The show must go on.
That was the cry of the organizers of both Brand Assembly and Designers & Agents as a blizzard blanketed New York City in more than a foot of snow. Both shows — which are unrelated — ran from Feb. 22 through Feb. 24 at the Starrett-Lehigh Building on the city’s far west side.
Although some retailers were unable to travel into the city to attend in person, others changed their plans to visit during the adjusted hours the shows ran to accommodate attendees. Brand Assembly sent a flurry of emails to those who had preregistered saying both shows were open for business during the storm with more than 600 brands to shop under one roof along with spiked hot chocolate and “soul-warming food” on site.
D&A was also communicative, sending its own emails alerting retailers that the show would open late on Monday but remain open through 8 p.m.
You May Also Like
At both shows, attendance was strong on Sunday and Tuesday and vendors were generally upbeat, despite enduring a number of weather-related cancellations. A few were also savvy enough to pivot and show their lines virtually if their appointments weren’t on site.
Here’s a closer look at both shows.
Brand Assembly
The show offered some 400 contemporary women’s brands grouped by category in color-coded sections throughout the floor. Among the offerings was the Parks & Recreation area for outdoor-skewed brands and Tenth Dimension for beauty and wellness companies. Although the bulk of the brands showcased apparel, accessories were also well-represented.
Brand Assembly has been a fixture in Los Angeles for 13 years and this was its second year hosting a New York edition. Hillary France, chief executive officer and cofounder, said she believed that East Coasters were ready for a fresh perspective to the trade show agenda and there was a niche that Brand Assembly could fill.
“It’s all about the community,” she said. “The energy here is palatable.” And France shrugged off the snowstorm as a minor annoyance. “We held our L.A. shows during the fires, so nothing compares to that,” she said.
In terms of product, she said the Parks & Recreation section of the show, which featured brands such as Amundsen, FP Movement, Nike ACG and Westerlind, continues to grow. Tenth Dimension has also proven popular with attendees, she said.
“We want to stay on top of what’s new,” she said, adding that Brand Assembly targets both large and small brands to showcase. “We have the big players along with the little guys,” she said, adding that the goal is to allow the “product to shine” and retailers to experience a “sense of discovery” when walking the floor.
That’s what Darien Sport Shop experienced. Gina Zangrillo, CEO of the Connecticut-based retailer, which is celebrating its 80th anniversary this year, said this was the store’s first time at Brand Assembly, but she was impressed. “It’s a small, more intimate setting with up-and-coming brands as well as those who have been around a while,” she said, while shopping at the Faherty booth.
Zangrillo likened it to the popular Chicago Collective men’s show with its curated mix that attracts independent stores seeking differentiated product.
At Brand Assembly, she and Aly Turchioe, director of buying, were scouting both new apparel and accessories brands and left with new jewelry and accessories resources to add to their assortment.
Zangrillo characterized business at Darien Sport Shop as “outstanding,” and attributed it to offering a mix of both tried-and-true brands as well as others that “surprise and delight the customer when they come to the store.”
One of those tried-and-true brands is Faherty. The family-owned company founded in 2013 by twin brothers Alex and Mike Faherty is a sustainably sourced East Coast-skewed sportswear collection that offers an alternative to the brightly colored California surf brands.
At the show, Faherty offered a wide assortment of women’s products including a Coastal Poplin collection of shirtdresses and sets — one of the brand’s key looks of the season, according to Caitlin Bookman, vice president of wholesale. The brand was also showcasing its new sweater program, North Shore, featuring cotton and merino blends in a variety of solids and patterns that will retail for under $200.
Bookman also singled out the brand’s Apres sweater collection — its most elevated offering with retail prices ranging from $300 to $500 — that included a novelty alpaca grouping.
“And we continue to expand our knit program,” she said, pointing to the tops in hemp, organic cotton and other fabrics. “We have tons of novelty fabric and texture.”
Elevated basics were also part of the assortment at Marine Layer, which attended Brand Assembly with two sets of samples in order to accommodate all the retailers they were prepared to see. “This has turned into a high-volume show for us,” said Andrew Graham, vice president of sales, who also brought along a selection of the company’s menswear.
Among the top trends for fall were varsity items the brand offered in everything from its Cloud 9 fleece to sueded fabrics in rugbys and polos. There also was an update to the company’s Allison trouser, which Graham said was a historic bestseller. This time, the pant was offered with side stripes, a nod to the varsity theme. Stripes were also offered on updated versions of the Suki sweater, offered in crewnecks or polo styles.
The success of the San Francisco-based brand’s pop-up customization retail shops, where it offered customers a range of T-shirts, fleece and sweaters to personalize with initials, patches and other special details, will continue this year. And some of the options available in those shops will include Donegal sweaters in solids and stripes, Graham said.
Favorite Daughter also had a large presence at the show. The brand, which was founded by sisters Sara and Erin Foster and has a 50/50 partnership with Centric Brands, has slowly been expanding its reach. Footwear launched last fall and handbags will hit the market in September. Accessories such as belts and hats are also growing categories and were on display at the show. But it was the company’s wide apparel assortment that was the star.
Sixty percent of the business comes from the brand’s dressier “collection” product, but Favorite Daughter is also known for its denim and logoed pieces such as T-shirts and sweats sporting the brand name or other similar phrases such as Favorite Mother or Grandmother. A varsity-style update was being offered for fall with raised lettering on the front of the sweatshirt.
The brand also leaned into the varsity theme with a wool suit that was updated with knit trim on the collar and detailing on the pleated trouser. A version in boucle was also shown.
The brand also offered knit cuffs on jackets, which has become a popular perennial piece for the company, that it now offers in coats. While the outerwear was fairly traditional, the addition of the cuffs offered a twist. Other key outerwear pieces included cropped trenches, which are now offered in a double-face fabric, as well as Fair Isle sweaters.
Designers & Agents
“We’ve been blessed by a blizzard,” said Ed Mandelbaum, president and founder of Designers & Agents, tongue firmly in cheek.
But Mandelbaum, whose show has been operating for more than 25 years, shrugged off the storm, saying the exhibitors were “very chill and professional — nothing rattles them.”
He said the show had a very busy day on Sunday, Tuesday was also strongly attended, “and Monday was positive for a blizzard.”
D&A showcased around 200 brands at this edition, half of which were international companies. Mandelbaum and his wife and business partner Meryl Mandelbaum, said the mix is highly curated and laid out the way a buyer would merchandise a store, with similar categories clustered together such as shoes, jewelry and ready-to-wear.
“Retailers come here to find something to distinguish their store from the status quo,” said Meryl Mandelbaum, pointing to the show’s eclectic mix of “independent designer brands. There is no fast fashion here.”
That was the appeal for Bo Kim, owner of Bocnyc, which has two stores in Manhattan — on Madison Avenue and Columbus Avenue — and will be opening a third in TriBeCa in June.
Kim was browsing through the Organic by John Patrick and Communitie booth at the show. “This is the only show I go to,” she said, adding that its mix of established and emerging brands from Europe and the U.S. was a drawing card for her since her store carries a mix of domestic and international brands.
“I found Organic by John Patrick here a long time ago,” she said, adding that she was shopping the show for “some items, not whole collections, to make our stores unique and different from department stores. Our stores are very small, so we’re picky — that’s how we survive. We’re always looking for something new.”
Staying small is also a strategy for Organic by John Patrick, which showcased its tight assortment of cashmere sweaters and related knitwear pieces at the show. The sweaters were offered in an oversize crew as well as a sleeveless turtleneck model. The booth also showcased cashmere bandanas from Communitie.
Also offering up a tight assortment was Handvaerk, a 12-year-old Danish brand that offers elevated foundational pieces for women and men made from natural fibers such as wool and alpaca.
The brand name, according to John Webb, its longtime representative, is Danish and means minimalistic and straightforward. It got its start in T-shirts made from extra-long-staple Peruvian cotton, before moving into sweatshirts. Over the years, it has expanded to a full collection, all with the same aesthetic.
At the show, Handvaerk showcased an expanded women’s collection that included wool and cashmere knits made in Italy, expanded pima cotton T-shirt silhouettes, elevated fleece sweats, cashmere overskirts and tailored coats.
Henry Beguelin, a 45-year-old leather goods brand founded on the island of Elba in Italy, was also exhibiting at the show. Now run by Patrick Nebiolo, formerly of Holden and Holubar, who recently purchased the majority interest in the company, the Milan-based collection is all handmade in Italy.
A variety of bags and shoes were on display at the show including shoulder bags, crossbody bags and small purses; small leather goods, and sneakers, a new category for the brand. The pieces featured the brand’s trademark overstitching as well as its distinct logo, a stick figure motif.
In addition to bags, the company also offered a peek at its expanding apparel collection, which includes knitwear as well as outerwear. “We’re trying to bring new ideas but stay true to our core,” Nebiolo said.
