Andmore presented overlapping season-break markets—Atlanta Apparel and Formal Markets—showcasing the top Autumn/Winter 2024 styles across contemporary apparel, accessories, bridal, homecoming and more with intentional buying reported across the markets.
“Andmore’s Apparel and Formal Markets once again have effectively connected sellers with focused buyers across key apparel categories, as well as bridal, homecoming and quinceañera,” said Caron Stover, Andmore SVP of apparel. “In true Andmore fashion, we continue to bring together dedicated retailers and exhibitors and to solidify the Southeast as the go-to sourcing destination for all things apparel and formalwear.”
The concurrent apparel and formal markets attracted visitors from 42 states and ten countries, with the Southeast and Midwest drawing the highest attendance rates. Notably, 20% of buyers at the April markets were new to Atlanta.
Atlanta Apparel launched Autumn/Winter 2024 with reports of strong order writing.
April Atlanta Apparel showcased a breadth and depth of the newest cool-weather styles, summer immediates and accessories across its 350–plus temporary exhibits and over 475 permanent showrooms. Top categories sourced at the April buying event included: accessories, denim, contemporary and young contemporary apparel and shoes.
“Our market experience this week has been great. Fleet Plummer has been in business for 75 years and I have been a buyer for five of those years and we always come to every Atlanta show. We have had so much success finding new lines which was exciting,” said Shawna Hart of Fleet Plummer in Greensboro, North Carolina.
“We source for all ages, from college-aged women to contemporary,” said Emma Waters, sales manager at Viginia Luxe in Statesboro, Georgia. “This market, we found many great gameday pieces and athleisure. On top of a great buying experience, the events at market were phenomenal and the vendors all treated us like royalty.”
Brands reported robust order writing spanning across diverse geographic regions, as hundreds of buyers traveled to Atlanta to engage with notable exhibitors, fostering ongoing relationships.
Brad Hughes, co-owner of Brad Hughes Showroom said, “In Atlanta, we see dedicated retailers and a business model that we don’t see anywhere else —Atlanta is at the intersection of resort, mountains, country club and more.”
“We are really impressed with the caliber of customers that we have here in Atlanta. They are relationship driven, appointment-driven and they buy with gusto,” added Michael Singer, co-owner of Brad Hughes Showroom.
Kellie Carlson, wholesale manager of Teleties, added, Georgia is our number one selling state, and we have been at all five Atlanta Apparel markets per year since the brand launched seven years ago. We get buyers from all over, and more recently, from the Northeast which has been great to see in Atlanta. In addition to our normal walk-by and returning clients, we also sell the highest quantity of our gameday collection here.”
Homecoming, Quinceañera and Bridal Categories Shine at April Formal Market
Formal Markets showcased over 250 individual collections across AmericasMart Atlanta’s permanent showrooms and temporary exhibits, bringing thousands of social occasion buyers together to source at the semi-annual presentation.
“Atlanta is my go-to location for sourcing. Everything from the exhibitor displays to the convenience of having all the brands I need to see under one roof allows me to get my work done better and faster,” said buyer David Ramcharan, CEO of Alexander Couture Bridal.
Buyer Erica Eickhoff, owner of Styles by Erica in Yankton and Vermillion, South Dakota, noted sourcing across both general apparel and formal categories, with growth in her most newly launched category, formalwear.
“We launched formalwear in the store in December 2023, and the return has been amazing. We came to Atlanta this April to source both formalwear and womenswear, and I was blown away by the homecoming resources available. This market was a ten-out-of-ten experience and we will be back as we dive into more formalwear,” added Eickhoff.
Brands reported connecting to a strong and dedicated Southeastern buyer population, writing orders with both new accounts and connecting with existing accounts.
Exhibitors Sydni Dion, owner of Diverse Style by Sydni Dion and Stefanie Somers, owner of Stefanie Somers Jewelry, joined forces for Formal Markets in Atlanta with a combined showroom, merchandising products together in complementary categories to become a destination for formal accessories and shoes. This permanent presence marks an important return for these two brands after several years’ hiatus that began when Covid impacted the social occasion industry.
Dion said, “The decision to open a showroom in collaboration with Stefanie Somers was pretty obvious. I have the shoes and she has the accessories and Atlanta has the prom, homecoming and pageant buyers, so we both have always had the biggest turnout here.”
Beyond exhibits, Formal Markets launched its new semi-annual fashion event, the Revolving Runway, showcasing 40 looks across bridal, mother-of-the-bride, flower girl and men’s. Market education, including the full-day, pre-market Mon Cheri Academy presentation, also had full attendance, with buyers noting the importance of curated market events.
“I love attending the educational classes available at market because I am both CEO of a bridal store and an event producer. Getting the insight from professionals on both sides of the industry here in Atlanta helps me grow my business,” added Ramcharan.
Formal Markets now presents its collection of bridal, prom, quinceañera, mother-of-the-bride, accessories, homecoming and special occasion lines three times annually: April and August in Atlanta and August in Las Vegas. The next edition of Formal Markets runs July 29 – August 2, 2024, at AmericasMart Atlanta and August 11 – 13, 2024, at The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas.
