Bigger Venue, Mixed Reactions at WWDMAGIC

LAS VEGAS—With an estimated 81,000 delegates, the Aug. 20 –23 run of MAGIC was reported to be the trade event’s biggest show since 2008, according to MAGIC management.

The recent show also marked the first solo run for Tom Florio, the new chief executive officer for Advanstar Fashion Group, the Los Angeles–area producers of MAGIC. It had been announced in February that Florio would direct MAGIC.

For the WWDMAGIC show at the Las Vegas Convention Center, there was a push to increase the categories of fashion at the event. Vendors displayed a range of clothes from premium denim to red carpet–style gowns to swimwear.The mood at the convention center was upbeat, and every category of retailer shopped the event, ranging from majors such as Nordstrom to online emporiums such as Zappos and overseas retailers from Asia and Latin America. However, vendors had mixed reactions on whether a bigger show signaled a return to a healthier economy.

For vendors Alicia Estrada and Pooneh Mohajer, the buzzing action on the trade show floor proved that fashion business is looking up.

Estrada claimed record sales for opening day of the show for her Los Angeles–based Stop Staring! label of dresses—doubling compared with last year’s opening day. She initially forecast that her sales would increase 20 percent this year at Stop Staring!’s 800-square-foot booth, which included a runway for models.

After a steady diet of gloomy economic headlines this year, Mohajer, the co-founder of Los Angeles–based label Tokidoki, said buyer traffic increased at MAGIC. “I’m pleasantly surprised. I didn’t anticipate that we would be able to open new accounts,” she said.

Gloria Brandes, founder and chief executive of contemporary label BB Dakota, based in Costa Mesa, Calif., forecast her company’s sales from this season’s show will increase but she said the economy is still struggling.

“There are a lot of people closing their stores. We’re constantly finding new stores to replace old ones, but it is affecting the economy,” she said. “You have to work harder, be smarter and be more efficient to be successful.” BB Dakota introduced its new Dakota Collection label at its 1,500-square-foot booth.

Fraser Ross, founder of the Los Angeles–headquartered Kitson chain of luxury boutiques, agreed the economic forecast remained tough.“No one is going to buy deeper before an election,” he said. “You don’t know what is going to happen, jobs aren’t growing, and there are too many vendors and not enough specialty stores to sell to.” Even if the picture is not rosy, he also stressed that it is not entirely bleak. He opened a 900-square-foot Kitson boutique at the Westfield Century City mall in Los Angeles on Aug. 11.

WWDMAGIC and the rest of the MAGIC shows remained a place of great selection and opportunity to discover new brands and lines, however. Vicki and Nick Sheppard traveled from Australia to shop at MAGIC and surrounding shows for their Elroy Clothing boutique. They specifically were looking for emerging designers and independent labels that, they said, could not be found at trade shows produced in other parts of the world.“If you don’t find it at MAGIC, you won’t find it,” Vicki Sheppard said.—A.A.