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Document 26 of 67.

Copyright 1998 Information Access Company,
a Thomson Corporation Company;
ASAP
Copyright 1998 Capital Cities Media Inc.
Daily News Record

July 31, 1998

SECTION: No. 90, Vol. 28; Pg. 2; ISSN: 1041-1119

IAC-ACC-NO: 20981947

LENGTH: 1499 words

HEADLINE: WILL VIBE STYLE PUT RIGHT SPIN ON YOUNG MEN'S SHOW?

BYLINE: Romero, Elena

BODY:
FASHION/MUSIC EXECS VOICE THEIR OPINIONS ON NEW YORK EVENT

NEW YORK -- Vibe Style is the talk of the town. The debut fashion trade show from the company that publishes Vibe and Spin is scheduled for Oct. 18-20 at the city's Jacob Javits Convention Center, but already manufacturers and retailers are buzzing about whether it will be a smashing success its first time around the block.

"I hope VIBE/SPIN Ventures is successful in every venture it takes on," said music mogul Russell Simmons, founder of the Phat Farm line. "Its publications are the most important publications for the selling of my clothes."

Indeed, if VIBE/SPIN Ventures can attract the type of companies that routinely advertise in its publications (Tommy Hilfiger Jeans, Nike, Coach, Levi's, Fubu, Phat Farm, Mecca, Enyce, Unionbay, Skechers), a Vibe Style Show would revive what has been a moribund segment -- namely, the young men's area -- in the New York trade show business.

But simply adding a magazine title to a show that will be produced by NSI, the same company that produced the NAMSB shows, could mean the product is more similar than different. And executives with ties to both fashion and music have voiced mixed reactions to the news.

"We're talking about Honda and Acura," said Willie Montanez, designer of New York-based Willie Esco. "It's using another name and the same body to attract a higher customer. The majority of times it works. I think Vibe can do it and will probably give a new fresh look on things."

Ralph McDaniels, radio personality for New York's Hot 97 (WQHT-FM), veejay for Video Music Box and co-owner of Uncle Ralph's Urban Gear in Brooklyn, said it will be good for New York to have a show here that can be as important as MAGIC. However, he questions Vibe Style's timing.

"Coming out of the August MAGIC, clothes haven't changed much from the companies I'm used to buying in October," he said. "It may work for some buyers who are not in New York, but many fashion companies are here."

"Vibe has a very strong influence on fashion, but as far as trade shows, it will be interesting to watch how it pans out," said Michael A. Clark, COO of the rap group Wu-Tang Clan's apparel line, Wu Wear Inc. "MAGIC has the trade show business down pat. It will be up to Vibe to give us [potential exhibitors] a new angle on it."

According to Clark, Wu Wear, which has a New York showroom, would consider participating in Vibe Style. But it will depend on "what Vibe brings to the table. For non-New York-based lines the show might be more feasible, but for us it might not. It will depend if Vibe will be bringing us existing clients or new major accounts."

Simmons of Phat Farm said he plans to support the show.

However, he said, "I hope it doesn't contribute to the separation of the brands. People tell me I sell ethnic clothing, but I'm not making dashikis or grass skirts."

Buyers such as Stephen Carter, DMM for athletic apparel, footwear and young men's sportswear at the Plano, Texas-based J.C. Penney, sees Vibe Style as a step in the right direction.

"Vibe has a good chance of pulling it off," Carter said. "The show will be done better than in the past, because Vibe is more in tune with what's happening and who's hot."

"We need more excitement in the trade shows here in New York," said Tim Bess, young men's buyer for the New York-based buying office of The Doneger Group. "So if Vibe Style can pull in, and the key words are 'pull in,' the key brands, rather than second- and third-tier brands, we could have a winner."

According to Bess, the important thing for Vibe Style to do is to have the "correct" brands to exhibit. "Having Vibe included in a trade fair will add a sense of direction that was not previously included in past New York trade fairs," he said.

Carrie Harris, market representative for Directives West, a Los Angeles-based consultant for retailers, said, "Young men's is much more fashion-oriented. Young men's buyers need to grasp a whole culture of the emerging new trends and [they need to grasp] any kind of fashion information they can get. I think MAGIC is good but it can't be the end-all."

Billy Rudnick, GMM of Dr. Jay's, a 16-unit operation with stores around New York's five boroughs and in Newark, N.J., said, "New York is starving for a more universal, less regional but national-level show. We are the kingdom of the world when it comes to sportswear, so why not have one of the best shows."

Rudnick believes the Vibe touch could make it special. "Hopefully, Vibe Style can get the Meccas and the Fubus to participate and not be the knockoff show that's knocking off everybody."

Ben Bublick, owner and buyer for Indianapolis-based Man Alive, a division of Hang Up Shoppes, which has 30 stores, said October is a good time to follow up with manufacturers. "The timing should be perfect," he said. "It requires a whole package of extra things, such as hotel accommodations, vendors, entertainment and additional knowledge or incentives from the vendors. Free subscriptions to the magazines wouldn't hurt."

For Bublick, Vibe Style sounds interesting enough to visit the first time around, especially with the big entertainment hook.

For Glenn Singer, owner of two Houston stores called Cotton Club, it's a different matter. "Now until mid-September I'm all showed out," he said. "If these shows were more spread out, I'd go back to New York in October."

Izzy Ezrailson, co-owner of the Washington, D.C.-based Up Against The Wall, said VIBE/SPIN Ventures will have its challenges.

"Vibe has to make it into a trade fair," he said. "Instead of trying to compete against MAGIC, it will have to supplement it. For Vibe, it's more than David meets Goliath. This is a much tougher battle. To beat David and Goliath, Vibe will have to be the New Testament."

Sharon Segel, owner of Santa Monica-based Segel Trends, said that because she lives on the West Coast, there's no reason to come to New York in October when she just completed shopping at MAGIC.

"MAGIC is one-stop shopping," she said. "I wouldn't come back after MAGIC. When I come to New York, I shop at people's showrooms. If Vibe did the show around the time or before MAGIC, I then wouldn't need to go to Vegas, but it also depends on the vendors."

Stephen Schachtel, vice-president of Yak Pak, a New York-based, urban-inspired backpack company, has been showing at the International Fashion Boutique Show for the past 10 years. Vibe's first show will run concurrently with the Boutique Show at Javits. Schachtel said showing at Vibe Style might be a hard decision.

"Our accounts are used to finding us in the streetwear area at the Boutique Show," he said. "Traditionally, we did not show at NAMSB. I applaud Vibe for taking it [trade show responsibility] on. The industry needs an organization with a fashion and trend edge to understand the needs of the retailers."

Others, like Alex Berenson, president of the Los Angeles-based Kik Wear, said he will continue to support the Boutique Show.

"There are already too many trade shows available," he said. "The best trade shows consume my entire budget -- MAGIC, Boutique and ASR. I don't think there's room for another New York trade show at Javits, especially in the month of October."

Apparel manufacturers do agree that VIBE/SPIN Ventures will be able to pull it off.

"The NAMSB Show wasn't pulling enough people," said Daymond John, president of Fubu. "If anybody can pull it off to make buyers come into New York, Vibe has the power to do so because it is so in tune with the marketplace."

"It seems like a natural progression," said Shara McHayle-Grinage, vice-president of sales and marketing at New York-based PNB Nation Clothing Co. "NAMSB needed something to legitimize its segment of the urban business. Prior to this, it was unsuccessful in getting the brands that were driving the business. This will be important enough to experience."

John Bagdasian, vice-president and general manager of Boca Raton, Fla.-based Big Smith Brands, said this is exactly what New York needs.

"The New York trade show lost its hype," he said. "Vibe Style will generate new interest in the retailers' eyes. MAGIC has gotten too big to shop. This would be a great alternative to MAGIC."

Erich Walker, director of sales at New York-based Enyce, said Vibe Style can be "a very influential show for what Vibe brings to our market -- meshing music and fashion and the people from both industries." However, in terms of commerce and business, "we do most of our business at MAGIC. When in New York, people come to our showroom to get an overall feel of who Enyce is, rather than just getting a small capsule of us at a trade show."

According to Richard Langford, vice-president at New York-based Pure Playaz, "If Vibe studies the market and does it right, it could be good for the industry. The show has to ultimately serve a purpose -- to connect a seller and buyer."

LANGUAGE: ENGLISH

IAC-CREATE-DATE: August 7, 1998

LOAD-DATE: August 10, 1998