Andrew Pollard is eager and apprehensive.
The Las Vegas edition of Project Global Tradeshow, running from Aug. 17 to 19 at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center, will be Pollard’s first as president of the Advanstar Communications Inc.-owned apparel showcase. The show comes at a time of transformation for Project, which was led by founder Sam Ben-Avraham since its 2003 launch, and the industry, which is fi ghting to regain stable footing after suffering from the recession’s blows.
“I have always been on the other side, the exhibitor side, for all of my career, and being on this side is a different place to be,” said Pollard, a co-founder of Kiki De Montparnasse and former vice president of sales at Diesel USA and Sixty USA. “I know I have a responsibility to my fellow colleagues in the industry to really help them with their business and I feel a huge responsibility.”
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Early signs point to an auspicious Las Vegas debut for Pollard. He reported the show is fi lled to exhibitor capacity, although he wouldn’t disclose the exact number of exhibitors, and attendee registrations have increased more than 25 percent.
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“I don’t think that anybody is thinking it is all back to how it was a couple of years ago,” Pollard said. “We all realize that we are all having to work harder. Retailers have more choice now, and they realize they have to find products that distinguish their stores and fi nd things that are exclusive to them.”
Economic hardship has proved to be a test of resilience in the fashion marketplace. Pollard suggested retail buyers and vendors that have survived and are on course to thrive would arrive at Project able to pick from and present assortments more finely attuned to today’s retail realities.
“There is this underbelly of creativity in our industry,” said Pollard. “Retailers are obviously cautious. They are sticking to the tried and true, but the triedand- true brands like core denim are having to step up their game, as well. They are having to come out with products that have more value, but at the same time, products that have more of a quality component to them.”
Along with retailers and brands, the recession and competition from other trade shows has forced Project to improve. To shore up its reputation as a resource for emerging brands, Pollard said Project has spotlighted 10 brands — California-based Nortwick, Idol Radec, Farm Tactics and Taylor Stitch; New York-based Brooklyn Circus, Taylor Supply, Man vs. Machine and Matt Singer, and Canadian brands Klaxon Howl and Ken Diamond — that could have “a signifi cant amount of infl uence in the industry in the coming seasons” in a 2,000-square-foot area dubbed Project 10.
“A lot of new brands get lost in these large shows,” he said. “We feel that our industry is one of the most dynamic industries out there and we want to showcase where the new creative talent is coming from.”
Given budgetary constraints, retailers may not write orders for new brands immediately at Project, but Pollard envisions the trade show to be a venue for buyers to familiarize themselves with up-and-comers’ designs and business approaches.
“They can start to see how that brand evolves from season to season,” he said. “They want to see something that is different, but they also not only want to see a difference in the product, but a difference in the people, the attitudes. Retailers need partners.”
During the trade show, Project 10 participants are paired with the nonprofit organization Falling Whistles, which campaigns for peace in the Congo. As a whole, Project is doing its part for the greater good, as well. Pollard stressed the show is working to become more environmentally conscious by setting up water stations and handing out reusable water bottles.
“It is encouraging [attendees] to hydrate and not to be consuming multiple plastic bottles,” he said.
Across the Project floor, Pollard noted the space devoted to women’s apparel has grown, and Project has attracted brands generating buzz in the women’s category, notably Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen’s Elizabeth and James and Twenty8Twelve, the brand by actress Sienna Miller and her fashion designer sister, Savannah Miller. He also gave brands such as Matt Singer and Trina Turk kudos for introducing accessories to round out their merchandise for retailers.
In men’s wear, Pollard detects a movement toward collectiondriven lineups.
“We are in an amazing time in men’s wear,” he said. “There are more authentic processes. It is less about cutting corners and more about almost fi nding the irregularities in things because it becomes more individualistic.”
Key exhibitors from the various Project categories include Prps, Qi, Raven Denim, AG Jeans, Nudie Jeans, Rebecca Minkoff, Roberta Freymann, Sam & Lavi, Shannon Koszyk, Siwy, Splendid, Strong + Dickerson, The Furies, Ted Baker, Three Dots, Wildfox, Tysa, T Los Angeles, Nau, NSF, Number:Lab, Oliver Rain, Orciani, Velvet, Rare Eyewear, Rogue, Siva, Nuco, Penfi eld, Resin, Tracy Watts, Tsovet, W.R.K., Seth Wellington, SeaVees, Simon Miller Jeans, Smooth Co., Sperry Top-Sider, Strand Intl. and V::Room.
Among retailers and exhibitors, Pollard sees Project becoming increasingly international.
“We are evolving into more of a global show,” he said. “We are really looking at the talent inside our country and exposing it on an international platform, as well as looking at design talent and retailers from abroad and highlighting [for them] this new great platform we are creating.”
Despite the international bent, Pollard said Project is celebrating Americana in its seventh anniversary.
“We are definitely inspired by being American, but it’s more like David Bowie’s ‘Young Americans’ as a cultural reference,” he said. “We have that youthful, fresh approach that is what I am seeing now in the industry. There are a lot of green shoots coming through. People are motivated to make change.”
As for the changes Pollard hopes to make at Project in Las Vegas and in its future editions, he said they center on the concept of community.
“I am a big believer in this notion of community,” he added. “Our industry in the past has typically been a little bit more exclusive than inclusive. I feel confident that I have the ability to bring us closer together and help each other.”