NEW YORK — The most recent edition of the Designers & Agents show drew 125 collections, a significant increase on the 70 collections featured in September. This was the second consecutive season the trade show was held in person.
Attendance was about the same as the turnout for September, according to Ed Mandelbaum, president of Designers & Agents, who declined to specify exact figures in keeping with his policy. The snowy and inclement weather on Feb. 25 had little effect on show traffic, nor did news of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Mandelbaum said.
The biggest change at the most recent show was that more international attendees returned since COVID-19 travel restrictions have eased. The fact that Designers & Agents coincided with some European markets was a deterrent to some, and others were still nervous about traveling, Mandelbaum said.
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He is expecting an even more robust representation at the next show, as more people are expected to feel comfortable traveling.
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Visitors could check out such newcomers to the roster as Cordera, Diego and Susanne Bommer. The show wrapped up its three-day run on Feb. 27 in New York.
As for the feedback that Mandelbaum received from retailers about the current state of business, he said, “The type of stores that we attract have done well through COVID-19. They are seeing increases overall, of course, except for the months when they were closed. In general, it’s been upbeat and it remains that way. The uncertainty about the situation with Russia and Ukraine is probably making people hold back a little. But in general, their businesses are very healthy.”
He attributed the uptick to customers shopping, “feeling positive and good about spending” money, getting out more frequently and attending weddings and other special events. From his perspective, many retailers that go to Designers & Agents have weathered the pandemic successfully, due largely to shoppers coming into their stores. “Business has been healthy thorough the whole thing, and it’s only getting better,” Mandelbaum said. “I’m just happy that things are coming back even more. We’re upbeat. Just like retailers, we’re somewhat tentative because the world is such a screwy place right now.”
Having worked in retail for many years and having opened the Minneapolis specialty store Combine four years ago, owner Michael Tickart specializes in medium-priced clothing that is casual and fun. The assortment includes merchandise for men, women and home. Always in search of new knitwear at this time of year to offset the very cold Minnesota winters, he checked out his number-one collection Hannoh. “I sell it better than I have ever sold anything. I sell it better than I sold Dries van Noten. It’s a great price point, a great look and well made. The whole collection is made in Italy. It’s beautiful.”
Combine’s business in September, November and December were the three biggest months for sales in the store’s history, Tickart said. He chalked that up to the limited number of specialty stores that are still around, and that some customers just don’t want to order online. The latter prefer to visit the store. “They want to feel it. They want to see it. They want to touch it.”
Combine’s women’s business is “way up,” but the men’s business is only “a little up,” Tickart said, adding that he sells a good deal of men’s styles to either larger women or women who buy their husbands’ clothes. The lack of options for larger women is generating some of that crossover shopping, according to him. Hannah’s sizing from 2 to 16 is one of the reasons why that label is selling well, he added
Still reviewing his notes from Designers & Agents, he expects fall orders to be 7 to 8 percent higher than last year. As a sign of an expedient buy “and good sell-throughs,” Tickart noted that Combine has only one rolling rack with markdowns.
Another favorite resource of Tickart’s at Designers & Agents is Jack Gomme for Parisian-made bags. “I find it hard to buy anything else because they sell so well,” he said, adding that he also picked up some affordable scarves from another French label.
For the time being, it does not seem that people are getting concerned about business with all that is happening in the world, he said. “I haven’t noticed that yet. I’m not saying it won’t happen.”
Noting how strong February sales were despite frigid temperatures, Tickart said, “I don’t know how I had such a good month. It was like a miracle.”