NEW YORK — There’s no business like trade show business, and organizers are predicting good turnout in 2006 with the addition of shows, better ammenities for guests and a growing selection of new designers from around the world.
Elyse Kroll, president of ENK International, said the Fashion Coterie will be held this year from Feb. 14-16 and Intermezzo Collections will be held Jan. 8-10 at the Show Piers on New York’s West Side. “[Fashion Coterie] will immediately follow [New York] fashion week, which we feel bolsters attendance,” Kroll said, noting that the show will occupy Piers 88, 90, 92 and 94.
Kroll expects Coterie to draw between 15,000 and 20,000 visitors and about 1,200 exhibitors. The Japanese, Israeli and Brazilian pavilions will return to the show and are expected to expand.
Blue, ENK’s new premium denim show for the men’s market, will take place Jan. 21-23 at the Terminal Stores in West Chelsea. Though Blue is billed as a men’s show, Kroll is confident women’s denim will also make an appearance. Concept, an activewear show, will also launch at Blue, and Kroll said she’s finalizing plans for a third show to round out the event.
The Train, featuring ready-to-wear designers worldwide, has become one of the most talked about events during New York collections since its debut in September 2004. The show will take place Feb. 12-14 at the Terminal Stores.
Show organizers are anticipating 3,500 visitors and 115 exhibitors during the three days in February, up from 89 exhibitors over the same period last year. In September, 104 exhibitors were on hand.
“We do expect to continue to see more visitors at the show, as we have in the past,” said Jean Pierre Mocho, chairman of the Française du Prêt à Porter Féminin, organizers of the show. “In September, we had 3,100 visitors, which was a 27 percent increase compared with February 2005.”
The Train prides itself on bringing new designers to American retailers. “Each season, we are more selective and present new talented designers,” he said. “We are looking for a cutting-edge selection of designers. We are dedicated to discovering and introducing designers to the American market for the first time.”
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Mocho, along with Herve Huchet, fashion and marketing director for the Train, attend the international fashion weeks and fashion festivals to uncover brands that fit the Train’s criteria. “The Train is already recognized by designers as a key venue to enter the American market, so we have wonderful designers coming directly to us and submitting applications to our fashion committee,” Mocho said, adding that many are rejected.
In addition to the designers in attendance, Mocho said he and his team are working to create a comfortable, fun environment for buyers and retailers. A photography exhibit is planned and a lounge will serve complimentary drinks. Visitors can also expect a complimentary continental breakfast and a lunch buffet.
Joanne Feinstein, president of Nouveau Collective, a rtw and lifestyle show, said it’s her job to make show visitors feel comfortable. This year, Nouveau Collective has teamed up with the Hampton Inn on 51st Street to offer rooms for $149 per night. Shuttle buses will also be available for guests to ride to and from the show, as well as to other trade shows occurring simultaneously.
Feinstein has two winter editions of the show lined up. The first will take place Jan. 7-10 with a late shopping night slated for Jan. 8; the next installment of Nouveau Collective occurs Feb. 13-16.
“The January show is for a more focused buyer,” she said. “It’s really for immediates and for early spring. The February show is more about assessing what’s going to happen for spring.”
The January installment is expected to bring in about 410 exhibitors; for February, Feinstein expects an increase of about 25 percent.
Designers & Agents, a show covering the better contemporary and designer world of accessories, shoes and clothes, recently added home products to the list. Owner and co-producer Ed Mandelbaum said the company, which also hosts a larger event in Los Angeles, will showcase its next D&A Annex in New York from Jan. 7-9 in the Starrett-Lehigh Building in Chelsea.
“Our formula is to stay true to contemporary and young designers,” he said. “We vote in companies that want to show with us, and maintain integrity of who shows with us.”
For the next big New York show, Feb. 12-14, Mandelbaum said he’s working to better the registration process to make it shorter for buyers.
“We are looking to put in a different registration system, trying to make the experience better,” he said. “The direction is that most people are concerned with getting bigger and we just want to make it a smoother experience for our exhibitors.” Mandelbaum declined to discuss attendance or exhibitor numbers for either show.
Business Journals Inc. is also working to better its apparel trade shows, Moda Manhattan and Fame (Fashion Avenue Market Expo), which run alongside AccessoriesTheShow at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center.
So far, the upcoming Jan. 8-10 edition of Moda Manhattan has experienced a 40 percent increase in exhibitors as compared with the January 2005 show, said Jones, attributing some of Moda’s success to its new director of sales, Ann Caruso-Marsh. This time Moda Manhattan will feature more than 300 spring 2006 collections.
“There are numerous new and trendy collections making their debut with the show,” said Britton Jones, president and ceo of Business Journals Inc. “D’Dominique is a new high-quality Italian knitwear collection, and in following the luxury denim craze, Moda Manhattan will showcase MeUSA, a new high-end denim line that has been receiving incredible publicity.”
FAME increased its market exposure in the beginning of 2005 by launching January and May shows. Until then, FAME was only held during the March and August market weeks. Since increasing its frequency, FAME has experienced hefty growth in all areas, mostly because of the space made available to the shows by the Javits Center.
“FAME, alongside its market siblings AccessoriesTheShow and Moda Manhattan, will occupy an entire level of the Javits Center,” Jones said. “Together under one roof, they will occupy nearly 138,000 square feet and feature over 2,400 lines of fashion resources.”
For the first time since its inception in 2003, the Project show will also unite in a single venue when it occupies 115,000 square feet of space at the Javits Center Jan. 16-18. Project director Sam Ben-Avraham said
buyers’ number-one complaint was the two locations. “This will definitely save them a lot of time; the whole show will be more focused and productive,” he said.
The new, larger space has also given Project room to expand from 280 to 400 men’s and women’s denim and sportswear brands, which are expected to attract roughly 7,000 visitors.