Entrance to Project from the Las Vegas trade show in August, 2012.

Two of the top fashion trade shows are making changes for the upcoming season in 2013 that indicate new directions for both. First, Project, which takes place in New York January 21-23 and in Las Vegas February 19-21, 2013, is bringing on a new President, Tommy Fazio. His roll also includes Menswear encompassing what takes place at S.L.A.T.E., Street, and MagicMen’s.

Fazio was the previous Men’s Fashion and Trend Director at Nordstrom, and before that, President at Simon Spurr, Men’s Fashion Director at Bergdorf Goodman, and Vice President of Men’s Collections at Calvin Klein.

“It’s such an exciting time in menswear right now,” says Fazio. “American designers need the support of an organization like ours to unify the market and outreach on their behalf. The opportunity to do so with Tom Florio is an extraordinary one.”

According to Tom Florio, Advanstar CEO of the Fashion Group which owns Magic and Project, “There has never been a better time for men’s fashion in America. American designers are leading in innovation and American brands are some of the top selling brands in the world. However, America does not have a place on the world’s stage, as Milan, Paris and London do, to showcase our men’s designers. With Tommy onboard we hope to create partnerships that reestablish men’s fashion week in New York and continue to create new business opportunities for our community of retailers and brands at PROJECT.”

What this could also mean is more changes for the streetwear area at the Las Vegas show next year. Stay tuned for more.

From Bread and Butter Berlin, July, 2012.

Bread and Butter Brings Back Danielle de Bie

Bread and Butter Berlin has been going through significant transitions in the past month, with scaled-back plans of revising the show and getting rid of more than 100 exhibitors for 2013, resulting in a purposely smaller show for January 15-17, 2013. As a leading-edge fashion trade show, especially among youth culture, sportswear, denim, and street, this has caused quite a flurry of editorial conversation as to what’s re-shaping the show and how this will impact fashion, especially in Europe.

Last week, they announced their intentions of bringing back one of the former pillars of Bread and Butter, Danielle De Bie, who was the former communications director of the show but left in 2007. According to Bread and Butter, with immediate effect she is taking over the lead of the communication department and is responsible for all communicative matters of BREAD & BUTTER and of 14 oz.

Karl-Heinz Müller: “Danielle has significantly shaped BREAD & BUTTER’s communication work in the past. I’m very happy that she is joining my team again. In such a transition period we have to strengthen BREAD & BUTTER’s perception from the outside; this needs a powerful strategy and strong concepts which I’m very happy to entrust to her.”

After she had left the BREAD & BUTTER in September 2007 Danielle De Bie worked mainly as a freelance marketing & communication consultant on projects of renowned companies such as G-Star Raw, ispo and Value Retail. Her return seems more than logical to her: “BREAD & BUTTER has ever been and still is my professional home. The experiences I could acquire over the past years will clearly support my future duties and the goals we want to achieve. I’m pleased about the confidence Karl-Heinz places in me and look very much forward to the challenges ahead.”

De Bie’s focus will be on the strategic and conceptual enhancement of the department as well as of all communication tools such as digital media and the B&b publications such as the 14 oz. book, the B&b report and the B&b report which first came out in August 2012. In her function she will report directly to Karl-Heinz Müller.