Designers & Agents Take On Tokyo
Overcast skies and drizzling weather did not prevent Japanese buyers from attending Designers & Agents’ inaugural Tokyo trade show, held March 25–27 at the Modapolitica gallery in the Japanese city’s garment center of Minato-Aoyama.
“We’re very excited about the response from exhibitors and buyers who attended the show—each day foot traffic got stronger, and the Japanese buyers seemed to really enjoy our lines,” said Designers & Agents’ Ed Mandelbaum, who produced the event with Barbara Kramer.
The show featured about 19 booths holding approximately 41 collections and drew about 700 Japanese buyers from specialty stores and chain stores, including Seibu, Isetan, Komatsu, Cibone, Spick & Span, AquaGirl, American Rag and Jipijapa.
Organizers of Designers & Agents, which also hosts shows in Los Angeles and Dallas, said their decision to bring the event to the Asian market was sparked by the show’s exhibitors.
“Up until recently we saw a lot of business from Japanese buyers, but for the past few months buyers haven’t been traveling. Several of the exhibitors felt we should just take the show to them,” Mandelbaum explained.
AG Adriano Goldschmied, Paper Denim and Cloth, Blue Cult, Edward An and Suss were just some of the lines that reported strong traffic at the show.
For some, the show drew strong interest from buyers on the look out for Western fashion and novelty items, including Edward An’s vintage-inspired coat collection.
Lori Batt and Carrie Kneitel, owners of Edward An, said their line’s corduroy trench coat with detachable tulle trimming and denim coats caught some attention from specialty store buyers at the show. The event offered a nice balance of business and exposure for the relatively new collection, said Batt.
“We had a great experience at the show with a lot of foot traffic and a lot of interest in our line,” she added.
Mandelbaum said Designers & Agents has announced plans for a second Tokyo exhibition at the same venue to be held Oct. 22–24. The trade show will make its next local run April 12–16 as part of Los Angeles Fashion Week. —Claudia Figueroa
