Coterie Trade Show

      At first I was unaware of Coterie. I felt like it was a really important trip to make for study tour and taught me a lot. Being a Merchandiser I am specifically interested in Buying, so being able to attend a trade show and actually watch buyers make purchases for their stores was very educational and a learning experience. The first area we walked through was 'Tomorrow." Being able to witness what up and coming designers had and were selling to buyers was such an awesome opportunity. Last semester the class Presentations I took, the final project was to create a model of a trade show booth and then have an actual mock trade show where I made business cards, order sheets, and had to sell our product to other classmates. Now actually witnessing real buyers and designers and the process of selling really tied everything from my class together. Some of the designers were nicer than others, it was kind of intimidating and I really didn't want to bother any of them, but there were a few that were really interested in talking to the students and talking about their line which was very interesting to hear. One company in particular  'Muclair,' the seller who was one of the partners in the company was really friendly and informative. The company is based out of Canada and they produce all their product there as well.  I really like the idea of making your clothes where you sell them, because here in the US it is almost impossible to find clothing that is made in the US. The line of clothing he had was very intricate. Although I did not take pictures he gave us a copy of the look book. There was one piece in particular that was really my style and something I had never seen before but I would abosolutely buy it was a floor length skirt, a little high waisted and it was navy with two strips of cheetah, it might sound sort of tacky but it was really beautiful and so different, he did a lot of patchwork, as well as sheer shirts that I saw at many other booths.
  There were two other pieces at other booths that I saw and became really inspired with because I had never seen something like it before. I cannot remember what companies they were but the one had really beautiful long dresses with extravagant jewelry that was almost like a shirt. The necklace had a neckpiece and it also went around your arms, it became almost an outfit itself, but was so refreshing to see such new designs.

 The last design that intrigued me was these colored jeans but they were rolled up and the part that was rolled up was either a shade darker than the shade of the pants or was dyed a completely different color. Im a big jean wearer and this made me think about the different ways dyeing the jeans could make them look, they were still classic and I pictured wearing the yellow ones with a white linen blazer on the beach.

  

 My overall experience at the trade show was so informative and really brought what I learned in school to real life and gave me a better sense of how the trade shows work. Not only that but each booth has to make itself different from the other and that was entertaining to me to see what each booth wanted to do that the next didn't. In particular the company Desigual really seemed to have the most attraction and attention towards them. They are obviously a successful company, being that they had a lot larger booth than any other, they also had a little kitchen area where people were preparing exotic fruits, drinks, and they handed out bags to everyone. A lot of work, time, and energy goes into a trade show and it was really evident. I know I am still interested in being a buyer, but I do know that it would take me days maybe even a week to get around the whole trade show because I know I wouldn't want to miss anything and there really isn't enough time in a day to see everything.