Editor’s Picks From Las Vegas Fall/Winter 2017 Trade Shows

February marks the end of the Fall/Winter trade show season, we headed to Las Vegas to see what’s on deck for the end of this year. Gerald and David already covered what caught their eye at the MAN, Liberty Fairs, and Capsule shows in NYC in January, but a number of brands (exclusively) exhibited in LV and there wasn’t too much overlap between the two installments.

For those unfamiliar with these types of events, they are multi-day expos that give clothing brands an opportunity to wholesale new wares available two seasons in advance. The bulk of attendees are retail buyers and press who swarm the various show floors. Every show has their own name, vibe/theme, and size, they tend to run in two “season” cycles. Shows in January through March offer a preview of Fall/Winter collections while July through September is dedicated to Spring/Summer. However, this isn’t always the case since many brands sell products that are either seasonless (e.g. a Tanner Goods wallet is perfectly fine regardless of the weather) or are considered “core” offerings and are available for wholesale year-round.

With this in mind, read on for a taste of what’s to come IRL during Fall/Winter 2017.

Danner

Danner continues to extend their premium, urban friendly footwear options with the lightweight Vertigo 917 and Explorer 660 boots, as well as build upon the Portland Select lineup with new styles and makeups.


Fortune Goods

Hailing from Austin, Texas, newcomer Fortune Goods is the brainchild of friends Carson Monahan and Jon Sneden and inspired by anything and everything vintage. The garments have a crunchy, raw texture, all of which are manufactured at L.C. King’s factory in Bristol, Tennessee. Of special note is the “Montagnard Made” collection, jewelry which is created in cooperation with Montagnards refugees from Vietnam who now safely reside in the US.


Freenote Cloth

Freenote is forging ahead in the Fall/Winter season with arguably their deepest collection yet that will be divided into four collections: Ocean, Ranch, Desert, and Mountain. Their outerwear offers a little something for everyone but the standout has to be the Mackinaw/Riders hybrid–the Pleated Rancher jacket, which comes complete with a Japanese Southwestern flannel cotton lining. Flannels of all patterns, colors, and weight will also be available, not to mention a beefy 19oz. denim in their tapered Portola fit.


KATO'

Designed in Japan and made in the US (LA to be exact), KATO’ is making a big, and literal, move towards comfort. Their denim–ranging from 10oz. to just under 15oz.–will be constructed with a selvedge, 4-way stretch fabric which is apparently not found elsewhere (others are 2-way stretch in the warp or weft and oftentimes non-selvedge). They’ve also developed Tencel blended and organic double gauze fabrics for their shirting, much of which is selvedge-lined, slubby, and has a soft hand.


Krammer & Stoudt

NYC’s Krammer & Stoudt continues to interpret modern menswear by focusing on fine materials above all else. Each garment utilizes a fabric with a unique pattern and varying degree of subtlety, all of which reflect their cooler northeastern home.


Levi's Made & Crafted

Speaking of cooler climates, Levi’s Made & Crafted appropriately sought inspiration from Iceland for their up and coming collection. While there isn’t a whole lot of raw/rigid denim available, the lineup is filled with hues of indigo and there is a proprietary 2-way stretch selvedge in the queue too.


Levi's Vintage Clothing

On the other side of aisle was Levi’s Vintage Clothing. As per usual, LVC turned to their drool-worthy archives for their latest pieces and this time around seem to be focusing on the late 1800s / early 1900s. A few standouts included the rigid 1880 Waist Overall 501s which will be offered in natural indigo later this year, the 1923 Closed Front Jumper shirt, and the 1936 blanket-lined Type I jacket.


Livid Jeans

It’s been a minute since we checked in on Norway’s Livid Jeans, a brand which long-time readers will likely remember. The brand moved towards a cleaner, more modern aesthetic and a bulk of their new offerings is in shirting and outerwear using Japanese fabrics. A personal highlight for me is the deep blue Japanese Indigo Corduroy Cafferty jacket (slide one above) which like any good indigo garment, is intended to look and feel better with wear and fade along all the points of tension.


MATiAS

It’s also been some time since we’ve tuned into Matias Sandoval and his eponymous brand, MATiAS. Still reeling from an eye-opening weeks-long tour of denim factories around Japan (check out his Instagram feed from a few months back), MATiAS continues to move into new clothing categories, and experiment with materials and construction techniques in his uniquely post-heritage way.


Norman Russell

Not unlike those who have elected to shift closer to the contemporary end, Norman Russell has traded in canvas and flannels for camo, shearling, and a whole lot of fuzziness. But there’s still plenty of denim to be had, including a mid-weight button up shirt, camo-lined trucker, and black “Knight Rider” red-line selvedge jean.


Raleigh Denim

2017 is shaping up to be a banner year for Raleigh Denim. Aside from founder/designer Victor Lytvinenko picking up a ~14oz. Japanese selvedge denim that he said he’d be searching years for (more details to come), the brand has expanded into tailor goods sourced from Italy and lots and lots of shirting. For good measure too, they made an indigo canvas hat monogrammed with “Raleigh Denim” and their credo “to be rather than to seem” in brail on the back. Brail fades, anyone?


Runabout Goods

Following their Fall launch, it was hard to miss Runabout Goods on the floor. Camped out with both debut and upcoming wares, designer/founder Mike Hodis continues to grow the collection with the theme of “Adventure Goods” and the outdoors. Sturdy canvas and twill dominate the lineup, along with clever technical features such as in the fisherman Drifter jacket (last three slides above).


Railcar Fine Goods

Adding to the slew of indigo goodies Railcar had in NY, Monrovia’s finest had a couple of new pieces on the racks that may come as a surprise to some: a cotton fleece zip bomber sweater and pair of shorts.


Thorogood 1892

Celebrating their 125th anniversary, boot maker Thorogood 1892 is set to release a few new leather options for their popular lace-to-toe Portage model, including an indigo Chromexcel from Chicago’s Horween tannery. They’re also offering the roofer shoe and Janesville moc toe boot in a mustard leather from Seidel Tanning to commemorate the special occasion.


Umber & Ochre

And if you still haven’t had your fabric fix from the above, look no further than the newly launched Umber & Ochre. Based in San Francisco, the company works with small groups of artisans around the globe to source low tension, slubby fabrics hand woven on narrow looms. What’s more is that all of the materials are naturally dyed with plant-based materials and thus designed to gain even more character with wear.