Sustainability, tech on display at MAGIC Las Vegas

Apparel in neutral and neon shades as well as bright patterns caught the eye of thousands of attendees inside the Las Vegas Convention Center on Monday, during MAGIC Las Vegas.

Operated by Informa Markets Fashion, the biannual MAGIC Las Vegas convention bills itself as one of the largest wholesale fashion trade shows in the world.

The three-day event includes an opening night party with a performance by rapper T-Pain while singer Katy Perry, currently headliner at The Theatre at Resorts World, will deliver Tuesday’s keynote speech and unveil her fall 2022 footwear collection.

Lluvia Lew, merchandiser at subscription e-commerce site Few Moda, was visiting from New York.

“It’s a lot of energy here in Vegas. We love it,” said Lew. “I think everyone feeds off of that when they’re here, you know, they want to have a good time and build a good experience for their company.”

Veteran brands like Jeffrey Campbell were present as well as up-and-coming brands like Los Angeles-based women’s label Sweet Lemon.

The two-year-old company first attended MAGIC in February, according to Janet Kim.

“Even if the customers don’t buy from us in that moment — MAGIC allows my customers to know us,” said Kim.

But she hopes to get a better booth location when she attends next year, saying “location is everything.”

Technology-focused brands were also on hand to showcase their work.

Orchids by Embodee is a platform that helps brands and marketers design 3D apparel.

“We’ve been seeing a lot of people are being educated on 3D … or small owners, they’re doing more research,” said Isabel Morales, who works in marketing for Embodee. “We’re more educating about the platform and what they can do with 3D.”

Another topic being showcased at this year’s show is sustainability, with offerings such as speaker panels covering ways to reuse fabrics and rethink packaging.

Fragrance brand DefineMe Fragrance said it’s committed to this mission and hopes to lead the way in shifting people toward having a smaller carbon footprint. The brand uses natural, organic and cruelty-free ingredients.

“I just think it’s what we have to do as brands,” said founder Jennifer McKay Newton.

McKay Newton says that smaller brands are paving the way for bigger corporations to shift to more sustainable products.

“We as smaller brands have to be the role model for these bigger companies, because people really do care,” said McKay Newton. “If these big global brands aren’t paving the way, then we have to.”

Contact Emerson Drewes at edrewes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @EmersonDrewes on Twitter.