LAS VEGAS — Google “Las Vegas” and “magic” together, and you’ll turn up results for shows by the likes of Lance Burton or Penn & Teller. But people who follow fashion know that the twice-a-year MAGIC event in this desert city is a group of apparel trade shows that take over convention centers and hotel ballrooms all over town.
MAGIC used to focus on menswear (the acronym stands for Men’s Apparel Guild in California) but years ago added women’s clothing, shoes and accessories to the offerings that retailers peruse. More than 1,300 brands were represented at the recent show.
So what’s the overriding message for spring 2011?
Glitz is gone, judging from what was presented by the fashion-forward labels. (But you wouldn’t know it from all the flash and sequins on display in the casinos.) Crystal-studded, blinged- out jeans and busy T-shirts look tired. Updated classic styling (dare we call it preppy?), artful draping and muted colors are emerging as key trends.
“Embellished, embroidered, foiled and art-designed concepts are over and done,” declared Tom Julian, a New York-based trend expert who has a retail-consulting business. “It has reached the mass market and become a bad fashion story. Modern, cleaned- up Americana is where the market is heading.”
Translated from fashion-speak, he means the clothes look familiar but freshened up. Brands are building on their heritage but adding something new. For example, if you haven’t checked out Dockers in a while, you might be surprised to find slim-leg and premium versions that look nothing like your dad’s baggy-legged, pleated khakis.
Trim fits and abraded surfaces are the looks for next spring that set the styles apart from past versions, according to Shaun Lewis, who’s in charge of global public relations for Dockers, a division of Levi Strauss & Co.
“We wanted to make sure we evolved the product to reach a slightly younger customer,” said Lewis, who hopes the slim fits and pants — in colors such as “jalapeño” and “officer blue,” as well as khaki shades — will appeal to men. The Dockers with new fits and finishes are being sold at such stores as Urban Outfitters and Macy’s, while super-premium styles will be targeted to high-end stores.
Dickies, the worker brand that started in 1922, also has a heritage division creating replica workwear and touting “historically accurate fit and details.”
Other menswear trends Julian says were confirmed at the Las Vegas show:
• Knits, in light layers and new U-shaped and sometimes draped necklines.
• Shorts for all occasions, from active to tailored.
• Boots for spring. This year the boat shoe and the driving moccasin were strong; next spring it will be short- boot styles such as updated desert boots.
Real clothes, no gimmicks
In women’s wear, there’s also a cleaned-up attitude. “It’s like the perfect storm” — the fashion pendulum swinging at the same time the recession continues — and people want real clothes and not gimmicks, said David Wolfe, creative director of The Doneger Group, a trend-forecasting and retail-consulting company in New York. “Crazy consumption is ending; it’s out of fashion.”
Men and women want fewer, but better, items that they can wear for multiple seasons, but they will continue to splurge on accessories to change their look, Wolfe told a group of several hundred retailers attending his trend seminar. “We are addicted to the eye candy,” he said.
Among the trends he’s predicting in women’s wear for next spring:
• Shorts will continue to be a big item because they sold very well this year. Legs are the hot erogenous zone, he said.
• Prints remain strong, particularly abstract designs and florals that are either small and romantic or bold.
• Draped and off-shoulder designs are important, replacing all the hard-edged tailoring, zippers and detail that have been at fashion’s forefront.
• Low-crotch pants and jumpsuits are the item for the most fashion-forward women around.
• All-white looks chic, especially with a tan.
• Desert neutrals and pale colors dominate, with bright pops of color for those who want to make a statement.
So where does Wolfe do his trend-spotting? Lots of places, but in the summer, he always spends some time in Saint-Tropez, in the south of France. It’s a bellwether, Wolfe said, of what the rest of us will wear, eventually. “It somehow manages to be unspoiled, a beauty spot of a village,” he said, “and so continues to be a haven for fashion-conscious tourists.”
Suzanne S. Brown: 303-954-1697 or sbrown@denverpost.com
