Texworld USA was Isy B. Cayman fabric heaven! I spent last week in New York City attending the HUGE fabric show looking for fabric inspiration for the nextIsy B. Cayman collection, but also meeting manufacturers from around the globe. With over 500 exhibitors from 13 countries around the world, Texworld USA is the largest sourcing event in North America for designers, fabric buyers, and merchandisers.
Every kind of fabric you can imagine is on show in a rainbow of colours and prints. After day one of dashing from stall to stall in an enthralled and somewhat disorganised daze, I met my new BFF George, tai chi master and fashion industry veteran with over 30 years in the industry. George has worked as a buyer for brands like Zac Posen, Theory, Thakoon, and Nicole Miller and he took me under his wing and gave me the low-down on the best way to effectively get through what seemed like a million fabrics arranged in cubicles the length of two football pitches - without losing my mind completely.
His number one rule was to do my homework and identify the manufacturers I wanted to meet, and then strategically make my way through the floor. His number two rule was re-hydrate! You walk literally for miles everyday, though in all the excitement of discovering new fabrics each day seems to whizz by at lightning speed.
And from my experience, it is great advice for every first time attendee. I found that the entire show was less intimidating once broken down into manageable chunks. There was something for everyone too, from smaller design houses to the huge brands who send teams of designers to the show to pick their fabrics for the upcoming season. It's like the TV show Project Runway on steroids!
In between I attended fashion seminars hosted by The Fashion Law Studio, andMercedes Gonzalez, a NYC fashion industry legend and one of the judges on Caribbean reality TV show Mission Catwalk.
I’m pleased to report that Isy B. Cayman was really well received and I was able to connect directly with several fabric suppliers who I look forward to working with on the next collection.
Images courtesy of www.texworldusa.com