This week we chat with Vice President of WWDMAGIC, Chris Griffin to discuss fashion in the digital space, and what we can expect most from this year’s show.
As the largest, most premier trade event for women’s apparel, accessories and footwear, WWDMAGIC showcases more than 2,000 emerging to established labels across every pricepoint and trend. Presented in collaboration with Women’s Wear Daily, WWDMAGIC features expert fashion forecasts, exclusive networking events, cutting-edge seminars and all the styles of the season.
We are the engine that directly impacts what consumers will be buying next season. With 85% of the top 50 retailers in attendance, more business is done at MAGIC than any other fashion retail trade event in the world.
FASHIONOTES: Can you tell us a bit about what’s happening at this year’s MAGIC trade show, and what you are most excited about for the 2012 event?
Chris: August will be a great show. For starters, MAGIC attendance is at a record high; incredible buyers will be attending and hundreds of new brands will be on the floor this year. While Fashion Week may set the trends, MAGIC really drives the business of fashion. We are the engine that directly impacts what consumers will be buying next season. With 85% of the top 50 retailers in attendance, more business is done at MAGIC than any other fashion retail trade event in the world.
On the international side, we’re looking forward to the return of Heart of Prêt, which features the collections of the crème de la crème in French apparel brands – including folks like Lauren Vidal, Chacook and Paul Brial. Our Emerging Designer Showcase, which fosters up-and-coming design talent, was such a big hit last year [that] we’ve brought it back in two showcases: ready-to-wear and accessories.
Our official Fashion Bloggers Lounges will be scattered throughout the MAGIC show floor, and will host more than 25 bloggers syndicating live from the show. Many of those bloggers will have joined us on a bus trip we’re calling “Road to MAGIC,” from Los Angeles to Las Vegas on historic Route 66, where they’ll tweet along the way!
We’re also doing a cool thing with WHO’S NEXT – They’re sponsoring “TransAtlantic,” a 26 foot airstream mobile installation on the show floor, in white, with fashions from French shops from Galeries Lafayette and several other French brands on display. The airstream will make its way cross country, stopping in five cities including Las Vegas.
FN: What do you and your team do to stay on top of the latest technology to continue to enhance your brand?
C: It really is a full-time, multi-channel effort. We read tech-focused fashion sites every day, we look at what the brands inside our shows are doing, we regularly meet with and tap into industry experts from small start-ups to the biggest names in the business and, above all else, we use these social media platforms ourselves.
FN: Fashion has been making long strides to emerge itself into the digital realm. What steps has MAGIC taken to keep up with the industry’s new direction?
C: Fashion brands can now utilize digital tools to garner sales, acquire new customers and define their brand. Companies are more accessible to their fans than ever before, and vice-versa, which helps create an intimate relationship. Also, with fashion now centered in the digital space, the geographic gap no longer exists. In addition to using social media to lift the veil and share show happenings with everyone from industry insiders to the general public, MAGIC also focuses on educating our attendees – retailers and brands alike – through our huge seminar series and our Buzz Boutique.
Buzz Boutique is a space inside of WWDMAGIC for attendees to learn about the most vital tools for digital fashion marketing, from mobile applications to social media to digital advertising. We have folks like Square, TrueFit and Pickn’Tell participating.
FN: In addition to the marketplace, MAGIC is known for its great seminar series. With the industry’s emergence into the digital field, do you foresee these seminars being available to watch online in the future?
C: We aren’t sure if that will happen in the future, but there are always a large number of bloggers and social media gurus inside these seminars live tweeting the discussions and writing great recaps afterward. You can usually follow the moderators or panelists to find the hashtag so that you, too, can follow along. In the digital space, we have great seminars such as ‘Hot Technology: Taking the Fashion World Forward’, ‘Reaching the New Men’s Fashion Consumer via the Digital Space’, ‘Evolution of Digital Media in the Fashion Industry’, and more. For those who will be at the show, check out a full listing online.
FN: Anything else you’d like to add?
C: Folks attending should check out our mobile app. We launched it last year and we’re rolling out some great updates at this show, revamped news and social features. This is a must-have for anyone attending the show and can be downloaded by visiting our website.
