Five Minute Friday: The Trends Taking Over Trade Shows Right Now (And Why It's Working)

Whether you're an online retailer or you have a brick and mortar store, whether you're selling home and gift or children's or women's apparel, whether you've been in business for years or you're just getting started, you have found out that the lifeblood of your business is inventory. So in this two part series, we're gonna take it all the way back to where that inventory comes from. Let's talk about markets, let's talk about trade shows. In our first session, we're gonna be breaking down the trends that are happening with actual trade shows themselves. What are we seeing as far as the cadence of shows, the things that they're offering, and how can you make a plan to go to the show that's going to get you the very best product? In our second part, we're going to be jumping into the trends of the actual products themselves. I'll be covering things that you need to know. Whether you're selling apparel, home and gift, children's, even men's, these are trends you don't want to miss. Let's dive into it. All right, we're back with our market conversation. Part one of this series, we dove deep into, into the conversations about what is happening at market. Why are there so many trade shows? How do you navigate them? How can you choose which one to go to and then how do you make the most of it? And immersive experiences like education, taking tours with a boutique hub, attending fashion shows, all of these things are adding to your professional development as a retailer. Today, I want to talk to you about the trends of the actual products themselves. The most exciting and interesting thing that I've noticed across the past few, few years is that there's a huge crossover movement. So whether you are home and gift or apparel, whether you're western or children's, you are all tied very closely together. Although you may feel like, oh, I'm not like this group, you're going to see more commonality now than ever before. So let's talk about some of the trends that are coming down the pipeline and how they apply to each one of these groups. So first off, I want to talk about color. Bold, bright color is going to be back again in 2026. Now, we've seen red coming for a while and that's now transitioned to burgundy and maroon. But the primary color play is going to be huge this next season. So look for that cobalt blue, bright, bright blue to be showing up in pops all over the trade show floors. You'll see this replicated at Home as well in pillows, blankets, throws, dishes. You're going to see this in the gift industry. Even with the colors of candles and the packaging. Children's watch out for the color play. This has done very well for you across the board in the past, but you're going to see it a new way. Next, let's talk about brown. Okay, so a few years ago when Pantone came out and said mocha mousse was the color of the year, I know that some of you rolled your eyes and said, wow, brown. That's the color. Well, brown has gotten really exciting, and you're going to see brown everywhere this season. Brown is replacing black in accessories. You're going to see replacing the shoe, the belt, the purse. It was usually black. Now it's transitioning to brown. The brown color that we were really going for is a beautiful dark brown, rich mocha color. But don't be surprised if you're also picking up hints of camel and lighter tones as well. Brown is pairing very well with that ballet pink, a baby blue for spring. It's going to mix a lot of different pastels. Even the butter yellow that was so big in the spring last year is going to return again this year. Also, let's talk about cost per wear and cost per use. Your customer likes buying these bold, solid pieces because they can style them multiple ways and wear them many times. Cost per use goes up. Same thing in home decor and in gift. How can they get more use out of the products they're buying? How can. If it's a home product, how could they use it across seasons? How could they repurpose it across their home decorations? And same thing with gift. What is the longevity of these things that we're giving? So look for these bold, bright colors in those spaces. Now let's talk about where the trends are coming from and how you can stay on top of them. One thing I want to recommend to you is that you download the Boutique Hubs Trend report. We put this together twice a year, and it includes key colorways and patterns that you need to know. This applies, like I said, to all those markets. So whether you've got kits or you've got women's, there's going to be something in here for you, my home and gift friends. We haven't forgotten about you. Or western as well. Now let's talk about how do you know how these trends apply to your customer? Well, that's where that homework piece comes in. You really have to know who your customer is and who you're buying for so when you see a trend like mocha mousse or you see these many trends coming up that are launching every 12 weeks or so, how can you make sure this trend fits with your customer? A lot of times at market, I'll hear people say, oh, my girls would never wear that. My girls would never do that. Well, that's going to depend on how you present it to them. So let's talk about, too, when these trends come down, how quickly they're coming, and what your customer is going to expect to see in your store. We've noticed that since 2020, we've gone from four seasons and four trend drops a year to multiple trend drops almost every eight to 10 weeks. You may remember last year when the mob boss wife came along and then quickly she went away, and it felt almost like whiplash. We were all, you know, pushed to bind leopard and leather and, you know, red heels, and then suddenly we were in dainty prints and cottage couture. So how do these trends hit so quick, and how can you keep up with the buying of these? Well, first of all, these trends are being communicated to your customer through social media. What you need to do, as the expert in your field, is to take that information, take what's here in the trend report, and decipher it for your customer. You know your customer best, so if you know she's not going to be attracted to a collection called Mob Boss Wife, how can you break that down for her so that these styles can be something that's attainable for her, can be something that you sell really well and something that she feels confident in and enjoys, something that feels beautiful in their house, something that they want to gift over and over again. The perfect example of that mob boss wife would be taking key pieces from that. How can we use pops of red? How can we use bits of leopard and animal print? How can you bring that to your customer in a way that they feel confident wearing it? Now, let's talk a little bit more about those trends as well. In this guide that I mentioned, you're going to see the colorways. So. So we talked about mocha mousse being paired with pastels. I've mentioned a bit that leopard is going to be coming back again this season. So if your customer had not adopted yet, now's your chance. It's still hot. We're going to see more animal print coming. I've seen a lot of zebra and different forms of that animal print and colorways when it comes to leopard, colored leopard, not just a traditional brown and black. And then, of course, that zebra is so beautiful with a black and white. We're seeing that across the board. The next thing that I want to point out to you once you've identified those trends, once you found a way to make them work for your customer, is what are fun ways to build out collections so that your customer understands what that trend is and how they can wear it. So collections that we have are outlined here and also in our groups in the Boutique Hub. We drop them every month. Ideas for collection and inspiration in our monthly action plan. So make sure you access that. All right, last thing about trends, let's talk about movies and pop culture. So we know trends can be found everywhere on social media. They can be found on the Runway. But pop culture is inspiring what we wear and what we have in our homes now more than ever. There's two movies that I want to put on your homework list. Go watch with the eyes of a stylist. One is Wicked, and the other is Devil Wears product 2. Both of these movies are having a huge impact on on the products that are hitting the show floor and on what your customer is going to be looking for. From Wicked. I want to pull out those two colorways. Pink. And it's not the hot, hot pink. It's a ballet pink. It's different than the Barbie pink that's showing up everywhere. I told you about the pairings with brown. You're going to see it with camel, and you're going to see it repeated again and again in spring and in home. So make sure that you've got that in store. The second is the green from Wicked. I made a joke the other day on the show floor was, what's the big deal? As I held up a bright green jacket, dill green. You're gonna see it that pickle, pickleball pink and green. It's everywhere. So make sure you've got some of that in your store for the upcoming season. Next. Devil Wears Prada, too. Who's excited about this? I am. One of the opening trailers shows Miranda Priestly click clocking across the floor in rock stud Valentino pumps. I'm excited. I know you are, too. What does that mean? Those are shoes that hit their high in the 90s. This is another indication that we are looking towards the 90s for this entire year for inspiration for the trends. So how can you make this work for your customer? Let me tell you some of those key pieces, and then you can break it down based on what you know about your buyer. Rockstead heels like I said we're going to see the pumps, we're going to see the pointed toes, more shoulder pads, exaggerated silhouettes. You're also going to see a lot of lingerie inspired pieces. This means slip skirts, slip shirts, slip shorts, and then pairing those with more rustic pieces as well, a T shirt. So kind of grunge meets fashion meets a rockstud heel. I'm excited. You're excited. Go see both those movies and pull out those key colorways. Also in Del wears Prada too, of course you're going to see those bright, bold colors colored tights. And then we're going back to maximalist dressing. So quiet luxury no more. It's time to get loud. It's time to get proud. And it's time to time to show our personality through dressing. The millennial buyer wants to be unique. They want to stand out. So look for a move away from quiet luxury into more of those overstated, unique pieces. I'm so excited about the fashion trends that are coming and down the home and gift aisles that are going to meet us on the floor with fashion and children's and women's apparel and that we're going to see across the board when it comes to gift giving, decor and even in those western trends. Make sure that you arm yourself with the trend guide so you know what you're buying. Then decide who you're buying it for and meet with a boutique hub at the trade shows and we can help break down how you can make any trend that's hitting the Runway and hitting social media work for your customer. I'll see you on the show floor.

That's it for five minute Friday. You guys, I hope you found some quick, actionable steps you can put into play in your business right away. As always, if you're not yet a member of the boutique hub, I would love to personally invite you to join us. It's you where where all of the daily conversations happen. The up to date what is working now in the industry conversations, the latest trainings, trend reports, discounts, resources and of course access to thousands of wholesale brands that you also know and love. So please take a minute, follow the link in the show notes and we would love to invite you to join us inside of the boutique hub.