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Liberty Fashion & Lifestyle Fairs is also going the virtual trade show route.
The New York-based events operator has teamed with Joor Passport to create an online replacement for its Cabana women’s trade show, originally slated for Miami from July 11 to 13. The virtual show will now kick off on July 20. Miami Swim Week was canceled in mid-May and in addition to Cabana would have included SwimShow, DestinationMiami and Hammock.
“Cabana is committed to supporting the fashion industry. We knew we had to move quickly in order to provide our community with meaningful channels for business, both now and into the future,” said Cabana cofounder Janet Wong. “Bringing the show onto Joor ensures that we can provide a solution allowing for seamless end-to-end transactions for all parties involved, while keeping the spirit of discovery alive and well.”
Joor, which counts more than 8,600 brands and 200,000 retailers from 144 countries on its platform, will offer a marketplace where manufacturers and retailers can interact via virtual showrooms that will feature 360-degree imagery, the ability to schedule appoints, and to place and manage orders.
“Joor continues our mission to bring the industry together into one digital ecosystem and is thrilled to add [Liberty Fairs] shows, including Cabana, to the roster of summer and fall events that we will exclusively power,” said Kristin Savilia, chief executive officer of Joor. “Our industry can thrive like any other connected community with a common goal if we work together to break down silos instead of creating them. With Joor Passport, we are enabling the show to go on for brands and retailers, during the current travel restrictions and beyond.”
Sharifa Murdock, cofounder of Liberty Fairs, said by partnering with Joor, the trade show can “create solutions to help support the brands and community we serve during times when business is uncertain.” It will be free for retailers to “attend,” and the companies would not disclose the cost to exhibitors.
Even so, this is not expected to completely replace the physical trade show experience. Cabana, along with Liberty’s other trade shows, Capsule and Liberty Fairs, will continue to hold in-person events. The next editions are scheduled for Sept. 21 to 23 in New York, and Liberty Fairs’ men’s wear show, will also host its first virtual marketplace beginning on Aug. 3.
Moving to a virtual format is becoming the new norm for trade show operators. Informa Markets, which owns MAGIC, Project, Coterie and other fairs, has teamed with NuOrder, a business-to-business e-commerce platform, to replace and supplement its shows beginning this year. The JCK jewelry show, the Kingpins denim show and even Pitti Uomo have all moved their events online this year as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
Informa plans to hold the MAGIC trade show in Las Vegas beginning Sept. 30, but Murdock said at this point, Liberty Fairs is not expecting to hold a show there at that time.
