The evolution of progressive street fashion has reached a new level as more brands continue to upgrade and expand their collections right along with the growing demand from consumers for more interesting crossovers in their fashion styles. MAGIC Fashion Trade Show’s South Hall has been among the leader in offering up new spaces for such progressive street fashion brands, but has now separated the area more distinctly by creating S.L.A.T.E. (Select, Lifestyle, Apparel, Trends, Emergence) to debut downstairs of the South Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center during the upcoming show August 25-27.

“The future of progressive streetwear is being dictated by consumers with the confidence to mix and match their styles,” announced Chris DeMoulin, MAGIC’s International President and Executive Vice President of Advanstar’s Fashion Group. “S.L.A.T.E. brands reflect that cutting-edge taste and give discerning retailers a new way to buy.”

Since the announcement of S.L.A.T.E on June 24, many buyers and brands are curious how this may affect the traditional, South Hall upstairs area that was Street Culture, and the High-Five Campground which was intended for smaller, up-and-coming brands within streetwear. Always tucked back behind the behemoth booths from urbanwear apparel brands such as Fubu, New Era, Rocawear, Baby Phat, Lot 59, and others, the Street Culture area has always been one of the most vibrant areas of the South Hall, including live performances last year with various hot DJ sets in the Mountain Dew lounge, including a special appearance by Mos Def.

Now, many of these brands will vie for being selected to showcase in S.L.A.T.E. Brands already on board include Addict, Undftd, Stussy, The Hundreds, Fresh, Jive, Obey, Crooks and Castles, 10 Deep, Alpinestars, GRN Apple Tree, Hot Air, Rockwell, Twelve Bar, King Stampede, Sneakertip, Amongst Friends, Elm Company, and Ctrl.

What’s also interesting to note about the evolution of street fashion is that in the past few years, many South Hall street culture brands moving to more progressive or upper street fashion styles such as Hellz Bellz, Creative Recreation, WESC, Elmer Ave., and Alife, moved over into Project, creating a buzz for that show with brands hoping to align with the high-end denim brands already there. With S.L.A.T.E., perhaps now some of the brands moving in that direction can simply move into S.L.A.T.E. rather than transitioning to an entirely new show (even though they are all, actually, owned by Advanstar).

According to MAGIC, the S.L.A.T.E. area will have a relaxed, chill feeling with clean lines, raw materials, woods, and earth tones, yet highly tailored to match the new direction of progressive street. It will also include a VIP lounge and bar, curbside bbq, DJ’s, fashion shows, and a private concierge. The area will also host the “Euro Colony” featuring top international designers from the street scene and “Untitled -Special Edition” created by the Streetwear Today publishers from Europe featuring contemporary artists influencing the scene (similar to their showcase at Bread & Butter Barcelona).

Stay tuned for more news on S.L.A.T.E. in the next few weeks.