Las Vegas MAGIC

When you think about magic you think about rabbits being pulled out of hats; but this magic involves something a little different. The MAGIC Show in Las Vegas has been going strong for over 85 years and is the most famous of any fashion tradeshow. It is held twice a year and over 60,000 industry insiders shop 11 different markets including; women's, men's, children's, footwear, accessories, and sourcing. The best part about Magic is that every year a group of fashion majors from the University of Central Missouri is able to be a part of this show and gain valuable knowledge from it.
UCM Fashion majors headed to MAGIC


Platform

Me with a Platform bag
If you are looking for the hottest trends for shoes then Platform is where you can find every brand, style, and price point of shoe possible. It was the first tradeshow that we visited at Magic and the amount of shoes was overwhelming! We were lucky to be able to sit down and talk to a few of the vendors about different aspects and responsibilities of their jobs. It was eye-opening to see how much goes into the process of designing, styling, creating, and selling one pair of shoes.

Eastland Shoe CEO talking with UCM Fashion Students

Mon Wsa-Platform



Project

Now if you are wanting to see the upcoming fashion trends for men Project is where you want to be! They do have some women's clothing but it is mainly focused on a street style; the skater, punk look is what I thought of. We saw some of my favorite brands such as Fossil, Affliction, Buffalo and so many more! One thing we learned while at Project was that many companies were very private about what new products they had and they would put up tall walls and would only let in buyers who had purchased from them previously. It was crazy to see how far some vendors would go to protect their product from getting copied or showing buyers who would not actually purchase any of the product.

Affliction wall around vendor area & sign leading into Project
 


Showing walls around and inside vendor area


Magic

This was everyone's favorite part of the day! Magic is set up like a hundred boutiques inside one building. If you are a shopaholic like me it was basically like walking into heaven. Many of the vendors were set up as if a buyer were shopping in a store so you could go through and grab the items you wanted without having to sit down and go through an entire line of new product. There were so many different types of vendors and styles to choose from; anywhere from neon pleather, to vintage, to bohemian and everything in between! We were not allowed to purchase any of the products but we left Magic that day with free samples, business cards, and a new understanding of how clothing actually makes it into the stores.
Visual Display at Magic

   
Visual Display at Magic






Written by: Kaitlyn Hirst

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