My focus for the first day of the Las Vegas trade shows was neckwear. Starting at MRket, and then going upstairs to a fifth floor ballroom for Capsule, I was overwhelmed by vendors new and old who were making some great efforts to make the category both interesting and affordable. Here are some highlights:

Lochcarron

I usually stop by the Lochcarron...

After a couple of seasons without any men’s fragrance vendors at MRket, the New York show opened with two new ones: the distributor EuroPerfumes and the Italian custom perfumer Officine del Profumo.

I was particularly excited about EuroPerfumes, which was exhibiting in the new Vanguard show adjacent to MRket. The company, headed by Vicken Arslanian,...

We’ve had a lot of office conversations about iPhone apps here at MR Magazine, both professional and social. The general consensus is that apps are good for retailers and apparel brands. I’ve downloaded three apparel-related apps to my iPhone: one is the ill-fated PMc Magazine app (an iPhone-only fashion mag from photographer Patrick McMullan); next was...

One thing that I heard more than once during the first day at MRket Las Vegas was that smaller luxury brands have been getting more attention from better specialty stores. The reason is that the big luxury sportswear and clothing names are: a) all at the major department stores that the little guys compete with; b) heavily discounted at those major...

Here are some of my favorite items from this season's Collective and Blue trade shows. There was a lot to like, and this list is by no means complete, but it's a good start.

Shorts

More vendors are showing shorts, and more retailers are apparently selling them—even in New York. I’m still not totally convinced (neither personally nor professionally), but...