Rama Mayo, co-founder of United Trade Show, launched his showcase called “The Board of Directors” last month during LA Fashion Week as a way to represent the new, young, designer CEO (age range 25-35) and to “squash the beef between the whole East Coast vs. West Coast” vibe when it comes to streetwear—or as he renamed it on-the-fly in our interview, “creative workwear/utilitarian fashion.” The concept was genius. Not only did The Board of Directors have a crazy-cool location that helped attract core specialty buyers by being above Barracuda, a well-respected specialty boutique on Melrose Ave. in Hollywood, next to the legendary hip-hop store Fat Beats, but it represented brands that are clearly on the urban underground tip of what to expect in fashion.

However, what we discovered were not only East Coast brands such as Stacks & Bundles, Brains on Fire, and Guermo, as well as West Coast brands such as Quiet Life, Free Gold Watch, and Copy, but there were international brands such as Tru Youth out of the Philippines representing it’s poppin’ car culture, music, and intellectual scene, and Cipher sneakers out of Hong Kong. It was a small, international affair of like-minded designers and thinkers fighting for their time to be seen. As Rama describes, there are these new entrepreneurs pushing the scene and shops that pop-up to compliment the new entrepreneurial creations. (Stay tuned for name-dropping of these shops and an insider look at the brands from Board of Directors over the next two weeks.)

The concept of the Board of Directors also represents the latest evolution of the guys behind United. Because of their history and knowledge of up-and-coming brands and shops that compliment the business, they’ve become the connectors, distributors, showcase providers, agents-of-sorts for a new movement in fashion. More like a record label on par with the old-school SubPop than corporate trade show hosts like MAGIC or Fashion Week elite like Mercedes-Benz Smashbox Studios. While Board of Directors brought in specialty buyers, they also opened up the venue to people off the street who cruise Melrose consistently on the search for new styles to get their feedback on what was being shown. Rama and crew took the same concept to New York right after the LA debut with the Board of Director’s showing at Sparky’s showroom above the store Boundless, which is known for carrying core lines such as King Stampede.

Here’s what Rama has to say about the creative workwear/utilitarian scene, core shops, and the new fashion CEO. Check-out also, the in-depth story this week on Guermo and the latest trends in East Coast jacket and hoodie designs.