Brand Assembly LA Market: Recapping SS17
PHOTOS BY KAREN HERNANDEZ FOR THE ASSEMBLIST
EVERY SEASON WE CHOOSE A THEME THAT IS PRESENT IN ALL OF THE AESTHETICS OF THE SHOW.
We do this because it gives the show personality and makes it fun for the brands and buyers. This season the motif was about a modernized country western movie theme - it came alive in our check-in area, lounge and also our marketing materials. A really cool new partnership we debuted this season was with Swell Bottles, who featured their products in the Swell Lounge and provided bottles to all show participants and buyers. We also had a manicure station by LAQR which was super popular.
LA is becoming a really important contemporary market. We even had brands telling us that they are planning to stop showing in Vegas and focus their West Coast efforts in LA, as it is a more civilized environment. We are betting on this evolution of the LA Market by opening up a Square in LA. Simultaneously, downtown LA is evolving with more restaurants, places to stay and even places like the amazing Broad Museum! There is a lot of energy that is drawing people there and we believe it will continue to evolve. Another important thing to remember is that LA is the last big market of the selling season and strategically it makes sense for a lot of buyers to finalize their buying decisions there. So between the great location, the more civilized environment and the right timing LA is here to stay!
We mostly had a new crop of emerging designers at the show this season, which is super exciting, because it means that some of our brands are graduating to bigger spaces! It is always so hard to pick, but I was super excited about Kaban+, Perfect Peach, Morgan Lane, Study NY, Mainline and Kamparett. Generally we will continue to build the show by continuing to foster the relationships with the current participating brands and building new ones with some of the brands we would love to have in the show.
We recognize that we are only as good as the brands that participate in our show and we value those relationships. We also recognize that a trade show is an ecosystem and the brands want to be part of it because we have the best buyers come through the doors. The best buyers also want to come to the show that has the best brands... so we will continue to maintain that balance to ensure both sides find what they are looking for and have one of the most enjoyable experiences of the grueling fashion season!
Moving forward the plan is to have more of the same (great brands) along with new activations and amenities. We are actually working on a solution that will help buyers maximize time at our show so that they can see as many brands as possible in the time they have… More on that to come!
- HILLARY FRANCE, CO-FOUNDER AND CEO OF BRAND ASSEMBLY
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