NEW YORK — Synergy was the word of the week at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center here, where The FAME Show, MODA Manhattan and Accessories the Show, plus a few smaller exhibitions, all took place earlier this week.
Buyers reported that the one-stop shopping made their jobs easier, and increased attendance figures support the sentiment.
The three shows, which ran Aug. 6-8, collectively occupied 140,000 square feet, a 40 percent increase from last August, according to Britton Jones, president and chief executive officer of Business Journals Inc., which owns the exhibitions. After the second day, buyer attendance was up 10 percent versus a year ago. By the afternoon of the third day, total buyer attendance was nearly 14,000.
Business Journals hired an independent trend forecaster to put together a video highlighting trends to help guide buyers. The video kept repeating as people entered the center, and it featured styles including lace and brocade.
Fred Marsh, president of Loop Shoes Inc. and an owner of Sacco Shoes, a six-unit retail chain based in Manhattan, said that Javits’ hosting multiple shows at the same time simplified his life as a buyer.
But having everything together may have had drawbacks, too. “Our normal customers seem to be a bit overwhelmed with all of the shows, and they just took catalogues and said they will call us,” said Heather Gillick, who represents T-shirt lines like Rye for G2 Showroom. “New customers have been better, and you do the show for new customers anyway.”
Marsh said he was “mostly coming to look and get ideas to see what we will buy in a month of two.” He said he found that this year’s styles “really do seem very much like last year,” but added that he was looking for less embellishment and ornamentation.
Husband-and-wife team Joel and Ellen Rappaport, who represent Dublin-based Jacqueline Quinn, which specializes in skirts for mature women, said Marsh was not alone in his buying preferences at MODA. They reported that “clean is coming back, fewer embellishments, more tasteful.”
Joe Finkelstein, who represented Go Couture for The Mix Showroom at FAME, reported that even collections famous for their embellishment were toning it down, and buyers were choosing the less-is-more pieces.
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Dressier attire was also in demand. Ema Savahl Couture, with its evening dresses favored by celebrities, was a popular booth at MODA, whereas Los Angeles-based denim company Chi Ole reported disappointing traffic at FAME.
Haluk Ozek, who owns the Boston store Mudo, which caters to students, came into FAME with a higher open-to-buy. Ozek was excited about vendors “finally showing different bottoms than jeans.”
“It’s refreshing to see fewer jeans on the market and more actual clothes being worn,” said Alan R. Geller, vice president of sales for Chetta B, a New York-based eveningwear company showing at MODA. Geller added that short cocktail dresses and jersey dresses were big sellers, which he views as a trend away from casual. But it wasn’t all roses and taffeta at Chetta B’s first MODA.
“Buyers are spotty, but August is spotty, because it’s a fill-in time,” Geller said.
MODA’s first September show, Sept. 17-19 at the Metropolitan Pavilion, may be a different story. MODA is filling the gaps that its three-times-a-year schedule left out by adding September and February shows.
For her women’s specialty shop in Binghampton, N.Y., buyer Maureen Patrick was scouting for “immediate items for the holiday season.” With a flat open-to-buy, Patrick was looking for trends, which she said were “all over the board” at MODA. Long necklaces caught her eye.
“Come next market, buyers will be ready to do spring and full collections, but right now they are looking for fill-ins and special pieces,” said Douglas Randazzo, national sales manager for New York-based J’envie Sport Inc.
Randazzo reported traffic was good, but he was selling “item” separates, as opposed to full collections, of his De Taille and Sans Pareille better lines. He said his biggest hits were short, streamlined leather jackets that wholesale between $129 and $175, adding it’s a “huge brown year.”
“We’re doing serious writing,” said Dorothy Darrah, who co-owns the four Head Over Heels boutiques in Pennsylvania. “We’re interested in all the new trends.”
Darrah found several looks she liked: leggings, flashy belts, giant purses, tunics, jersey fabrics and “everything in brown.”
Key West, a Tampa, Fla.-based company specializing in colorful prints in classic women’s cuts, reported strong traffic. “This is a writing show,” said Mary Grant Boucher, who was manning the Key West booth at MODA. “They come to write.”
Bella-Chic Tease designer Bonnie Benedetto said she found buyers at FAME to be “very price-conscious.” The Yardley, Pa.-based company recently lowered its price point to $12 to $22 by changing the manufacturing techniques for its T-shirts, and Benedetto attributed that change to her success at what was her third FAME show. “In New York, they are always writing,” Benedetto said. “They don’t waste time mulling around.”
Jessica Roberts, buyer for Jasmine Sola, a Boston-based contemporary chain, said she came to do substantial writing, but with a qualification. “At this show, we are looking for trend at a price,” she said. “We came to FAME for better price points for better margins.”
Roberts’ radar picked up “everything in patent,” including ballet flats, pumps, headbands, lace, tights, leggings and men’s wear for women. Jasmine Sola is significantly increasing its orders as it opens seven more stores this year, making 25 in total.
Roberts placed an order with Kevin Morris, an El Segundo, Calif.-based rep for Seychelles Footwear, which reported double sales from last August’s FAME. He attributed the increase to the multishow timing.
Rhonda Heard, who owns Trunk Show, a women’s apparel and accessories boutique in Atlanta, reported higher open-to-buys this year, but said August’s MODA was more about looking than buying.
“This show is like a great vintage store,” Heard said. “You have to sift through a lot, but you find the right items.”
SHOW TRENDS
- City-length/Bermuda shorts
- Leggings
- Tunics and long lines
- Less embellishment
- Brown
- Dresses
- Pumps
- Ballet flats
- Burn-out fabrics
- Long, chunky necklaces