Last week I attended the Coterie for the first time. Coterie is a fashion trade show that took place in the Javits Center in Manhattan. As nervous as I thought I would be, the event was underwhelming for me. As this is normally a bigger event, I was expecting more than what I experienced in terms of intensity. Yet, it was calm. It could have been calmer and quieter because it was the last day of the event too. Â
The Booths
In the trade show, there were two floors for certain demographics. When I observed the second floor, not much stood out to me in terms of merchandise. The vendors seemed to cater to older demographics, which resulted in most merchandise containing neutral colors. While walking around the clothing section, I noticed that most booths appeared similar to each other. It felt like I was looking at Forever 21 and H&M clothes.Â
On the first floor, booths started to differentiate. As most vendors on this floor catered to the younger generation, it impacted the way they visually merchandised their products. One booth called “Lena” caught my eye. The booth was beautifully decorated in pink and soft flowers that hung around their square booth. As it caught my picky attention, it also branded itself and its consumers well.
The Sales Reps
Our professors warned us that there may be a chance we would be ignored by vendors, but most booths were polite. Since it was the last day, and the attendance of buyers was low, most vendors had time to talk about their brands with us. I liked that they were excited when we told them we were students. They were happy to share information and give us their brand’s insights. With the other vendors, the minute I had mentioned I was a student, they had made an “ah” expression and proceeded to ignore my presence. Only a few expressed that behavior, and when they did, I would proceed to another booth.Â
The Energy
As it was the last day, I noticed that the calmness was a result of everyone’s tiredness. The music kept the space going calmly. My expectation of the show was on the busier and livelier side of conventions. Similar to the excitement from Comic-Con or car shows. Although it wasn’t what I expected, I appreciated the calmness of the show and my experience overall. Â