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Published October 2024

Best in Class: Learning from SOURCING at MAGIC Las Vegas

Onsite seminars provided insight into color trends, nearshoring, and fashion technology

August 2024’s edition of SOURCING at MAGIC Las Vegas offered many opportunities to do business, find new resources, and network, but there were also valuable options for sourcing pros to gather market intelligence, brush up on practices, and find out what’s next for the industry. From Pantone’s deep dive that went way beyond color, to an expert-driven talk about nearshoring in Canada, Mexico, and Colombia, to a preview of MMGNET’s soon-to-be-released report on fashion technology, SOURCING at MAGIC Las Vegas once again proved to be the place to be to stay well-informed and ahead of the competition.   

Color is All in the Family For FW 25/26 

Tannese Williams, Pantone’s product manager for fashion, home, and interiors, showed that Fall/Winter 2025/26 color trends, as always, connect to larger societal and economic trends. Pantone roots its overarching theme for the season in family and the universal need to be part of a shared community with social connection, which influences our well-being.

 Technology also plays a larger role in influencing color trends. This season sees a particular interest in dualities: the contrast and integration of opposites, like hyper-real, dream-like aesthetics or a longing for the past that helps us build towards the future. Another societal influence is the Gen Z phenomenon called “Delulu” (or “Delusion is the Solution”), where self-deception becomes a way to achieve success and happiness: Make yourself happy by imagining it. 

the sourcing

FW 25/26 Color Trends session with Tannese Williams, Pantone’s Product Manager for Fashion, Home, and Interiors

Sourcing Close to Home: Nearshoring in the Western Hemisphere
 

Nearshoring—relying on resources that are closer to home—has become a key strategy for the sourcing industry (read our recent editorial on the practice here). While the trend is global, a panel discussion hosted by SOURCING at MAGIC Buyer Relations Specialist Ashley McPherson, focused on the potential for nearshoring in the Western Hemisphere, with representatives from Canada, Mexico, and Colombia. Guests included Mathieu St-Arnaud, Senior Director of the Montreal Fashion Cluster; Sebastian Echavarria, Senior Textiles & Apparel Representative with PROCOLOMBIA, and Patricia Medina, Director of Aztex Network.

These industry representatives pointed out the unique advantages that each country offers, including the ability to (usually) work in English, understanding U.S. currency, easy travel from the United States, and excellent Minimum Order Quantities. Favorable trade agreements, including the USMCA (US Mexico Canada Agreement), also contribute to better pricing.   

the sourcing

Nearshoring Now session with Ashley McPherson, SOURCING at MAGIC Buyer Relations Specialist; Mathieu St-Arnaud, Senior Director of the Montreal Fashion Cluster; Sebastian Echavarria, Senior Textiles & Apparel Representative with PROCOLOMBIA, and Patricia Medina, Director of Aztex Network

Things to watch out for? Echavarria pointed out that it’s important to understand the laws for rule of origin in each country since they change from nation to nation. 

“We can’t beat Asia for price if that is a brand’s priority,” he added. “But we can offer flexibility, fast replenishment, and compliance with social responsibility and sustainability requirements.”  

"We can offer flexibility, fast replenishment, and compliance with social responsibility and sustainability requirements."

- Sebastian Echavarria, Senior Textiles & Apparel Representative with PROCOLOMBIA

As Medina pointed out, “buying large quantities may be cheap, but it can be expensive if you end up with a lot of inventory on hand, or with many returns due to poor quality.” 

St-Arnaud pointed out that one of the biggest issues in the Western Hemisphere is its labor force: “In Montreal, for instance, there is a labor shortage. That drives costs up. Yet, during COVID, when we switched so much of production over to making products for the medical sector, we gained 5,000 workers who are now skilled in garment production.”

 Fashion Technology:

 A Preview SOURCING at MAGIC’S parent brand MMGNET’s 2024 Consumer Outlook Report was a boon to retailers and brands across the fashion spectrum when it was released last April. A new report, focused on fashion technology, is slated to be released later this year, and The Interline’s (an online fashion technology magazine) Editor-in-Chief Ben Hanson, along with  MMGNET’s Director of Content, Courtney Hazirjian, provided a preview detailing the methodology behind the report. 

“Tech permeates every part of our industry,” Hanson pointed out, “but we can’t think that it only applies to big brands. We should ask ourselves how any of us can implement technology to make better decisions and improve efficiency.”

"Tech permeates every part of our industry..."

- Ben Hanson, Editor-in-Chief, The Interline

Tech permeates every part of our industry...

Fashion Technology session with Ben Hanson, Editor-in-Chief, The Interline; and Courtney Hazirjian, Director of Content, MMGNET

The report is designed to address what’s changing in the industry, the roles we all can play, and how technology can help us. To do that, MMGNET surveyed a group of brands, designers, labels, service providers, manufacturers, and education suppliers from a cross-section of the industry, and at all levels from the C-Suite to those who use technology in their everyday jobs.   

Some of the concerns identified by the study include: 

• The industry’s biggest priority is remaining profitable, which has become a struggle in recent years. 

• Sustainability regulations

• Instability and risk with supply chain

• Forecasting to meet demand

• Efficiency

• Maintaining brand relevance 

One concern that was raised, based on the earlier report, is that 62% of consumers had value as their number one purchase consideration. But in the technology survey data, there was a disconnect: that wasn’t necessarily a priority on the supply side.

Hazirjian pointed out that, “although AR, VR, and AI tools have all been considered more for entertainment or as tools to create social media content, there are opportunities moving forward to use these technologies to create more efficiency within our teams, and to use them to create better products, better fit, and much more.”   

Whether a sourcing veteran, new to the industry, or an entrepreneur with fashion’s next big idea, SOURCING at MAGIC has something for everyone. Check out SOURCING at MAGIC to learn even more and prepare for our next big event in Las Vegas this February 10-12, 2025. 

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