Guest Post By Nicole M. Giordano

My journey to MAGIC and WWDMAGIC began as I left snow-covered Manhattan on the afternoon of Saturday, February 12th, utterly excited and completely clueless as to what to expect. It had been several years since my last visit to Sin City and I sure as heck hadn’t ever been part of a fashion blogging extravaganza for major industry players like WWDMAGIC and Teen Vogue. I arrived in Las Vegas late Saturday night and, after a little missing bag scare (which was later thankfully resolved), I happily checked into my cozy hotel room.

The work I had planned for Sunday wasn’t due to begin until around 11am and since I was anxious to get started, sleep was out of the question by 6am.  I decided to take a long walk along The Strip to check out a place I hadn’t seen in almost a decade. And what a place it was. It was great to explore and see the palm trees, the bright flashing lights, the loud music and the left over stragglers from the prior night’s club scene.  The atmosphere and the people-watching were almost (if not just as) good as those in New York.

Day One was all about Sourcing at Magic, which was a pretty exciting aspect of the show for me. With a background in textile design and sourcing and the writer of a comprehensive resource blog for emerging fashion professionals, I was looking forward to checking out what the vendors had to offer, hoping to find some new and fantastic resources for my readers. And that I did. I found beautiful textile mills and luxurious trim suppliers. Two that really stood out, Pacific Coast Knitting and Trims Avenue have already been blogged about, with more to come. I loved the row after row of colorful, textured fabrics and embellished notions. From lace and jacquards to buttons and necklines, the eye candy was overwhelming; in that good way that makes you a little dizzy with excitement.

Seminars are what consumed my second day at Magic. Asked by Macala Wright to cover various keynotes that were taking place at the show, I was happy to take on the responsibility. I could think of no better way to soak up everything that the trade show had to offer than to sit in on speeches by some of the industry’s leading experts in fashion. I attended seminars on sustainability in fashion, e-commerce for the fashion industry, sourcing textiles in a changing industry, and social media as it applies to fashion. The information was priceless and I could not write fast enough. So much so that I took out my newly gifted Sony Bloggie video camera and recorded as much as possible as to avoid any major onset of carpal tunnel.  The expert speakers were sharing so much useful information that I couldn’t help but tweet my way through several of the speeches. I simply could not wait the amount of time it would take to get back to the lounge to create and edit the post and accompanying photos. While I loved them all, I think the one that spoke to me the most was the one on sustainability in fashion. I have a true love for slow fashion, the craft behind fashion, and the effect of fashion on the environment and the people who live in it. Because of this, I have a particular affinity for independent and emerging brands who really adopt these philosophies in their work. This leads me nicely into my third day at Magic:  POOL Trade Show.

POOL is made up of the new faces of fashion. It consists of labels that create their work by hand or tend to manufacture on a small run basis. It was hard for me to wait until my third day, but that’s OK, the anticipation was half the fun. I walked into POOL with an amount of excitement that is a bit difficult to describe. As a fabric weaver and handbag designer myself, as well as a writer of a second blog whose focus is on sharing ethical and slow fashion with eco-conscious consumers, I could not wait to explore and share. I re-united with brands I have known for years as well as discovered several new brands that got my craft-loving heart pitter-pattering. From sunglasses handmade out of wood by a brand that donates proceeds to eye sight surgeries in India to bags designed and made of natural canvas by a sister team out of New York, my need for exposure to slow fashion and philanthropic initiatives was greatly satisfied.

While it is generally the emerging faces of fashion that really get me going, I did spend some time checking out the bigger brands. I think some of them are doing really great work, both design based and business based, and deserve some recognition. One brand that stood out to me in both design and business model was Kensie. I found myself getting lost in the label’s laid back and feminine style and getting caught up in the whimsical stories behind all of its collections.

It would be impossible for me to talk about my time at WWD MAGIC without mentioning all of my amazingly talented and utterly lovely fellow bloggers. The time spent at the lounge chatting, learning, and connecting with these ladies was something I will never forget. Their talent and passion was infectious and I am so looking forward to fostering these new found friendships.

The last week at WWDMAGIC was a whirlwind of excitement and new experiences. The whole thing has left me more determined than ever to continue the work I do as a designer, textile junkie, fashion guru and writer. I look forward to all the opportunities and possibilities that have and will present themselves to myself and the other bloggers due to our participation in such an amazing event. I can’t thank those involved enough for inviting me to be a part of something so new, so forward thinking and so fashionable.

About The Author:  Nicole M. Giordano is a graduate of Philadelphia University’s Textile Design Program. She has established a career in the textile and accessory business. You can visit her online at StartUp FASHION.