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This Spring, Pool Fashion Trade Show, a smaller yet inspiring show which takes place during MAGIC in Las Vegas each season, maintained a theme of “Fashion Freedom Worldwide.” However this show has clearly gained a reputation for representing a variety of fashion “artists” or art-inspired brands, plus an array of eco-friendly brands that reflect a growing genre somewhere in-between the types of brands showcasing at Project and the street fashion scene of the South Hall of MAGIC. From February 12-14, Pool and their eco show S(eco)nd, reflected a new version of fashion with a variety of brands that maintained the theme of art inspiration -all within an artistic show landscape.

The big news for Pool this season was that Advanstar the owners of Pool, MAGIC, and Project, moved the show into the Central Hall of the Las Vegas Convention Center rather than their maintaining their previous location outside in massive white tents. The move ended up being a great idea in terms of traffic flow and convenience for most buyers, and yet Pool organizers were still able to maintain a unique landscape that’s come to be expected from this show.

Some of these unique features where the little shows within the show, such as collections from Thread -the consumer fashion trade show commonly known for showcasing up-and-coming collections in a variety of regional locations. Pool also hosted their eco show again called S(eco)nd which continues to grow, expanding from its debut last Fall with 40 brands up top 70 brands this Spring. Pool also featured its own pop-up shop called The SuperMarket, and an art area called Spin for guest artists and attendees to create custom-designed spinner art on T-shirts. In addition, Pool continued to feature its organic food court -which is a unique trait and highly regarded in any trade show situation -plus recycling details throughout the show floor.

In addition, Pool featured artists and the artists themes with bright rave colors in various areas who debuted at POOL’s loop showcase last month in Los Angeles, including GAMA-GO Purlieu, Quiet Hero, andde*nada (see The Label Lab for story details on loop at www.thelabellab.com).

Other key brands this year at Pool included Cardboard Robot (which also showcased at United Fashion Trade Show) and their political, humorous collection of hoodies, T-shirts, and tops and bottoms for both men and women; the American debut of the well-respected brandScoLar out of Japan featuring extremely artistic apparel; Turk, Taylor and their men’s collection including recycled wool in tailored suit jackets; Tokidoki and their artistic apparel and accessories, including a collaboration with Ride snowboards; Andrew Hanson -the self-acclaimed fashion artist which also attracts key bands on tour each summer; Thriving Ink brand which is a collaboration of artists featuring various designs each season in apparel; plexiglass accessory brand Pretti Vacant, punk apparel brand Lipstick Prophets and as noted, the individual collections from the honored loop brands.

Overall, while MAGIC tends to get the most hype during trade show season, and Project continues to attract international attention, it’s Pool that keeps a great deal of the inspiration within fashion thriving by showcasing brands within the industry from both an artistic and environmental perspective, which in essence, provides a necessary and often missing ethic to the business of fashion.

Stay tuned for more in-depth interviews with individual brands from Pool, including Label Networks TV clips with top designers from the show.