Advanstar Fashion Is Now Las Vegas-only

Staff -- Tradeshow Week, 7/11/2005

Advanstar Communications subsidiary MAGIC Intl. has postponed its Intl. Fashion Fabric Exhibition, formerly held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York. The fabric show was the last of Advanstar's fashion-industry events in the city — at least for the time being.

Laura McConnell, vice president and general manager of MAGIC Intl., said the company is "always looking for expansion opportunities, and as such I would not classify the show as our final in the market."

For now, the company will put all its efforts in the fabric and trim business into Fabric at MAGIC, a division of MAGIC Marketplace. The semiannual Las Vegas exhibition for years has ranked in the top 10 of the Tradeshow Week 200.

McConnell said market changes drove the postponement. "The Las Vegas markets are clear growth areas that consistently demonstrate increasing interest and opportunities for expansion in a proven market," she noted.

Intl. Fashion Fabric Exhibition was part of the package of 16 fashion and fabric shows that Advanstar bought from the Larkin Group for $135 million in 1999. The shows fell under four brands — Intl. Fashion, Style Industrie, Intl. Kids Fashion Shows and Intl. Fashion Fabric — each held multiple times per year. All have been canceled and/or folded into MAGIC in the intervening years.

April 18–20, Intl. Fashion Fabric featured 208 exhibitors spanning 22,750 net square feet and attracting 4,471 professional buyers, MAGIC reported.

Fabric at MAGIC was launched in August 2003, and has increased 32 percent in size since then —from 7,600 to 10,100 net sq. ft. in February of this year, according to organizers.

MAGIC Marketplace is next scheduled Aug. 29–Sept. 1 at the Las Vegas Convention Center.