The second edition of Atlanta’s Trafik trade show, targeting premium denim and contemporary sportswear, featured some new looks, including dark denim in cleaner lines, with straight legs.
The show ran Oct. 21-23 in the former Macy’s on Peachtree Street in Atlanta.
Show director James Costa, who with four partners also produces the Atlanta-based premium denim line Carpé Denim, said around 300 buyers attended, an increase from the debut show held in the spring in an art gallery north of the city.
Some 125 exhibitors showed in 85 booths, up from about 90 exhibitors and 70 booths at the spring show.
“Premium denim for men and women represented around half of the show’s offerings, with lines including Blue Cult, True Religion, Ddp and Z Brand,” Costa said. “The remainder was young contemporary product, T-shirt lines and accessories, such as Project E and Ed Hardy. Denim led sales at the show, but the overall feeling is people are looking for the next new fabric.”
Exhibitor Lee James, Southeast sales director for L’Atelier, a Los Angeles-based sales firm representing True Religion Brand Jeans and Nine Lives, worked 40 accounts at the show.
“The potential for this show is amazing, given all the contemporary stores in the Southeast territory,” she said.
Alex Abril, owner of eight denim and contemporary stores in the Miami area, under the names Project LX, Studio LX, Just LX and Blush, bought embellished premium denim for men and women from Z Brand, Blue Cult and True Religion, along with T-shirts from a variety of resources.
Michael Malik, owner of Houston specialty stores MZM Fashion, Lab 5 Fashion and Jeans Couture, shopped Trafik for immediate goods, especially small, hip lines to distinguish his stores from high-end department store competition in his area. Malik bought T-shirts from Kowboys and Coexist, and denim from Ddp, Carpé Denim and Dragonfly.
“Our niche, the 20- to 45-year-old fashion-forward customer, will seek out the stores with the unique product that others don’t have,” he said.
Future plans call for a Trafik trade show in Miami’s South Beach Feb. 6-8.