At WWDMAGIC, retailers look for the next big thing.
Founded in 1933 by the Men’s Apparel Guild in California, the MAGIC Marketplace has become one of the largest sources of apparel and accessories for men, women and children. Part of the show’s appeal, according to many retailers who will attend, is the anticipation felt while walking the floor, waiting to find the next must-have item for the coming season.
“I always look forward to what I don’t know. You have people who have very developed lines there and you have these new kids who have a creative idea,” said Kathy Shawver, co-owner of Diane Merrick in Los Angeles. “You just never know, and you want to be first to get it on the shelves and hopefully blow out.”
Besides seeing current lines Diane Merrick carries — such as Nation, Citizens of Humanity and C&C California — Shawver enjoys meeting new designers. At WWDMAGIC, Shawver will look for denim, particularly a new line she heard about called Rich and Skinny. T-shirts also are a show staple for Shawver. “It’s the T-shirt capital,” she said, “so we’re looking forward to seeing what the designers are doing.”
Keith Carollo, head buyer for FredFlare, an e-tailer with a brick-and-mortar store in New York, agreed. “Any buyer hopes to be surprised. We’re trying to fill out the wardrobe of our customers, not just [buy] the cute T-shirt, so you always have an agenda,” he said. “But, ultimately, you hope to find something that you never dreamed possible.”
At WWDMAGIC last fall, Carollo discovered Disney couture jewelry, which he said has been selling well at
fredflare.com. T-shirt lines picked up at WWDMAGIC, especially the Junk Food label, also have done well for the company, he added. But unlike some of the T-shirt trends he had seen in the past, including rock ’n’ roll and darker palettes, “we’re looking for something a little more neat, fresh and cute,” he explained. “Cute is a little challenging to find at MAGIC, so that’s always what I’m looking for.”
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One trend he and other retailers expect to see at the show is the refined Marie Antoinette look, based in part on the film opening in October, starring Kirsten Dunst. “I think it will have a big impact on the fall and holiday season — the palettes are very pretty,” Carollo said. “That’s where I’d love to see things go, away from rock ’n’ roll.”
That’s what Jamie Rubin, co-owner of Max & Chloe in New York, said she expects to see at WWDMAGIC as well. She will shop primarily for spring accessories for her boutique. She said the ladylike trend for spring will appear in structured bags and a “Coco Chanel-
inspired look,” with pearls, charms and long beaded necklaces intertwined with fabric. “Charms are hot for next year, especially on accessories such as shoes, handbags, iPods, belts and clothes,” Rubin said, adding that a lot of the charms she expects to see will have religious symbolism, fruit and hearts. She expects nautical themes and blue to be big trends for spring.
Rather than explore the accessories section, though, Rubin said she finds better choices elsewhere. “We have contemporary designers — not really high, high end — but we’re designer-based. Some of the [accessories] section is too low-end for us as opposed to other sections, where designers have accessories lines and it’s easier to work with them directly,” she said.
She and a buyer for her men’s department will comb the show for men’s accessories, including leather wallets and belts, as well as jewelry and scarves, Rubin said.
The lower price points are one reason Chloe Dao, winner of the second season of Bravo’s “Project Runway” reality show and owner of Lot 8 in Houston, attends WWDMAGIC, she said, adding that she is interested in the young designers. “I guess I’m one of them, so I like supporting them,” she explained.
She is on the lookout for sweaters. “I’m hoping to find cute cableknit sweaters that are not too bulky for my weather, that are in a blended fabric so they’re not so heavy,” Dao said. “That’s my biggest search.”
Dresses are another big Lot 8 business, as well as “sexy-looking suits,” she added. “Not so classic that they’re boring, but fitted with a little bit of a twist so you can wear them to work and then go out afterward.”
One of her go-to brands is Frenzy, specifically, the company’s knit dresses. “Every season, they update it and make it more modern, and every season, I buy more,” Dao said.
Harry Shiroff, buyer for Lee Newman Fine Men’s Clothing and Shoes, as well as the company’s women’s division, plans to spend most of his WWDMAGIC time in the men’s area and swimwear, since his New Jersey shops are adding swimwear to the mix, he said. “Whatever designers we carry, we’re going to look at their swimwear,” he said, citing Elie Tahari and Trina Turk Swim & Spa Collection as two that interest him.
Every season, Rita Mitchell-Harvey, who owns Elle in Little Rock, Ark., with her husband, Victor, said she finds “the icing on the cake” at WWDMAGIC. “It’s a very strong market for what I call impulse merchandise, unusual things and very exciting colorations.” She added, “We all need, love and want a jean jacket, but MAGIC is the first place we found one in, say, raspberry.”
Mitchell-Harvey uses WWDMAGIC to develop relationships with Canadian lines, which are often less expensive than their American counterparts. She is interested in leather, suede and other lighter-weight outerwear to work in the Arkansas weather. One outerwear company, Adler Collection, “we’d never have discovered if we had not gone to MAGIC,” Mitchell-Harvey said, adding that the line sells well in her store.
She also appreciates the accessories. “I’ve always found highly unusual things like bling-y belts, wilder vests and hats” — items to which customers emotionally respond. “Our store is contemporary classic, so I don’t take a violently serious view of everything. MAGIC permits me to bring in whimsy that’s also commercial.”
Ranae Sales, vice president of Whittaker House in New Buffalo, Mich., agreed. She sees WWDMAGIC as a crucial place to find fill-in lines for her boutique. “I do so much buying in New York, but I’m always looking for things that I can’t find — new lines that are a little hipper,” she said. “I like to attend MAGIC to find things that are a little more unusual.”
At last spring’s WWDMAGIC, Sales said she purchased belts, novelty T-shirts and some denim. This year, she is looking for pencil-leg jeans. “We carry a lot of major brands of denim and are always looking for something up-and-coming. But a lot of the up-and-coming designers can’t get into juried shows, so MAGIC allows them the opportunity to show.”
Sales will look for novelty blouses, such as those with white ruffles that can be layered under jackets, and fresh-looking T-shirts. WWDMAGIC keeps her current, she said. “Being so close to Chicago, we have to constantly keep up with the latest,” Sales explained.
Like other retailers attending WWDMAGIC, she said she looks forward to being inspired. “All of a sudden, you see something and say, ‘Oh, there it is! Something to punch up someone’s wardrobe,’” she said. “Sometimes, you don’t know what you need until you see it.”