The mood of the show was surprisingly upbeat.  Word is that business in both footwear and apparel is better than the first two quarters, although certainly well below “robust” levels.  Footwear seems to be outperforming apparel.  “Improved” probably best describes the current state of the business.

Attendance at the show appeared to be up, after many years of declines.  The busiest area remained the Street Trends section, which housed most of the hip hop and surf brands as well as many of the footwear companies such as Fila and Reebok.  The Active Lifestyle area, which featured many licensed companies, was also well trafficked.  The men’s dress clothing and designer sportswear sections were sparsely populated.  Clearly the action is in brands that are aimed at the young active consumer.

Hip Hop fashion, which is apparently going through a consolidation, is still a vibrant category.  Academiks, partly owned by the Dr. Jays Betesh Family, remains one of the hottest labels.  Mecca, once a stalwart, seems to be on the decline.  Nelly’s Apple Bottoms was mobbed through out.

Licensed apparel is as hot as ever. Mitchell and Ness were turning customers away.  Reebok had crowds around and were only seeing accounts that had previously been opened.  There were many knock off looks, always a testament to the strength of a fashion trend.

310 Motoring (a new Skechers company – with the Greenburg’s involvement easily the worst kept secret of the show) is a company that customizes luxury carts for athletes and musicians.  The car company wanted to expand its brand, so it is now partnering with SKX to create 310 Motoring footwear.  Many elements of the custom cars are used in the shoes, such as burl wood, carbon fiber and lambskin.  The whole point is to make luxury shoes to mirror the elements of the luxury cars.

The concept supports a very interesting and potentially important trend in the emergence of luxury as a new fashion statement in athletic apparel. 

Other brands also have dabbled in the luxury concept further.  For instance, Converse had a limited edition alligator Chuck Taylor. Other brands were thinking about luxury elements as a way to differentiate the dying retro category.  The thought process is that the kid who is wearing at $300 Mitchell and Ness Jersey, along with a $200 designer jean is in disconnect with a $49 shoe as the hook up.

The trend is supported by a recent article we saw in an apparel trade magazine that cited the proliferation of better jean brands. We see a real opportunity for the better sneakers to wear with those jeans.

There has also been a lot of talk about luxury in the young contemporary market. Both Converse apparel (manufactured and sold by Academiks) and Fila apparel are aimed at the luxury customer. Again there is a need for better priced footwear to hook up with the high priced apparel.

We also saw the shift working at the recent MTV Video Music Award show. In many cases we saw the usual ensemble of gangsta apparel replaced with upscale interpretations of the look. Could be the urban set is looking for a point of difference from the look that has been heavily adopted by the white middle-class suburban teen. One strong look had female rapper Missy Elliott sporting three-stripe pants with the stripes made up of sequins. It was screaming for a hook-up. The posse wearing adidas warm-ups was decidedly up market as well. The first footwear brand who makes a footprint here will be a big winner.

The hot footwear brands at the show were Reebok (although the emphasis was on On-Field apparel), Royal Elastics, Fila and K-Swiss.  Etonic and Diadora, as well as Timberland were all present.  The footwear buzz was around the death of retro.  Many retailers were seeking a new look or idea to take the place of this withering category.  Retailers we spoke to feel that Classic footwear will never die, but the newcomers to retro are on their way out and quickly.

The final big news is the strength of the surf trend.  As skate has died off as a fashion look in Southern California, Surf has taken its place.  The trend has been helped by the bunch of new TV shows featuring the surf lifestyle. 

Quiksilver even launched a new surf footwear line at the show, although the effort and the response could only be described as tepid.  Once again, a major fashion trend is taking root in athletics and only a handful of sporting goods retailers will be even trying to sell the look.


>>> MAGIC is a terrific venue to catch the next trends.  Of course, if you have no intention of trying to be in the fashion business, there is little reason to attend.  Leave that fashion stuff to the competition…