Las Vegas + Fashion = MAGIC!

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You've got to admit that when most people think of Las Vegas, they think of bright lights, gambling, the casinos on the world-famous Las Vegas Strip, show girls, retail shopping, a hot desert climate, fantastic shows and hotels, Mr. Las Vegas Wayne Newton and Elvis-themed weddings. And let’s not forget the infamous Las Vegas tagline: "What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas." LOL. I love that.

What most people do not necessarily think about when they think about Vegas is fashion -- from a fashion buyer's perspective. But thousands of fashion wholesale buyers from around the world do. You see, twice a year, buyers like me converge on Las Vegas for what is simply known as MAGIC, the biggest wholesale buying experience in the US. Taking place twice a year in both February and August, "the WWDMAGIC Marketplace is the preeminent trade event in the international fashion industry, hosting global buyers and sellers of men’s, women’s and children’s apparel, footwear, accessories and sourcing resources. As an incubator of fashion, MAGIC is where new trends surface and develop into what will be seen on the consumer. The show’s goal is to connect and inspire the fashion community, fuse diverse trends, while offering unbeatable service to its customers." And in the words of Paris Hilton, that's hot.

When I stepped off of the plane in Las Vegas at 8pm for the August 2010 MAGIC experience, it was a mere 104 degrees outside and the heat hit me like a ton of bricks. But without the humidity of the East Coast, I adjusted quickly and my husband and I made our way by taxi to our comped hotel room (tourism is suffering in Las Vegas too!) in a brand new 4,000 room modern and luxurious hotel on the Strip. Sweeeeet. We taxied it on over to the Las Vegas Convention Center by mid-morning the next day and the hunt for fabulous fashion was on!

I was quoted recently in a magazine by saying "It sucks for retail and retail sucks right now” and by the looks of things at MAGIC, I was dead on. What was once a massive fashion expo with thousands and thousands and thousands (I am not exaggerating) of people is now a moderately sized event spread out between the Convention Center and Mandalay Bay with much fewer attendees and fashion vendors...and it's painfully obvious. I don't even see any fashion groupies. And you know something's up when the groupies don't show. LOL.

The lack of fashion groupies aside, the show did go on and not only were there the typical celebrity appearances (including Vanessa Williams who launched her handbag collection, Suzanne Somers who showcased her apparel collection for the first time, and Miss Universe 2009 Stefania Fernandez), but there were also a number of other fashion expos going on in Las Vegas at the same time, many of which offered complimentary shuttle service from MAGIC: WWIN (WomensWear In Nevada) over at the Rio, “offer[ing] womenswear buyers a full selection of traditional, contemporary, missy, petite, plus and tall [sizes]…[and] hundreds of accessory lines with everything from shoes to hats, purses, jewelry, belts and scarves”; and at The Venetian, Accessories The Show, “a professional trade show event produced for the fashion retail trade and press only” and its sister show Moda, “enabl[ing] retailers from stores primarily west of the Mississippi and Internationally to shop exclusively for better Ready To Wear resources efficiently, conveniently, comfortably and enjoyably.” Also over at The Venetian was a show I hadn’t heard of before called Off Price “connecting retailers with over 450 vendors and 1,000+ booths of quality below wholesale merchandise - that's 20-70% below wholesale.” Had I known about this show in particular, I would have mosied on over to The Venetian much sooner. As it were, I got there just as it was shutting down. But there’s always next year. I should also note that the PGA’s 2010 Expo (think golf) was also at The Venetian right alongside all of the fashion brouhaha, and the PGA was offering free admission to all fashion expo attendees. Where the link is (pun intended) between golf and fashion, I don’t know, but I definitely think it’s a sign of these challenging economic times. I’m home from Las Vegas now, back in the rather cool Bay Area (California) climate and I’m happy to report that my buying trip to MAGIC was an overall success. Without the typical crowds, the vendors were far more attentive and much more willing to lower their minimums and I didn’t get bumped around by the typical mass of buyers. Vegas was Vegas and I had a few fine meals and watched my husband win $1000 on the $5 slots. We even played the penny machines at the airport while waiting for our delayed flight. And all retail escapades aside, my next trip to Las Vegas will likely have me tossing away my buyer’s hat and renting a houseboat on nearby Lake Mead instead. But that’s another story entirely.