Buyers return to Project Las Vegas to scout the latest in contemporary denim and sportswear.
Retailers are on the hunt for the next True Religion — and Project is where they believe they can find it.
The contemporary show is now revered as the industry’s denim mecca. And with jeans sales still climbing — to $7.46 billion in 2005, up from $6.86 billion in 2004, according to NPD Group — buyers hope to discover new icons for customers to worship.
Denim’s importance to the contemporary sector has heightened competition among retailers, who want to capitalize early on a must-have label.
“It is overwhelming for buyers. They are all trying to find that next big thing,” said Debbie Cairo, assistant buyer at Bottega Giuliana in New Haven, Conn., who will head to Project with owner and head buyer Giuliana Maravalle in search of fall merchandise for men and women.
Whatever denim brands they carry, retailers said boot-cut and flare styles are still the most popular, but an interest in narrow-leg jeans is on the rise, and brands that offer this drainpipe silhouette are topping many retailers’ shopping lists.
Brothers Jason and Jesse Meyer, owners of Detour Clothing Store in Brookfield, Wis., go to Project looking for something out of the ordinary.
“We are always looking for something that is left of center or a modern take on a classic item. We are not superfunky or really crazy, but we like things that you won’t see when you are walking through the mall,” said Jason Meyer.
Lately, he is impressed with Subi, a hard-to-find Australian line, and also likes brands such as Eden, Modern Amusement and Generra for modernizing classic styles with new fabrics or additional details. Clean silhouettes and straight-leg looks are definitely the trend, he noted.
Now nine years old, Detour carries some 40 denim brands, priced $68 to $350, and roughly 20 T-shirt collections in its two retail locations and on its Web site, detouronline.com. Popular lines at Detour currently include Superfine and Habitual.
For 42 Saint in Scottsdale, Ariz., a 1,200-square-foot men’s and women’s store, manager/buyer Peter Brown hopes to stock more “superskinny” jeans like those from Howe and Salvage, while still sticking with popular brands like Diesel and True Religion. Additionally, he hopes to unearth more religious merchandise, a trend he sees growing. One intriguing item he’s seen is a T-shirt from Monarchy with a Bible page on it.
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“Business is great,” said Brown, who attributes solid sales to an intriguing product assortment. “Project is good because it is smaller and condensed into the style that we are all about.”
Akiba Trading, which operates five LuLu stores in the Miami area, including LuLu Couture, with men’s and women’s lines and denim with price tags ranging from $150 to $1,000, is also enjoying stellar sales — up 30 percent over last year. “If you have a specialty and know what you are doing, it is very fruitful,” said Elie Akiba, owner. “There is a lot of energy in the market right now.”
At Project, Akiba will be shopping for narrow styles and military-flavored items. He believes U.S. jean manufacturers, particularly Los Angeles-based brands, “are leading the world in terms of fashion.”
Yet there will be buyers at Project with more on their minds than denim and T-shirts. Some retailers also want to tap into the current movement towards “dressier” dressing.
“Project gives you what the future trends are going to be. It is an edgier show,” said Lauren Berger, buyer for Arlies, an Ontario-based juniors chain with 23 stores.
Last season Berger discovered Gwen Stefani’s Harajuku Lovers line at Project Las Vegas; it hits the floor at Arlies this spring. On her “to-do” list for the upcoming show are novelty T-shirts as well as some slightly more formal items.
“From a trend perspective in junior fashions, the boho look is still going on with the peasant skirts. But definitely things are getting cleaner and preppier.”
Cairo and Maravalle of Bottega Giuliana are anticipating a move away from ultracasual dressing. “People are still going to buy denim, but they are going to dress it up with a blazer or maybe even have nondenim pants, or if they are denim, maybe a black or a khaki. Vests are also coming back,” said Cairo. “Going forward I think [consumers] will invest in some dressier clothes and not wear denim out on occasions — or dress it up a little bit.”
Susanne Zenker, owner of Horn, a women’s boutique, on trendy South Robertson Boulevard in Los Angeles, also is looking for more “sophisticated” items.
“I am going to some cropped jackets and looking at ready-to-wear, not just casual,” said Zenker, who also will keep an eye out for slimmer, less masculine trousers, fitted pantsuits and pencil skirts.
But old favorites die hard. “Denim will always sell,” she said, adding that Notify and Tag are her current hot labels. One brand she has her eye on is Vintage China, particularly for its “fabulous” indigo T-shirts.
Bill Hallman, owner of Bill Hallman of Atlanta, strives “to evolve constantly and stay ahead of the game” in this progressive Southern city. He remodeled his flagship store in October, tripling its size to 6,000 square feet. It is now a “lifestyle complex” with women’s and men’s apparel, a lounge area and an art gallery where he throws promotional parties.
To match his store’s new look, Hallman said he now wants to offer more polished styles. On the women’s side, the boutique is looking to add more dresses.
Not that Hallman is walking away from a bread-and-butter category like denim. “We sold denim all year through,” he said. “Usually it slows in December, but not this past year.” The store includes a denim area with a denim wall. And that is not going away.
At Project he and his women’s buyer will also be scouting for summer T-shirts, another important category.
Project veteran Wendy Red is a buyer for Up Against the Wall, a 24-store operation that offers women’s and men’s fashion with an emphasis on better denim and the tops to go with it. The Washington, D.C.-based chain also has doors in Maryland, Virginia, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Miami. Red is on the hunt for the longer layering Ts and tanks and casual jackets she predicts will be strong for fall. Additionally, Red would like to pick up some denim alternatives like poplin or soft linen but said, “There is not a lot out there.”
The whims of fashion can change in a moment, so another goal of retailers is to work with Project vendors to improve shipping times, thus eliminating some of the guesswork.
Cairo of Bottega Giuliana bemoaned that an order of heavy sweaters from Dolce & Gabbana has a ship date of July 15. “We bought them pre-fall, but that will come in and sit on my floor.”
At Project most buyers said they will be looking to write fall trends, and to pick up fill-ins for spring and summer, the nearer to display time the better.
As Hallman put it, “When you are able to buy closer to the season, you don’t make as many mistakes.”