In Pictures: Streetwear brands take over Long Beach at Agenda
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Fairs
This past weekend from July 15, iconic trade fair Agenda opened up its first ever consumer day for locals. Hosted at the Long Beach Convention Center, the show had over 500 pop-up shops with lifestyle, skate, street, and surf brands available. With both prestigious, established brands as well as new up-and-comers, the trade fair allowed attendees to mix industry insiders with consumers for once.
The show was estimated to have approximately 10,000 people in attendance, according to Apparel News. These guests were allowed to buy apparel at the show on this Consumer Day, unlike normal trade fairs where typically only buyers are allowed to purchase merchandise. “I believe as an industry we spend too much time talking to ourselves when the line is now blurred between brands, consumers, retailers, and media companies,” founder of Agenda Aaron Levant told Apparel News. The day was meant to fuse together a more direct link to customers complete with apparel shops, art installations, and musical performances.
Since its establishment 14 years ago, the trade event was strict on staying closed off to the public. With this new phase of introducing a consumer phase, and more see-now-buy-now fashion shows; it seems the fashion industry is moving towards a more user-friendly, instantaneous approach to shopping. While trade fairs typically allow for buyers and retailers to scope out the hottest trends and new styles before the public, Agenda's Consumer Day could cause the tradition of trade shows to change as well.
According to the Long Beach post, over 15,000 people attended Agenda this year. Brands that participated this year include Levi's, Herschel Supply Co., Mitchell & Ness, Adidas, Converse, Champion, RVCA, and more. While this year's event was a hit, in the future, whether or not Agenda will continue these consumer-friendly days is not yet disclosed.
Photos: Agenda / Instagram