INFORMA SETS 2021 FASHION EVENT DATES

Informa Markets Fashion, organizer of fashion trade events MAGIC, Coterie, Project, footwear event MICAM Americas, and apparel sourcing event Sourcing at MAGIC announced today its preliminary event schedule for 2021.

Delivering on its promised introduction of a hybrid event model for the fashion trade industry, Informa Markets Fashion will return in January with the second edition of digital marketplace events, while also reintroducing live events starting with a new event format in February.

As for its men’s show, Project, the company will continue with its partnership with NuOrder to host Project Digital this January, with no large-scale physical men’s show slated for the beginning of the year. It will run online from January 19, 2021 through February 15, 2021.

MICAM Americas Digital will also launch on January 19, 2021 and will run through March 16, 2021. MAGIC Digital will launch on February 1, 2021 and will run through March 1, 2021, and Coterie Digital will launch on February 16, 2021 and run through March 16, 2021.

The company’s first live event will be a new, more intimate experience, ‘MAGIC Pop Up Orlando’, which will be hosted on February 9-11 at the Orange County Convention Center. Bringing together brands from the WWDMAGIC, Stitch, Project Womens, and MICAM Americas, this limited capacity, appointment-driven event will showcase women’s trend and contemporary apparel, accessories, and footwear, as well as select menswear brands, and will draw a U.S.-based audience of big-box, online, specialty, and boutique retail buyers. 

With safety at the forefront of merchandising and event execution, MAGIC Pop Up Orlando will feature a limited footprint of buyers and brands guided by Informa AllSecure, a detailed protocol of measures developed collaboratively with industry associations, event organizers, and venues, along with input from health, government, and local authorities in order to provide the highest levels of hygiene and safety.

“The safety and wellbeing of our guests is at the forefront of our in-person event planning,” said Kelly Helfman, commercial president of Informa Markets Fashion. “All Informa Markets events around the world, regardless of format or location, follow Informa AllSecure protocol. Therefore, attendees can expect temperature screenings at entry, mask, and physical distancing requirements as directed by local and government guidance both on the show floor and in public spaces, as well as continuous sanitization and deep cleaning measures. These are just a few of the rigorous protocols that will be followed to keep our guests safe and give them the peace-of-mind that we are carefully and considerately presenting our events this season, including MAGIC Pop Up Orlando, as well all future physical events in 2021.”

Phasing into the second half of the year, Informa Markets Fashion plans to return with its pillar larger-scale events in Las Vegas and New York. MAGIC Las Vegas – which will include WWDMAGIC, Project, Project Womens, MAGIC Men’s, MICAM Americas, and Sourcing at MAGIC – will run from August 9-11, 2021 at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Shortly following, Coterie will take place September 19-21, 2021 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

Informa Markets Fashion is still exploring the potential for additional, larger-scale marketplaces to be included in its 2021 lineup, while announcements on additional curated, intimate event opportunities will be shared in the coming months.

Further details on MAGIC’s August event and Coterie’s September events will be released closer to the marketplace dates, along with an announcement of the second half of 2021 digital marketplace opportunities.

“For the fashion industry, it’s about interacting with materials and the tactile experience that is greatly missed – a sentiment that has been shared directly with us by our customers and what drives the want and need for a return to live events in 2021,” added Helfman.  “Our aim is to offer a scaled and symbiotic approach in order to convene and help rebuild the fashion wholesale community in 2021. In addition to evolving our digital product offering, our approach will be a phased reintroduction of physical events in a slow and thoughtful manner, as this will allow us to ensure maximum safety while delivering the much-needed opportunities for the industry to come together in key markets in 2021.”