Trade Shows Aren't Dead

I love trade shows. I do. I've attended (and helped plan them) them as a young professional, before I went back to school. I then attended MAGIC, in Vegas, as a student. I then got out of school and got a job planning trade shows. I've been to environmental trade shows, I've been to educational trade shows but there is nothing like a fashion trade show. They are just alive. They stimulate all of your senses. Your adrenaline begins to rush. You want to just take it all in.

This week's articles were all things trade show. From the role and importance of the trade show to the procedural information needed when attending the fair.

 My trip to MAGIC.

Fashion Is Social In More Ways Than One.

One of the most interesting reflections I had from the first article were the changes in what the exhibitors are choosing to showcase at the shows. Hong Kong Fashion Week is specifically cited when discussing fears of copycats and unwillingness to showcase entire collections. While everything the journal cited as reasons why made total sense I was taken aback. I wonder how that affects that small retailer. I understand their buying habits have changed and these new procedures are a reflection of that. I wonder how the independent retailer makes their decisions now. How have they adjusted? How does their attendance to shows compare with ten years ago? What percentages of their decision making are happening at these shows vs. online?

Trade Shows Are Still Relevant. 

My favorite part of this list was the last. Opportunity to make a Bold Statement. Could that be applied to anything more than the fashion world?!? I look at true fashion as a series of bold statements. Art really. In this article they discuss that you can use a trade show as an opportunity to give your consumers and prospects confidence in your company. Each line in fashion is exactly that. It's daunting and invigorating. Not only do you have to make that statement with your clothes, you have to do it with your booth too. The right hangers, the right steel trusses, the right tags, the right lights. It's all an opportunity to make that statement. If you get it wrong, no one has confidence in your company.

Getting Lost In the Fray

I wish "Making Trade Shows Work For You" was in fact titled "How Not To Get Lost In The Fray". It was such a quick line in the story, such a short paragraph. Is that it? I feel left wanting more and not sure how to fill in the blanks. Can we get a little more on that whole networking thing maybe?


I can't wait to see what Hong Kong Fashion Week is like. I can't wait to just breathe it all in. I want to see how all these global companies "get it right". I want to immerse myself in their bold statements. I want to ask questions.

I just want to be there.