What’s the world’s biggest fashion show?
Las Vegas could argue that it’s MAGIC.
The fashion industry — from wholesalers to retail buyers — flocked to the Las Vegas Convention Center this Monday for the start of MAGIC Las Vegas, the biannual trade show.
If you’re not familiar with MAGIC, you definitely need to be. This marketplace is a fashion lover’s dream, with miles of celebrities and bloggers, cool brands, and plenty of fashion trends to look at.
You will need all three days to truly experience everything MAGIC has to offer. The show encompasses the massive square footage of both the Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Convention Center just to contain all the goodness.
Kelly Helfman, president of InformaMarkets Fashion, said it’s exciting to be back for the second time in Las Vegas since pausing in-person meetings in 2020, adding that the first in-person MAGICLas Vegas show was in August.
From the height of luxury brands to the latest trends, everything on the fashion spectrum can be found among the vast spaces at Mandalay Bay and the Las Vegas Convention Center hosting UBMFashion’s biannual fashion marketplace MAGIC Las Vegas.
MAGIC now features hundreds of suppliers, from big names (Levi’s, Nike, Tommy Hilfiger, etc.) to new players (like “KakaClo,” who built its own factory with professional production, design, support, logistics, quality control, and R&D teams in China to supply clothes all over the world). The dynamic annual show attracts the industry’s top international talents, uniting them with influential buyers and helping to keep the trillion-dollar fashion industry engine churning.
One of the common themes for this year was the idea of giving. As the staff of KakaClo noted the platform’s purpose: “Taking aim at the apparel market, we realized apparel retailers are struggling with having numerous stock-keeping units (SKUs), getting stuck with high minimum order quantity requirements, and suffering from bad inventory management. In response to this, KakaClo is on a mission to empower entrepreneurs to build a clothing brand that impacts the world.”
The convention, operated by InformaMarkets, runs through Wednesday and features men’s and women’s brands across sectors such as apparel, footwear, accessories, home, gift, and beauty. Meanwhile, the adjacent show for manufacturers and suppliers, SOURCING at MAGIC, starts a day earlier, on Sunday.
The mixed, underlying theme of social responsibility, giving, and peace was present in virtually every aisle of MAGIC, with displays touting local sourcing in third-world countries, responsible trade, and global vision. Like KakaClo, many sellers thought to provide beleaguered show attendees with peaceful respites from what could be a long day of walking and exploring. A few couches and some soothing music were obvious oases of calm to many tired attendees.