Magic Fashion Events: Las Vegas Tradeshow Recap

I was thrilled at the opportunity once again to attend MAGIC FASHION EVENTS TRADESHOW in Las Vegas! It's not just "any" trade show–THE fashion trade show with the hugest selection of apparel, footwear and accessory brands! This show is so amazing. I've been attending since 2015 and MAGIC never disappoints! 

                                                     Photo Credit:  Hailey Howard ( This image only)

MAGIC, PROJECT and SOURCING are 3 shows running simultaneously at the Las Vegas Convention Center. All 3 shows are fantastic ! It's always a treat to get a sneak peak of upcoming collections of some of my favorite brands: BETSY JOHNSON, STEVE MADDEN , GIGI PIP, HIDDEN JEANS, FREE PEOPLE and many more!

RECAP OF MAGIC FASHION TRADESHOW LV: FEB 23

+Informa Markets Fashion, is the organizer of the largest wholesale fashion market in the U.S., compromised of the 3 shows mentioned above. February's show just ended last week, and hosted over 25.000 attendees including:

• Retail Buyers
• Press
• Influencers
• Participating Brands
• Sourcing companies from around the globe 

+ Each of the shows features a vast selection of exhibiting brands, experiences, live panel discussions, and educational sessions that offered attendees a 360-degree FASHION EXPERIENCE!

+ At MAGIC LAS VEGAS there were close to 700 brands featured with an increase in new brands attending the show. New designers and emerging brands were located at the front of the show for more attention and awareness: Lioness, Vero, Moda, Naked Feet, Korks and Paris Hilton Iconic Collection to name a few.

+ New at MAGIC LV 2023 was the addition of IMFC: Informa Markets Fashion for Change- a companywide initiative to elevate minority owned businesses. February IMFC designers included: Admiral Row, Tao Holistics, CISEAgnce and John+Julia.

 + 500 men's and women's brands had exhibits in PROJECT LAS VEGAS including: Nudie Jeans, Krost, Abrand Jeans, Keen, Unpublished, Lack of Color, Honor the Gift, Dolce Vita, Free People, Jason Wu and many more.  Retailers in attendance included Amazon Fashion, Nordstrom , Finish Line and more. Also at PROJECT was the celebration of 50 years of Hip Hop with a panel featuring Karl Kani. 

+SOURCING at MAGIC featured almost 1000 exhibitors from over 35 countries.  The show floor was a mecca of:

•  apparel
•  footwear
•  accessory manufacturers
•  fabric and trim suppliers
•  packing manufacturers
• fashion technology
• service providers

The country of CHINA showed the largest presence at the show.  China is a sourcing destination for fashion professionals that has been restricted due to the pandemic the past few years.

BEST THINGS TO LOVE ABOUT MAGIC

Networking with Industry Professionals

It was fun to see Rachel of The McCord List and her husband Rick Schirmer. Rachel is a serial entrepreneur, founder/CEO, author and mom.  She hosts panel discussions at MAGIC and they are always amazing, informative and lots of fun! Rachel is very down to earth and her passion is to help accelerate female founders.

 Her husband Rick is a marketing guru, and he joined her to share the latest marketing trends in fashion and retail. It was really cool to see this dynamic duo on the stage together!

Catching Up with Friends

It was great to see my friend Carrie from Wisconsin. I met her the 1st time I attended MAGIC in 2015 through a mutual friend. She is a boutique owner and comes to buy for her store.

Education Sessions

One of the best parts of MAGIC, are the educational sessions and panels. Every session is packed with cutting edge information: what's hot on the runway, upcoming trends , marketing and tips on how to open your own boutique.

 

My favorite session at MAGIC is 'Trend Forecasting" with Kelly Helfman -President of MAGIC fashion events and Wendy Bendoni Professor & Trend Forecaster.

Fun on the Show Floor

It takes hours to walk the convention halls hosting all 3 shows. It's also fun checking out the trends for the upcoming season!  Some of the booths host giveaways, mini happy hours and food. This year Gigi Pip was giving away complimentary hats to the first 70 to show up. Lucky me, I scored and walked away with this fab hat!

Fashion Brand Booths

The highlight of MAGIC is the hundreds of wholesale fashion booths, decked out in showstopping splendor. The fashionista eye candy is endless!  I try to make it to most , but its quite a lofty goal ha! The booths are always busy with buyers searching for perfect styles for their boutiques and online stores.

Last summer at MAGIC, hot pink styles: aka " BARBIE CORE were all the rage and that trend was still super popular this winter at the show.

Now it's time to look forward to the upcoming show this August ! If  you are a buyer, boutique owner, influencer or member of the media- we hope to see you there!