Conflicts at Coterie, Apprehension at Accessorie Circuit

originally published September 6, 2016

New York, United States-  In the run-up the to fashion week marathon, I've been thinking about the complimentary side of the industry that seldom receives a prize purse. Post or Pre-fashion week, it's all about sales. There are no fashion shows, bloggers, insta-gramatic fanatics, snappy-snap chatters, and other fashion sprinters. In showrooms, trade shows, and various market weeks, the sales team gets down to the business of selling.

For this purpose, trade shows bring a segment of brands together with potential buyers, repeat buyers and others. Navigating the aisles at the Javits Center is literally like the TV show WipeOut. "Fashion fiefdoms" here are evident as brands provide optical obstacles to keep the opposition obstructed. New York "faves" such as Frame Denim, Elizabeth & James, The "Minkoff Army" fall into this category, while others employ no rouse, only (so) what you see is what you get.

Throngs of slate, gray, brown, and pastel blue are no doubt in stores now. Knitwear, wool, and fur occupied many a designers' FW 17 collections, and it is obvious this has permeated at the retail level. Judging by the numerous consumers that were at various fur brands, it's safe to gauge that fur will continue to occupy retail real estate. Accessory brands displayed their wares, with baubles, bags, bracelets and brazen beads. With the addition of Sole Commerce at Coterie this year, shoes could have been the beneficiary. However, the placement of Sole Commerce at the rear of the venue seemed slightly out of step.

 So who's buying and what's selling?

Some brands noted overall traffic was down, while others mentioned it was no different than seasons past. Noticeably absent were the fashion critics who wax poetic about trends, tones, and textures. I didn’t see many of the "shapeless, gigantic, gender-less clothes that critics love… but that are driving the business of fashion to stagnation" as Umair Haque wrote in the Harvard Business Review. Do you agree with him? Was this about real clothes? Will someone please define real?        

Considering some of the wholesale price points at the Accessorie Circuit and Intermezzo Collections, I couldn't really figure out who the potential buyers were. Skirts wholesale for ten dollars, add me to the queue, please. Could that be for an NYC boutique or possibly Des Moines, Iowa?

I heard talk about buyers not willing to take risks, and continuing only with what has worked in the past for practicality. Is the flip-side of that stance, where brands should take responsibility? One could argue that brands are taking risks every season as they venture towards the final frontier-a great unknown in sales. Everyone will agree that it's the product that actually sells, and the product is what the product is.

Could the way many brands engage and display (marketing) use a face-lift? With over 2000 brands and counting, Coterie's and the Accessorie Circuit / Intermezzo Collection's, less known brands have to work overtime for fear of getting overlooked. How do you stand out with a great product? Will potential buyers find you? Should you engage the passerby and coral them into your both (which I experienced). When I left I was exhausted and less certain about the tradition of these trade shows and how the market is adapting to all the increasing challenges it faces.

After all the observations and dialogue, one thing I heard stuck in my mind, " Women our age don't shop on our phones, and the younger generation doesn't shop the trade shows" which was by stated a friend of a friend. Maybe that explains all my internal conflicts and apprehension about these shows.

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