Attendees at Coterie and Magic New York this week were optimistic about 2024 business.

Much like the sentiment heard at FFANY, Atlanta Shoe Market and Micam earlier this month, attendees at Coterie and Magic New York this week were optimistic about 2024 business.

Indeed, the positive mood was the common theme this season at New York City’s Javits Center, which hosted Coterie and Magic between Feb. 20–22. The co-located shows featured the latest footwear, apparel and accessories to retailers as market appointments start to wind down for the fall 2024 buying season.

According to show organizers, there were over 750 exhibitors at Coterie this season, with over 65 footwear brands on the floor. Of the footwear brands on the show floor, 26 percent were new to Coterie this season.

This was the first show for Purvi Kanji, the newly appointed vice president of Coterie, who joined the company in December from Place Showroom where she most recently served as director of brand strategy.

“The overall sentiment is that everyone is here to do business,” Kanji told FN in her first interview as VP. “It’s been consistent, I think there’s been some changes coming out of COVID. That’s a given. I think our footprint also is a little bit more intentional than previous seasons. And we’ll continue to do more of that so that it’s easier for buyers to find what they’re looking for.”

As for the vendors at Coterie, Jenny Foy, vice president of sales at Marc Fisher Footwear, said the show was great for apparel retailers looking to add more shoes to their mix. Foy noted that the brand has some of the season’s key trends highlighted for fall – from Mary Janes to ballet slippers, to cowboy-inspired western boots and slouchy thigh-high boot models. Standouts at Marc Fisher were a cap-toe heeled bootie and a thigh-high boot that has the leather folded over the back heel.

A newer brand to the States sure to give Hoka and On a run for their money is Amsterdam-based sneaker brand Mercer. The brand became well-known in 2017 for its collaborations with NASA, Beverly Hills Hotel, UCLA and Starter. Additionally, Mercer was the first brand to collaborate with Piñatex in order to create the first fully sustainable vegan sneaker made from pineapple leather. Mercer went on to create footwear from Italian grapes, apples and mesh from plastic recovered from the ocean in collaboration with Seaqual. It also has a running sneaker line called P22. “We’ve had a lot of interest from buyers this season, so we are excited for the brand’s potential here as we focus on growing in the U.S.,” John Kiszely, founder of Mercer’s U.S. showroom partner Good People Agency, said.

Katherine Ferretti Luzi, sales marketing manager at Falc Showroom, was wrapping up another great show after a successful Atlanta Shoe Market, FFANY and Micam. “Our buyers gravitated to our Voile Blanche iconic city sneakers with shearling lining which is our signature as well as our new super light city boots for a young trendy person on the go,” she said. “We are also showing the brand’s first heel model at a presentation in Milan today as we speak.”

Over at Magic New York, show organizers said they had over 350 brands this season, with over 35 of those brands being footwear focused. Of the footwear brands on the show floor, 21 percent were new to Magic New York this season.

Katy Perry Collection made a big statement at Magic this season, showing Perry’s take of this season’s key trends. Diana DellaRocco, account executive at the company, said that as Katy Perry evolves as a person, so does her shoe collection. “There’s been a lot of traffic, which has been great,” she noted. DellaRocco noted that buyers gravitated to the line’s kitten heels and ballet flats as well as a new boot that features button accents along the shaft of the shoe.

Great retailer traffic was also reported at Greek shoe company Exe by Tsakiris Mallas. Susan Somers, who reps the brand in the U.S., said that the brand’s summer and unique Greek design elements serve warmer weather retailers well. Still there were plenty of boot and Mary Jane options this season, as well as a sneaker line featuring knit uppers that stood out as best sellers. “Our black knit sneakers with red zipper detail are in pretty much every retailer’s buy this season,” Somers noted.

Coterie and Magic New York were the first East Coast events under the trade event’s parent company’s new name. Earlier this month, Informa Markets Fashion, the parent of Magic, Project, Coterie and Sourcing at Magic, made the move to rebrand as Mmgnet Group. Pronounced Magnet, the transition is intended to support the fashion industry by connecting the brands within its portfolios.

Kelly Helfman, president of the now Mmgnet Group, said in a statement at the time of the announcement that “this is more than a rebranding or launch of a new parent brand; this is about addressing how we serve our audience and the industry moving forward — as an evolution of our business. We’re focused on doing what we do incredibly well, but better than ever — connecting our customers through our live events — while also enhancing support year-round, both on- and offline.”

For Kanji, she told FN on Thursday that the move was “needed” as it’s important to continue to evolve. “We keep using the word ‘innovate,’ and it’s important that we do so,” Kanji said. “I think technology is a big part of what we’re doing here. You’ll see some of it sprinkled throughout the show. And I think in terms of the branding, I think it was time for us to just elevate it a little bit. And that’s kind of essential meant to for our go forward strategy.”