NEW YORK — There was quite a stir in the lobby of 601 West 26th Street, the building in which Designers & Agents was having its trade show, on Monday. Buyers struggled to fit into the elevators while other disgruntled tenants complained that they would never be able to get to their offices.
“I’m not sure what this is, a clothing show or something?” asked one tenant shoving his way into the elevator. “All I know is this is really annoying.”
Annoying, maybe. But as it turns out, it wasn’t only the trade show goers waiting to get to a higher floor. More than 160 women (all named Martha Stewart) also waited for the elevators to get to a post-Martha show reception in the same building. The media maven invited all of the women with the same name from around the country to Manhattan to attend and star in her new morning talk show. The show aired Tuesday on NBC, and the Marthas (spelled both Stewart and Stuart) got a taste of some of Stewart’s favorite places in the city.
“She invited all of us, but we had to pay our way,” said one of the Marthas. “It’s such fun, though; I’m so excited to meet everyone.” As if one Martha Stewart isn’t enough.
But while the Martha Stewart stunt created some hubbub, the main crush was created by the D&A show. There were 200 booths showing 400 collections and about 2,500 buyers roaming the floors by the end of its three-day run on Tuesday. It was D&A’s largest show in New York yet, taking over four studio spaces and two floors of the building.
“We have grown 25 percent since this time last year,” said Barbara Kramer, a founding partner of the show. “Our selection board is always looking at new collections and we just keep raising the bar of what we offer here each season.”
Kramer said she and her partner, Ed Mandelbaum, have worked hard to make sure the Los Angeles and New York shows offer different merchandise for the East and West Coast markets. She also said that, with this spring buying season, she has gotten rid of many of the denim brands at the show, only allowing in a selection of newer and best-performing ones. Some of those labels include 1921, Saddlelites, Stronghold and Loomstate.
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“The show is the most balanced it has ever been,” she claimed. “It is really representative of everything going on in fashion right now.”
Buyers seemed to agree.
“The venue is small and there is a great mix of interesting designers here,” said Roland Peters, owner of Rolo stores in San Francisco. Peters said he liked what he saw from several brands, and picked up merchandise from T Luxury, Saddlelites and 1921. “I’m dedicated to finding new brands to fill my stores and this show is great for that.”
Robin Mizrahi, co-owner of the Scarsdale, N.Y.-based Pamela Robbins boutique, said she attends a lot of trade shows, but D&A usually ends up being the most important for her needs.
“This environment is very conducive to buying….It’s alive…there’s lots of light, you can really see the clothes here,” she said. “It’s easy to go in and out — I just love it.”
Mizrahi said she saw a lot of great T-shirts from several brands and placed an order at Roberto Collina, a Bologna, Italy-based company new to D&A.
“It’s a nice layout, really easy to shop,” said Mike Pickart, owner of the Minneapolis-based Intoto store. “It’s very enjoyable…more enjoyable than some of the larger shows. I found a lot of things that I think we’ll do really well with.”
Pickart said he picked up jewelry from Rebecca Brooks, as well as some pieces from Stewart Brown, a line of environmentally friendly clothes.
Speaking of eco-friendly apparel, the Los Angeles-based Tree booth was consistently busting at the seams with buyers grabbing the newest styles of cotton and silk skirts, tops and dresses.
“We are doing really well with a lot of the collection, but our parachute group is doing exceptionally well,” said Theresa McAllen, the line’s owner and designer, pointing to a maroon parachute dress. “We used to do Coterie, but this show is much better for us. We get a lot of orders here.”
The Tree collection wholesales from $120 to $298.
What Comes Around Goes Around, based here, had its first appearance at D&A. It came with its new collection of sportswear.
“This is the first time we are launching a collection,” explained Seth Weisser, co-owner of the brand known for its vintage finds, which it sells in its SoHo store. “We’ve been vintage based up until now. It’s our way of evolving the brand and moving it forward.”
Weisser said that, while the collection is not vintage based, it does have some vintage-inspired elements. Some of its best booking pieces include the Victorian voile top with lace trim, a long crocheted dress and a linen hooded top, accented with embroidery. The What Comes Around Goes Around collection wholesales from $30 to $200.