TRADE SHOWS

Fast Pace of Change at Project

LASVEGAS—There were a lot of changes at the Feb. 19–21 run of Project, and themessage of the sprawling show seemed to be "expect more change."

The show stretchedover 400,000 square feet and offered several subshows. There was Project, whichhoused men’s contemporary brands that also offered women’s fashions; Project Mens/Wear, whichoffered men’s apparel, footwear and accessories; Project MVMNT, which provided aplatform for fashion, streetwear and youth brands; and The Tents @ Project. The Tentsshow, produced outside, under a big tent, was curated by Tommy Fazio, aninfluential figure in the menswear business. Before joining Project, he servedas men’s fashion director and trend director at Nordstrom.

Fazio said that TheTents was his vision of what a trade show should be. A responsibility of thetrade show is to give a platform for emerging brands willing to experiment withnew looks. The Tents was the address to emerging men’s brands such as Apolis of downtown Los Angeles; Equipment Homme, the siblingbrand of Equipment, the women’s line that recently opened a boutique in WestHollywood, Calif.’s high-profile Melrose Place neighborhood; and J. Lindeberg, the NewYork–based men’s brand founded by Swedish designer Johan Lindeberg.

The Tents will goon the road. Fazio forecast that The Tents will produce shows in New York,Paris and, perhaps, Asia in the new future.

Buyers fromretailers Neiman Marcus, Bloomingdale’, Forum Group, Ron Herman, Lord & Taylor and Nordstrom browsed The Tents, Faziosaid. The show’s new look got high marks from Sara Dovan, co-owner ofpioneering men’s fashion boutique Traffic.“It feels special, more boutiquey, more fashion,” Dovan said. “Not like you arein the lobby of a hotel.”

Project MVMNT wasproduced by Kenny Mac, who consulted with marketing with luxury company LVMHbefore joining Project. He divided theyouth-culture show into four “neighborhoods” that reflect differentpersonalities of streetwear. The Clique neighborhood was intended to showcasethe more fashion-inspired streetwear labels, such as Publish. Street Hearts provideda platform for streetwear brands designed by women, such as Hellz Bellz. Clientele was theaddress for influential streetwear brands such as LRG. The Mix section was aforum for music-inspired streetwear brands.

Mac planned tobring MVMNT out of convention-center walls by developing store events forretailers and exploring other ways to diversify the services the trade showcould offer.

Despite the newneighborhoods, Fraser Ross, founder of the prominent Kitson chain of boutiques, found the show’ssprawl hard to navigate.

“I walked 20 rows[of the show] only to find out that I didn’t need to be there,” he said of oneof MVMNT’s sections.

Reports of businessat the show carried a wide range. For ET Southard, president of sales forAffliction, a clothing labelheadquartered in Seal Beach, Calif., business was booming. “Every singlesales rep is working; we haven’t stopped,” he said.

For Equipment Hommedesigner Alexander Dimitrijevic, The Tents was best for publicity. Editors forglossy men’s fashion magazines GQ and Details stopped by his booth. “The publicityis invaluable,” he said.

For Steve Patino,president of Android Homme fashion label in downtown Los Angeles,the show mixed good sales, publicity opportunities and networking with otherbrands. “There’s a lot of publicity. A lot of connections,” Patino said. “Youcome here and network. That is the magic ofMAGIC."