Buyers shopping the Fame and Moda Manhattan trade shows had immediate deliveries and spring on their minds.
Among some of the big trends for spring at both trade shows, which ran Jan. 8 through Jan. 10 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan were:
• Tropical prints, big, bold florals, ethnic prints, colorblocking and stripes.
• Lace, sheer layered looks and asymmetric details and hems.
• Lots of summer dresses, both maxi and short.
• Continuation of lingerie looks in tops, as well as sheer fabrics.
• Open weaves, crochets and lacy knits.
Moda, featuring more than 400 ready-to-wear collections, was focused on the misses’ customer, while Fame, with more than 600 lines, was aimed at the juniors and young contemporary market. Both shows experienced lots of buyer activity.
Related Articles
Britton Jones, president and chief executive officer of Business Journals Inc., which owns Fame and Moda, characterized the shows as very strong in attendance and order writing. He said that retail traffic increased 3 percent at both Fame and Moda over a year ago. “We experienced a very positive third day where, in addition to unusually high new registrations, a full 54 percent of the buyers on the floor were retailers who had already shopped with us on day one and/or two. Our international attendance was also very vibrant with buyers from 51 countries shopping our shows.” He also noted that both retailers and exhibitors embraced the launch of its new mobile app, with people downloading the app on-site.
You May Also Like
“We’ve had an excellent show. Our dresses are doing well, as well as our open-work crochet sweaters and skirts with high-low details, tiers and ruffles,” said Bob Bresenhan, director of sales at Sunset Road, who was showing at Moda. He found stores have been coming in looking for color, and he’s been selling merchandise for both immediate and February-July deliveries.
“There’s a lot of energy going into the New Year,” added Mary Johansson, sales manager for Flax, in Ithaca, N.Y., who was also showing at Moda, and had set up a fashion show in her booth with a few models. The collection, which is exclusively linen, added a dress line that has become a big part of their business. She also said she has a new division called Flax Socials, which is a mixture of textures, all in linen. The line is geared for the woman who doesn’t want to wear fitted clothes and wants to put a little fashion into her wardrobe, she said. The line wholesales from $26 to $46.
Paul Greengos, account executive at Donna Ricco, said traffic was brisk at Moda. “We had a great first day and we’re expecting a busy day today, too,” he said. The company has been doing well with its printed linens and watercolor printed dresses. “We’re having strong sell-throughs and our crochets are selling well, too,” he said.
Ingenue London was showing for the first time at Moda. The company, based in London, sells mostly boutiques and specialty stores. “We’re having a good reaction to our dresses,” said Lizzy Ryan, account manager. The short dresses wholesale between $57 and $60 and the maxidresses wholesale from $75 to $78.
Cliff Harrison, a buyer for the St. Louis Art Museum Shop in St. Louis, said he was shopping Moda searching for clothes in bright, beautiful colors.
“I am so tired of people wearing black, gray and beige. We have an opportunity to sell stunningly beautiful colored scarves and jackets,” he said, citing beautiful printed scarves from Dilemma and jackets in bright reds and oranges at Casual Studio. “The cotton blazers are lightweight for a Midwest summer,” he said. He also bought a peacock blue jacket with a butterfly in front made out of sequins. He said Moda is a great show for finding artwork in fashion. “I always try to buy three to four brand-new vendors, much to the chagrin of our existing vendors,” said Harrison. He said the art museum has a built-in membership clientele base, so its clients expect to see something new every time they walk into the store.
Ernie and Barbara Heether, owners of Charisma Clothing Boutique in St. Michaels, Md., were shopping Moda for fill-ins on spring/summer merchandise. “This time around, [the show] has been very good,” said Ernie Heether. Among the lines they bought were Tribal Sportswear, Grace Chuang, and Not Your Daughter’s Jeans. He said he was seeing a lot of bold colors at Moda, and not as many pastels. “Berry, pomegranate, blues and oranges, and a lot of reds,” he said. He said he usually spends a half-day at Moda, but it’s turning into a whole day. “There’s a lot of excitement and momentum. Nobody’s singing the blues as much as they were the last few years. There’s an upbeat feeling here.”
Harold Rothenberg, owner and president of Hersh’s, a women’s specialty store in West Bloomfield, Mich., said he bought sweaters from Now or Never that “were nicely priced.” “This show allows me to find less-expensive great fill-ins that will do well in my store. It gives me an opportunity to find something of interest for immediate delivery,” he said.
At Fame, Kevin Lee, an account executive for Ark & Co. said the company has been selling its color-blocked looks, florals and brights for spring/summer deliveries.
Lisa Dreitlein, owner of Creations by Lisa, a women’s specialty store based in Greenport, N.Y., said she was finding a lot of sportswear that was feminine, floral and lacy at Fame. Among the lines she liked were Elan and Blu Pepper, especially their separates, dresses and tops. Her store caters to juniors, contemporary and misses’ customers. She said she had a good holiday season. “I can’t complain. We had a fairly good season. We make a point to stay within our price range,” she said.
Jeremiah Sky of Sky’s the Limit, a specialty store based in Shepherdstown, W. Va., and Frederick, Md. said he originally came to Fame to buy “cash-and-carry” jewelry, but he’s found a lot of great clothing, too. He was buying boho and urban chic looks at Blu Pepper, including floral dresses and skirts.
“Where we live, the trends come really late. We just caught the maxidress trend,” said Sky. He also bought a few high-low skirts, with asymmetric hemlines. Sky was also looking to buy sportswear at YA Los Angeles and Angie.
Barbara Scheiner, owner of Ask Alice, which operates two stores in Valley Stream, N.Y. and Syosset, N.Y., was shopping Fame with her business partner, Candice Sanfilippo. “We love all these California brands,” said Scheiner. She said she bought rock ’n’ roll T-shirts from a resource, Trunk. “We also love YA and did an order there and we love Wow Couture, especially their band-aid dresses,” she said. Scheiner also said she had a good holiday season. “We’re buying spring for immediate delivery and ordering for later,” she said. At Fame, she was seeing lots of prints, florals and maxidresses.