Streetwear, sustainability and upcoming brands take center stage at Las Vegas trade shows

By

Robin Driver

Published
Feb 4, 2019

On Tuesday Las Vegas will once again be welcoming some of the US’ biggest fashion trade shows with the opening of UBM’s Magic marketplace and Agenda, each proposing a range of events addressing everything from conscious fashion to the history of streetwear.

Spread over the Las Vegas and Mandalay Bay Convention Centers, Magic will be playing host to 12 trade shows, among which WWDMagic, Project Women’s and Stitch @ Project Women’s will be dedicated exclusively to womenswear.
 
This February, Project Women’s is partnering with the Conscious Fashion Campaign to recognize brands that seek to work towards the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals through their production or business practices. The collaboration is the continuation of the trade show’s Conscious Collections initiative and will spotlight a broad variety of brands, including organic cosmetics label Bitchstix, female-led skate brand Doyenne and Korean upcycled accessories start-up Pleatsmama.

For the latest in the menswear industry, Magic attendees can seek out a comprehensive overview of the sector at Project, home in on the high-end luxury market at The Tents or explore branded and licensed apparel for men and young men at Magic Men’s.
 
Along with industry staples, Magic’s menswear shows will also feature a line-up of upcoming brands. At Project, these include Casual Scandi label Redefined Rebel and Montreal-based steel jewelry brand A.R.Z Steel, while The Tents will welcome men’s swimwear specialist Nine + Eight and North Carolina-based apparel brand Lords of Harlech, and Magic Men’s will host South Africa’s Carducci and high-end menswear label Baqchi.
 
Elsewhere, the Pool Tradeshow will put new and emerging men’s and womenswear brands center stage, while Children’s Club will focus on kids’ fashion, FN Platform on footwear and Curve on women’s and men’s intimates, swimwear and resort.
 

Magic’s two sourcing-focused shows, Sourcing at Magic and Footwear Sourcing at Magic, kick off a day earlier than the rest of the marketplace, opening their doors on Monday, February 4.
 
This February, Magic’s trade shows will also be offering a rich program of seminars and panels addressing a wide range of themes, from the latest trends and technologies to sustainability and tips for connecting with millennial consumers, going digital and creating effective marketing campaigns.
 
On this topic, WGSN consultant Rachael Dimit will be presenting “How to Design and Communicate in a Post-Authentic World” on Wednesday, February 6, while Julia Hughes, CEO of the United States Fashion Industry Association, will be looking to provide some guidance for different industry players trying to navigate the ongoing trade tensions between the US and China, with “Trade Wars and China Tariffs – the Latest on the Threats to Brands and Retailers + Strategies for the Future.”

Taking place at The Pavilions at World Market Center Las Vegas, Agenda will host over 1,000 brands and 10,000 buyers on a show floor that features a buyer lounge, as well as live art galleries presented by LASONiC.

Established big-name brands exhibiting at the show will include Fila, G Star Raw and Von Dutch, while buyers looking to explore some of the newer faces on the scene can discover Italian recycled jewelry maker OGM-Plant, bi-coastal men’s streetwear label Tango Hotel, upbeat eyewear brand Stay Up Movement and purveyor of augmented-reality streetwear, Kloak.
 

Agenda’s street and menswear-focused Enclave section, powered by Ebay, will also host “The Future in Past Tense – A Retrospective of the Foundational History of Streetwear,” a multimedia exhibit created in partnership with the e-commerce platform and curated by Institution’s Wil Eddins.
 
Elsewhere on the show floor, attendees can relax with a cocktail during an Agenda Happy Hour and listen to sets from DJs including Clark Kent, Stretch Armstrong, D-Nice, Tony Touch and Rich Medina. They can also watch e-sports demos of hit games like Fortnite, Call of Duty, and NBA2K, co-hosted by gaming peripherals manufacturer SteelSeries and e-sports organization FaZe Clan.
 
Magic and Agenda Las Vegas run February 5 through 7.