Design For A Flexible Modular WardrobeTrade Show Fixture For Hart Schaffner Marx

I designed this fixture with a client several seasons ago for the Hart Schaffner Marx  Chicago Collective trade show space at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. We wanted something flexible and modular - a sort of "wardrobe" fixture -  to accommodate hang rail, shelves, graphics and mannequin forms - but not in a static way. Some seasons there aren't that many sample garments, for example, and we might need to "fake out" a few of them (there are eight) with graphics and mannequin forms so as to keep the spacious booth (20' x 40') looking full.

We also wanted them double sided as the booth is a peninsula (three open sides & one hard back wall). High gloss white laminate with sign holders at the top to indicate what particular collection within the brand.

They have worked very well season to season and have proven to be the flexible fixture that the client was striving for.

PGA Merchandise Show January 2013 Bobby Jones

 

 

These pictures are showing both ends of the booth - one end showcasing golf wear and the other more of the "Country Club" looks - beautiful alpaca sweaters, flannel trousers with suede outerwear - all from the Fall 2013 lines & the back of the booth here with Spring 2013.

An eye wear line was added last season.

 

 

 

 

The parent company of Bobby Jones has changed ownership again and a new company name, W. Diamond Group Corp, has come with it. The new ownership is dedicated to bringing a ton more marketing dollars to invigorate all the brands, including Bobby Jones.

 

PGA Fall Expo / Bobby Jones Spring 2013

PGA Fall Expo is a much smaller version of the annual PGA Merchandise trade show event that's held annually in January in Orlando, FL. Fall Expo has been held in various convention facilities in Las Vegas - it's currently in one of the Ballrooms at the Venetian. A typical hotel ballroom with all of that loud carpet - and "pipe & drape" as we used to call it. A 10'  x 30'  isn't difficult to lay out in your mind but I did a floor plan anyway.

The small thin rectangle that's centered in the back represents the Bobby Jones sign banner - again the sign cloth that's stretched over a metal frame becomes an instant "sign wall" - very effective for these booths that provide a stock package of items - a nice way to give it a customized look. But, that carpet takes away so much focus.

For reasons of ease of access for the Sales Reps to their shared samples - we had to split down one of the shelf units - & they bought a pair of black bakers racks for other samples. This is a bare bones trade show - and is a working show to benefit the Sales Reps not to necessarily promote and brand the image of Bobby Jones.

In the end the Sales Reps were very pleased with the sales results - so I was pleased for them - if not with the final aesthetics of the booth.

MRketLV Hickey Freeman & Hart Schaffner Marx Spring 2013 / August 2012

MRket Las Vegas trade show is owned by MR Magazine - the men's apparel industry publication. They also produce a show in New York that happens just before Chicago Collective. It's a smaller show overall than Collective. HMX labels have a smaller presence than at Collective as well - it's very costly to ship in fixtures, furniture etc. HMX does ship their custom banner signs - which do help to give the booth a custom feel.

Unfortunately, a 20' x 20' peninsula booth was chosen for some reason. Hart Schaffner Marx & Hickey Freeman shared the booth this time - with a 12' banner a piece.(Last show was a 10' x 30' that they shred with the casual HMX label - WORN - out of Seattle). My original thought was to angle the banners to a point or to simply overlap them and hope that the logos were both in view - per my floor plan.

We tried angling - it took up too much room. We overlapped the banners - not an inch to spare to get both logos in. They will have to go back to a 10' x 30' - or a 10' x 40' booth next show. As well - for all of the to-do about these rolling racks - the labels simply don't have enough samples to utilize all that were sent. We always start with the floor plan and go from there.

Both Hickey Freeman & Hart Schaffner Marx have some fun sportswear & casual tailored looks for Spring 2013 - but it's the tailored looks that are eye catching in their simplicity of tailoring.

Anyone for a red plaid linen sport jacket?

A shoulder draped sweater over a sport jacket - adds a bit of "Runway" show business to the look.

Bobby Jones At Chicago Collective Spring 2013

Bobby Jones is another men's label manufactured by HMX Group, LLC. Unlike most of their other men's lines - Bobby Jones is a golf performance and sportswear (think Country Club) line. Also unlike many of the other labels owned by HMX - Bobby Jones is a license -  the name Bobby Jones is still owned and controlled by the heirs of Bobby Jones. The heirs contract HMX to manufacture the line and receive a certain percentage of sales.

The booth is partially shared with Hart Schaffner Marx (originally slated for Austin Reed London - another HMX tailored line) which has it's main booth across the aisle (there are four HMX booths at Chicago Collective that are located front & center of the show). A new floor plan had to be created to condense Bobby Jones into a footprint one third smaller than the booth size of 20' x 30'  to accommodate the HSM end.

Three double sided white laminate merchandiser units were utilized to make the split booth work.

The reverse side of this pic:

Chicago Collective Spring 2013 Hart Schaffner Marx

Hart Schaffner Marx is another of the HMX Groups' menswear line of tailored clothing and sportswear. HSM is celebrating it's 125th anniversary in 2012! It's another "Made-In-The- USA" line of clothing from HMX Group. They are manufactured in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines near O'Hare airport. President Obama has had some of his suits custom made by Hart Schaffner Marx including the one he wore to his inauguration in 2009.

The Hart Schaffner Marx booth at Chicago Collective has smooth, slick booth components in glossy white laminate. Laminate is notorious for chipping - but with customized crates made especially for each merchandiser unit and furniture piece, all the moving in and out of freight elevators and trucks has not affected the condition of any of the pieces - all are in pristine shape 7 years later.

Chicago Collective Hickey Freeman Spring 2013

Chicago Collective Spring 2013 ended last week August 13th. The HMX Group's Hickey Freeman label is pictured here with their logo blow up as the main back drop for the booth. This is a very effective sign system utilizing a self standing frame with a cloth banner sign that slips onto the frame for a very snug fit. The cloth banner sign comes in a cloth bag and once it is stretched onto frame - there are no wrinkles! A great feature for storage, and for shipment. The metal self standing frame collapses down into several pieces for additional ease of transport and shipping.

The Hickey Freeman line of tailored clothing & sportswear is the HMX Groups' higher end menswear line. It is manufactured in the US - Rochester, New York. The fabrics are incredible for Spring 2012- the linens especially - very luxurious.

Chicago Collective August 2012 / Bobby Jones Spring 2013

The Chicago Collective show later this week will showcase Spring 2013 Men's Wear Collections. It takes place August 11, 12 & 13 at the Chicago Merchandise Mart 8th Floor Market Suites. It is an industry professional event - buyer credentials are required to obtain admission.

The previous show Bobby Jones moved from an awkward 20' x 30' space directly behind where it presently is located. The 20' wide x 30' deep space was extremely difficult to properly space plan. A trade show booth should never have a front that is more narrow in front as it is deep. The new location is a corner position 20' x 30'.

The company that owns all four of the labels that are showing - HMX Group - wanted to squeeze in a fifth label last show - Austin Reed - onto the end of the Bobby Jones booth. This would position Austin Reed to face it's other label - Hart Schaffner Marx  - across the aisle. The two tailored labels blend well together.  Bobby Jones is a performance golf & country club label. So, having a tailored and a sportswear label in one booth is not optimal in my opinion. This was a last minute adjustment at the January show.

I am making an attempt to have a better layout this show. The initial floor plan is pictured here - we'll see how it works out.

The Chicago Market July 2012

The Chicago Market is a trade show event at the Chicago Merchandise Mart that takes place four times a year. The January & July shows are the bigger of the four events that include both the permanent showrooms on 13 and the 8th floor temporary gallery suites. It showcases product across a broad spectrum of categories that includes gift items, home decor, jewelry and - Christmas. Anything and everything for Christmas - from ornaments, Christmas trees, lights, gifts - and a life size Santa Claus if you should so desire one.

It runs from July 19 - July 24 for the permanent showrooms on the 13th floor & July 21 - July 24 for the temporary gallery suites on the 8th floor.

The Sales & Marketing team showcase special displays on the main floor lobby of the Mart as an introduction to buyers as they enter. A Christmas themed display was added for the July show this year.

The Merchandise Mart lobby is an Art Deco masterpiece - grand, beautiful - and cavernous. This particular section of the North Lobby was remodeled in the early 1990's when there was a shopping mall there and on the second floor. The escalators were added at this time. The Christmas display was to be located under the escalators.

My biggest concern was that product would just be overwhelmed by this huge space - but the escalators actually help to contain it. It doesn't hurt then to have two 10 foot Christmas trees and a life size standing Santa!

I created a floor plan using google sketchup - it really helps to have a floor plan - even if you have to adjust it upon installation - which I did.

The Merchandise Mart has a tremendous staff of carpenters, painters & electricians - all of which were utilized into bringing this project to completion.

Go to www.shopchicagomarket.com and check out all details of the show. It is open to shop owners, retail buyers of department stores etc - credentials are required, so be sure to check the web site for all pertinent details.

Before The Trade Show Opens: Bobby Jones / PGA

A lot goes into getting a trade show booth together for a big trade show event like PGA. It's kind of like a store opening in that you've got mannequins to unpack, dressed and styled. Walls need to be merchandised, furniture placed etc. But with a new store, you can push back the opening date if you need to. A trade show is more like a stage show in that it has a finite opening and closing - you've got to have it ready by the date the show opens. Sometimes that means staying very late the night before. The exhibit company gets to the show site days before I do - freight load in - start building walls etc.

The Bobby Jones booth here - a 40' x 50' - also has a double height banner that - without the theatrical lighting company that we contract - just would not look the same:

The clothing samples themselves can be problematic because you are working a season ahead and there is a finite number of samples - sales reps need theirs for their sales calls, the showrooms etc + they may still be in production and simply not be ready.

The mannequins patiently waiting to get dressed and styled:

MRKET Las Vegas

MRKET Las Vegas is a semi annual Men's Fashion trade show at the Sands Expo portion of the Venetian Hotel & Casino in January & August. MRKET is owned and operated by MR magazine, a trade publication serving the men's wear industry. MR also operates a MRKET show in New York in January & July. Sands Expo is a smaller and more intimate venue than the Chicago Merchandise Mart. I project manage the HMX labels Hart Schaffner Marx, Hickey Freeman Sterling & WORN for the MRKET Las Vegas show. It's a booth that is shared among the labels and the style of the booth is still evolving. We utilized show provided tables, chairs and end cap fixtures. We shipped in HMX owned wall logo banners and custom vintage industrial style pipe clothing racks to dress the booth up. These photos are from the February 2012 show showcasing Fall / Winter 2012.

Chicago Collective

Chicago Collective is a semi-annual trade show that takes place in January & August at the Chicago Merchandise Mart. It showcases men's apparel garments for the next upcoming season for buyers from around the Midwest and has become an important national show as well. Everything from tailored apparel, sportswear, shoes & ties + a special Big & Tall section. I project manage the installation & dismantle of six booths for the HMX Group: Hart Schaffner Marx, Austin Reed London, Bobby Jones, Hickey Freeman, Coppley & WORN. These six labels run the gamut from traditional tailored apparel, updated tailored apparel, outerwear, golf performance apparel, fashion forward jeans and sportswear. The original sleek white booth concept was co-designed by the former Director of Visual Merchandising and myself to incorporate a mobile, adaptable show floor fixture that could accommodate a wide range of applications for shelves, hang rail, graphics and mannequin forms. Other booth re-designs followed and the new label WORN is evolving in it's booth presence. Included in these images is the most recent show in January 2012 and several past seasons: