For many retailers, a trip to Project Las Vegas is as close as they’ll ever come to one-stop-shopping.
The New York-based trade show, which originally focused on men’s denim lines and has now expanded to include women’s and children’s collections, appeals to buyers because they can swoop in and complete almost all their orders in a few days.
Still, retailers say that even though the fair has grown in breadth, they believe it remains focused on cutting-edge offerings.
“We find everything at Project under one roof,” said Elie Akiba, owner of Lulu, a chain of six specialty denim stores in Florida. “It’s a one-stop shop for anyone that has a denim-related business.”
Akiba said he generally completes about 80 percent of his buy at the show, and has been able to scale back his traveling as a result. “I used to go to Italy to buy Replay, but I bought it at the last Project,” said Akiba.
He will be focusing on his buy for next spring, and expects a continuation of some of the key trends from fall, including skinny legs, innovative washes and raw denim. He was also hoping to find some unusual Japanese fabrications.
Retailers largely agree that the location of Project has a lot to do with its popularity. The Vegas venue attracts a number of Los Angeles designers.
“As far as finding things that I don’t find anywhere else, there are T-shirts and younger brands that come out of L.A. that tend to show there,” said Christine Lee, women’s director of Atrium NYC and its sister store Esthete, which are owned by Project’s president and founder, Sam Ben-Avraham. Lee will be shopping for holiday and resort items at Project, and is expecting to find skinny and dark denim.
“To us, Project has the right mix of quality and designs. Everything is there,” said Corey Valestra, senior buyer for the Base lifestyle stores in Florida.
For Valestra, the show offers variety and the ability to locate lines he might not have found anywhere else — among them Scotch & Soda, a Danish men’s jeans line. “There are a lot of vendors there that you don’t see when you go to New York, a lot of undiscovered names that are primarily from the West Coast. The mix is impressive, because there are established designers as well as people showing for the first time.”
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He hopes to find new offerings for next spring, as well as some immediates, including slimmer pants, lots of plaids and camouflage. “We go there with very clear ideas, stick to our color stories and can find things at every price point,” he said.
Fraser Ross, owner of trendy Los Angeles boutique Kitson, said one of the primary draws for him is that a number of designers and brand owners choose Project to premiere their collections. “That enables you to chase business,” said Ross, adding that the sheer variety offered made it “sometimes a bit overwhelming. There’s a lot to weed through, and there are only so many denim lines we can carry.”
Ross, a regular for several years, said Project has shaped up to be a strong contemporary show, which has proven a perfect fit for his store, especially since the booming men’s business is leading Kitson to open a men’s store next month.
“I consider it one of the top men’s shows for us, because our men’s business is growing so much,” he said. “The male consumer is into buying three pairs of denims when they shop.”
While most buyers are concentrating on skinny jeans, Ross said he was also hoping to find a new twist on wider jeans. And with the market saturation of motifs like skulls, he said he will be on the lookout for the next big thing.
“The trends change so rapidly that you can’t really project what will be big next year,” he said, adding that shoes can break a trend, as ballet flats did with skinny jeans.
“You could sell truckloads of them right now,” he said. “You’ve got to watch the shoe business.”
Mario Bisio, owner of the Mario’s stores in Portland and Seattle, is opening Mario’s 310 next month to house collections that he described as “luxury sportswear that’s denim-friendly.” It’s good timing.
“Having most of the great denim and denim sportswear brands in the same room is a major convenience,” he said. “When you’re going from showroom to showroom, it’s very time-consuming. But Project has developed into a very powerful show; most of the key brands are there, and it’s an environment that’s conducive to the type of product you’re looking at,” he said.
Because his stores carry buy-ahead designers like Dolce & Gabbana and Prada, Bisio said he uses Project as a resource for close-to-season buys. “We’ve done all our designer collections, so we can now concentrate on cool jeans and jeans-related sportswear,” he said, adding that it’s a good time for straight and skinny looks, capris and shorts.
Lisa Kline, owner of the eponymous L.A. boutiques, is also on the lookout for great shorts, as well as jumpsuits, long sweaters and cardigans. “There are tons of really cute trends right now.”
Jeans, however, are not on her shopping list. “I walk by the denim hall, but that’s not really us,” she said.
Kline said that in the three days she spends at Project, she typically finds several new designers and “writes tons of new orders. It has all the vendors I buy, so I get a lot done. It’s very hip and only good lines are there,” she said. “I must pick up 10 or 15 new lines every time I go.”