked up was from New York–based contemporary boutique Atrium, owned by Project founder Sam Ben-Avraham.