Fashion trade show

Thrill missing from Fall MAGIC; buyers find deals, but little fashion direction - MAGIC trade show

Thrill Missing from Fall MAGIC

LAS VEGAS - Despite the glitz of this Nevada city, the mood at MAGIC, the men's apparel show held Sept. 4 to 7, was subdued.

The fall edition of the semi-annual trade show is traditionally a better attended show than its spring version. Though most retail chains made an appearance, overall, the crowds were sparse.

One attendee commented that even the Las Vegas-style fashion shows organized by the sponsors had a more subdued air about them.

Retail sales have been spotty this summer despite some analysts' and government claims that the recession is over. The current back-to-school season is not lighting a much needed fire under cautious consumers.

"Traffic does seem to be down somewhat, but all the major players are here," commented Ed Braun, vice president, Long Haul. While admitting that the state of the U.S. economy was playing a part in retailers' buying decisions, Braun also noted that "sometimes retailers talk themselves into an even worse scenario."

However, retailers noted that work got done and orders written, despite the quieter atmosphere.

For the first time in many shows, even the larger exhibitors that usually have programs already signed by show time were writing at-once orders at the event.

Because of cautious buying all year long, more manufacturers gave in to promotional deals, and small regional chains were able to take advantage of the available goods. At-once and closer-to-season buys were the order of the day at this MAGIC.

Fashion, or the lack of it, was one of the biggest complaints. A few trends did emerge: * The boy's and young men's areas were by far the busiest, but the traditional and activewear areas had little in the way of newness. The larger companies that put on fashion shows used many more younger models to show off the boys' styles. * Color-changing graphics were the latest fad that trickled down from department stores. * The street replaced the beach as an activewear trend, with darker "urban" colors more prevalent in newer lines than wild brights. * The "casual look" gained ground.

Two companies known for men's traditional styles and men's workwear garments took advantage of the booming children's wear market.

Robert Bruce introduced Robert Bruce boys' wear. In a departure from the serious colors and styling aimed at an older market, the boys' apparel had color and flair.

Short sets featuring sports prints in combinations of bright and neon colors were doing best, according to sales manager Howard Perl. "We wanted to update the Robert Bruce image and added color and pattern to the boys' line. Though we are a department store brand, the boys' line was a way to expand into the mass market," he said.

Ames, Bradlees, Rose's, Caldor and Hills were carrying the line, Perl reported.

Also taking on the boys' market is Dickies. Known for its practical styling in overalls, the company injected some color into its toddler and boys' lines. Color blocking and an engineering stripe was added to its Smallalls line, said Dan Bickle, vp, sales.

"Boys' really is doing better than men's at retail right now," agreed Randy Smith, Attack Action Wear. Attack featured a line of printed activewear for both adults and children.

In other activewear, the latest fad was a T-shirt that changed color. Generra, which introduced the Hypercolor concept at the last MAGIC, had some competition from companies such as Gitano and Sun Apparel, which brought a similar idea to the mass market. Basically, Hypercolor, hypergraffix or heat sensitive graphics refer to a substance that changes the color of a garment when body heat is applied to it.

Most of the garments using the process are solid colors. The more updated versions have a print message with one section visible only when the heat is on.

Men's casual collections were also gaining ground. Angelo LaGrega, vp for Wrangler's Timber Creek line, said the casual clothing that had been tested at various stores around the country was being rolled out to chains such as Rose's and possibly four other regionals.

Gitano also gave a nod to the casual market with a men's casual collection called AmeriCo. It will begin testing in stores in February.