Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2004 | 8:20 a.m.
It's not even fall and already the fashion industry is looking to spring.
Which means it's time for the biannual MAGIC (Men's Apparel Guild in California) fashion expo in Las Vegas.
Running through Thursday at the Las Vegas Convention Center, about 90,000 representatives of large and small retail outlets are in attendance to purchase their spring-summer lines for 2005.
MAGIC, however, is more than men's fashions. The expo includes designer duds for women, children and teenagers -- everything from basic T-shirts and jeans to cocktail dresses and high-end suits.
There's also enough accessories at MAGIC to satisfy even Paris Hilton's shopping habits.
With more than 3,000 expo booths showcasing the upcoming trends, the following is a sneak peak at what's going to be hot come spring:
More Moore
As if actress/pop star Mandy Moore doesn't have enough jobs to juggle at the moment, the 20-year-old recently added "fashion designer" to her resume.
When Moore was approached by designer group 2 Love this year to create a T-shirt for its celebrity line of shirts, she instead created her own line, Mblem.
"When I first started talking to Mandy about the line, she wanted to do what she has been looking for, which is the perfect T-shirt," said Kristi Kaylor Schwartz, president of 2 Love and Kristi Kaylor Inc., which handles the business end of Mblem. "She really is a jeans and T-shirt girl."
Mblem's line features women's contemporary knit T-shirts in vibrant colors and soft cotton fabrics. The styles range from T-shirts with lyrics from Moore's favorite songs printed on the front -- including Blondie's "I'm gonna getcha, getcha, getcha ..." and Marvin Gaye's "For only love can conquer hate" -- to de-stressed shirts with ragged edges.
The shirts have already been written about in Women's Wear Daily, People magazine and Entertainment Weekly.
Her newest creation, though, may prove to be her most popular: a line of snap-shot T-shirts featuring pictures from Moore's collection of vintage photographs. For example: "Stan and James Super Bowl '66," a father and son sitting on a couch watching the big game (never mind that the first Super Bowl wasn't until a year later), and "Grandpa Vick," the generic shot of an elderly man sitting in a chair.
"Somebody asked me if this was Anna Nicole's ex-husband," Schwartz joked about the "Grandpa Vick" T-shirt.
Creepy, maybe. But very cool. The Mblem line retails between $52-$58 and can be purchased at www.mblem.net. Also, 10 percent of the proceeds go to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, a favorite charity of Moore's.
Retro chic
Retro fashions have been a trend for years. It seems the first half of a decade is usually spent creating a new look, while the latter half is spent reviving a look from decades prior.
Just in time for spring 2005: The 1960s. As far as men's fashions go, bright floral patterns, circa 1967 Haight-Ashbury, seem to be the rage. Actually, these shirts have been popular in Europe for several years but are just now catching on in the United States, said David Ventura, vice president of sales for designer group B'52 Ice.
"All over Europe it's about big, flowered prints," he said. "We're just starting to get it here."
While B'52 Ice certainly wasn't the only booth to feature this trend, the fashion group seemed to have some of the most colorful looks, from old pucci print shirts with circles of green, orange and brown to embroidered sports blazers with leather straps on the back.
Throw in a pair of oversized "beach" pants from B'52 Ice and a pair of sandals, and the groovy look is complete.
Retail prices for the B'52 Ice line range from $89 to $125 and the clothes are available at Vasari at the Forum Shops at Caesars.
Speaking of retro cool, Izod Lacoste seems to be making a return to popular men's fashions. The preppy shirts, complete with famous alligator logo, were worn by several MAGIC attendees -- some even had the collar lifted, either mimicking the mid-1980s look or Elvis.
While Lacoste, the design group behind the alligator portion of Izod Lacoste, wasn't at MAGIC, another relic from '80s fashion was: Jordache.
The famous denim designer with the horse-head logo on the back pocket is using MAGIC to relaunch its line of old-school jeans, Jordache Vintage.
Although Jordache has maintained a line of teen jeans, which are sold in Wal-Mart, by 1990 its adult line of designer-label jeans went the way of Judd Nelson's career.
Nearly 15 years later the jeans have been slightly updated in their fit and wash, but the original dark denim look, as well as the back pocket stitching and logo, is very much the same as it was. This time, however, there are separate men's and women's jeans, a departure from the uni-sex line in the '80s.
"For some of the people the appeal will be nostalgia," said Shaul Nakash, son of Jordache founder Ralph Nakash, who is resurrecting the family business 25 years after it began. "But the cut of the jeans will appeal to everyone."
In addition to the jeans, Nakash is also revisiting his company's past with a line of Jordache T-shirts. To accurately mimic the vintage look, he went so far as to buy original Jordache T-shirts off of eBay and copy them.
Perhaps the biggest change in the popular '80s clothes and those sold today is the retail price: $130-$145 for a pair of jeans and $53 for the T-shirts.
Still, it's important to keep in mind the original price of the jeans, said Hilla Narov, public relations director of Jordache.
"(The jeans) retailed then for $40," she said. "Back then ... that was unheard of."
They are available at Talulah G stores in Fashion Show mall and Boca Park in Summerlin.
Political attire
With November elections fast approaching, Matt Levine had a rather simple idea: shirts. Actually, more like basketball and baseball jerseys with the names of U.S. presidents on the back along with a numeral representing what number president they were.
For example, a Bill Clinton jersey with No. 42 on the back or a George Washington with No. 1.
Levine was so excited about his idea, he quickly trademarked it and rushed to get jerseys made as part of a Presidential Collection.
Other jerseys in the line feature the names of political parties, including the long-forgotten Federalists.
Although it's too late to sell the Presidential Collection line at either the Republican or Democratic national conventions, Levine said the jerseys are still going to be popular political statements.
In fact, he's already planning a John Kerry jersey with No. 44 on the back.
"I think with everything going on, he's going to win," Levine said. "And if he doesn't, the shirts are definitely going to sell as spoofs."
While Levine said he's still looking for a distributor, expect to buy the Presidential Collection at specialty stores or on the Internet soon at a retail price of $250-$300 each.
Fashion gadgets
Clothes aren't the only hot items at MAGIC. Several cool accessories seem positioned to make many "must-have" fashion lists.
Among the more notable: the T-String cell phone holder and SportLoop sunglasses holder by La Loop.
The T-String (short for telephone string) is a nylon strap that wraps around the wrist with a Velcro adhesive. On top of the strap is a small elastic band that stretches snugly around a cell phone. Once the phone is secure, another strap wraps on top of it to keep the phone in place.
Inventor Wouter Francois said he came up with the idea while watching women clutching cell phones outside his boutiques in Holland.
"Every girl was standing there with a phone in her hand," he said. "I thought there must be another way."
A year later Francois created the T-String.
His invention proved very popular in Europe, selling millions. And in June, when he arrived in New York, the handy device again created a buzz.
"I'd go out to bars and restaurants and everyone wanted to buy a T-String," Francois said. "I'd get free Coronas and food and pay them with a T-String."
While companies such as Pepsi and Nokia have bought the T-Strings by the bundles, attaching their logos and passing them out at giveaways, for now the T-Strings come in basic colors, such as black or red.
Future designs, however, will include more colors, styles and materials, including leather and plastic -- all to transform the T-String from handy device to fashion accessory.
"When they buy a pink shirt, they'll buy a pink T-String," Francois said.
With a retail price of $9.99, look for T-Strings in various outlets this fall or order online at amazon.com.
Much like the T-String, the SportsLoop appears so simplistic you can't help but wonder why you didn't think of it first.
The SportsLoop is essentially an elastic necklace with a plastic hoop to hold a pair of glasses.
Simple enough. What's unique, though, is the hoop itself and the way it fastens together with the necklace, allowing the necklace and the glasses to lay flat against the chest.
"It doesn't twirl, it doesn't fly forward" when you bend forward, said Serine Hastings, sales representative for La Loop. "It stays with you."
And with 18 color choices, including black, khaki, white, "acid yellow," "glo orange," maroon/gold and "camo," the SportsLoop offers enough options for almost any look.
"It's a product that's fun and fashionable for active people," Hastings said. "Plus, it really solves the problem of people losing their sunglasses."
Retailing at $14.95, the SportsLoops just began shipping to retail stores. If you can't wait, though, go to www.laloop.com.
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