VENUE: Wolf & Man’s Jared Ito and Brian Chan with Joseph Ortega, right, at the Venue show in July
TRADE SHOW
Venue Tradeshow Grows with New Dates, New Location
Venue Tradeshow took a bow in 2013 as a small, independent trade show devoted to men’s streetwear and fashion, but it is growing up.
Miles Canares, Venue’s founder, recently announced major changes to the biannual show’s schedule and a new location for the show. However, the event will continue to mostly be devoted to men’s streetwear and emerging brands.
Canares also announced a new partner. Joining Venue will be Robbie Eala of the Next Chapter Collective showroom, which represents streetwear and fashion brands such as Publish and The Kennedy Denim Co. “It’s a strategic move. He will help out with the retail-relations side. He will help me bring on new brands as well,” Canares said.
The last Venue show took place in July at the Cooper Design Space in downtown Los Angeles. Retailers such as Nasty Gal and Tradition, a popular boutique in Los Angeles’ Beverly Center, walked the show, which was Venue’s third run.
The next Venue show is scheduled to run in April or May at The Reef, formerly the LA Mart showroom building, also in downtown Los Angeles. Canares chose to schedule the upcoming show before June so exhibitors could show looks for the Summer and Holiday seasons, which aren’t as heavily trafficked as the Fall and Spring seasons. “It allows us to be a platform for seasons that don’t have a platform,” Canares said. “We want to give the Holiday and Summer seasons as much energy as a Fall show,” he said.
Much of the business at Venue’s past three shows has been comprised of retailers making orders for “at-once” merchandise. Canares said he thinks producing Summer and Holiday shows will further support that business.
Future Venue shows will have to balance growth with preserving the friendliness of a small show, Canares said. He hopes the show will grow by 30 more booths. A 10-by-10 booth will cost around $2,000. Most trade shows charge more than double that price for a similar space.
Jacob A. Seedman, owner/designer of the Shalom Cultural Peace Project, headquartered in the area of Santa Cruz, Calif., said he hopes Venue will continue to be friendly to emerging and new brands. “They’re trying to help small brands grow, and that’s a big thing these days,” he said.
Venue does business in a trade-show category that is gaining popularity. Agenda is scheduled to run Jan. 5–6 in Long Beach, Calif., and will showcase 1,000 brands. The biannual Los Angeles Men’s Market is held at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles during LA Fashion Market in March and October. Like Venue, it produces shows during the Spring and Holiday seasons.
