I had the pleasure to attend Agenda Long Beach on January 7-8, 2016. And I do mean pleasure the entire event held at the Long Beach Convention center is both a skaters and fashionistas paradise. It was very fitting that the show guide had a tropical themed cover.
This was my first time at an Agenda show but Agenda shows are well established. Brands, retailers, and press have been meeting at Agenda shows since 2003. There are multiple Agenda shows – 6 in 2016 at 3 cities – Long Beach being the first.
In addition to the showroom – 250,000 square feet showing over 750 brands there are workshops. Agenda is for everyone from the serious power players to those interested in learning about lifestyle fashion. You can feel the creativity and commitment to the entrepreneurial spirit.
To feed the passionate dreamers there are workshops such as the Agenda Workshop on how to get and grow your brand and Agenda Emerge to listen to incredible motivating true stories of how success happens. I attended and learned from both. Plus for the dreamers who want experience in the industry, there’s SHMOOZ by Malakye.com to help you find a job in the industry.
The sheer number of products could make the event overwhelming, but Agenda organizes it phenomenally. Show Segments and the guide make it easy to find and see exactly what you’re interested in. I was amazed by every segment and believe me it’s hard to pick out just a few of the over 750 brands to highlight. So here we go with what caught my eye at Agenda Long Beach January 2016.
There are two entrances from registration. I believe in fate; it guided me to the door on the left. Where I was greeted by one of my favorite brands Element. I have a love for all things Element Eden. Founded by Kori Schillereff as the first legitimate girls clothing line in skateboarding it has become one of the leading women’s youth lifestyle brands.
I learn and remember through stories so the story in my head about Kori is her being somewhere like Agenda and seeing there was nothing for women. Kori filled the void with Element Eden a women’s lifestyle brand that embraces girls unique and wonderful differences.
I had a personal tour of the Element Eden side of the booth with a designer. She took the time to explain, describe, and made the experience interactive. We looked at every piece.
We started with Rain. Until I saw Rain I wasn’t very excited about it being an El Niño year. As rain puts a damper on outdoor skateboarding. The Rain collection makes it almost ok for it to rain. Let it rain, I’ll be ready with my jacket and accessories.
Concerned with the climate we looked at jackets and sweaters to stay cozy. Below are the pictures of my favorites but by no means not the only ones that got double thumbs up.
Starting on the left it’s the Canberra Beanie with the Bamby Jacket and NY Minute Dress and I support the black socks over the knees just adds something.
Next is the Canberra Beanie (this beanie will go with so much) with the Skyline Fleece, Lucky Cat Ringer Tee, and Sticker Denim.
There are several incredible sweater dresses in the collection. This one is the Arty in Natural – Nat. Of all my jacket/sweater picks this one could be warn alone so it’s a cost effective choice plus you could easily add leggings if the weather gets colder. And yes you could wear it without a hat or with a beanie, but I’m loving the wool fedora and think it’s a wise investment to your wardrobe.
The final picture is the Open Eyes Sweater – I loved both versions just for a pop of color I’d go with the Wine-Win one.
Having picked our outerwear we looked at dresses. Some dresses are easier to skateboard in but if there’s a will there’s a way to skateboard in any dress. My picks for favorite dress is the Social in Black – Blk. I love it because it can easily go to a multitude of occasions or be worn from day into night.
As for shirts and pants there were so many it would come down to fit. Unfortunately there was no fitting room. I’m just astounded at all the options – cuts, designs, fabrics, and colors. I agree that faded rose color and surplus (pale green) are colors to look to have in your wardrobe and have at least one plaid in your closet.
Next on my journey I caught up with Don Brown of Sole Technologies (etnies, éS, Emerica, Altamont, ThirtyTwo, STI Lab) in the éS booth. That’s where I saw and touched the insoles. Yes, they are as beautiful as they appear in the picture. I’m confident we’ll be seeing and talking about this insole in 2016 and beyond.
Now I am not giving secrets away. I can be trusted. That’s why the picture of my favorite dress from Retrolicious Brand (Folter Clothing) is only my favorite from what I can show you. There were so many others in the booth that are Top Secret. Retrolicious is a vintage inspired collection of classy and fun dresses I love the cuts, patters, and details like the collar on this one – Cool Cats. Definitely worth following them and would be super cute to wear these dresses and skate a cruiser.
Another brand that caught my eye with color is SKIMP USA. Created by a team of young trendsetters in Lyon, France, SKIMP is a collection of stylish, colorful everyday accessories that have just come to America. And they come by ship not airplane because SKIMP is committed to protecting the planet and reducing pollution. Most amazing is that the products are composed of recycled materials.
There is so much thought behind their products. The buckleless SKIMP belt so security lines are a breeze and waterproof watches are just the beginning. I expect that in 2016 you will see these products carried by more retailers and of course worn by many. My favorite this purse and don’t worry if the pink gets dirty – happens when skateboarding – it’s machine washable.
As a skater I go through a lot of shoes. Even more shoes than I would as a typical fashionista. I’ve been lucky enough to try many shoe brands and at Agenda I had the privilege of meeting some of my on-line friends. As a blog writer I make a lot of on-line friends and I love the opportunity to meet these friends in person.
At Agenda I met up with Ellie Gail and Emily DeLess of Adidas Action Sports. I salute Adidas’ commitment to lead with style. Adidas is fearless when going first. They’ve been active in skateboarding for sometime and now I’m eagerly anticipating their deeper involvement with skater girls.
Plus Adidas Women’s offers an impressive line of active wear – at the intersection of sport, street, and style. Two new pieces from the Original Line that caught my eye were the Couture Tank Top and Trefoil Crop Top. Plus I was intrigued with the track pants, which would be a new piece for me.
I usually skate in jeans or leggings. A compression favorite of mine is NUXUSA because I adore their tie dye prints. I was happy to see them at Agenda with even more choices of tie dyes. Plus I loved meeting Christina Jones their in-house sales dive in person. In addition to meeting people I caught up with old friends.
I was thrilled to meet up with Arbor Girl, Tara Sun Tate at the XS Helmet booth. Personally I don’t think anyone should be made to wear a helmet – it’s a personal decision and yes style choice. However, I know Tara swears by her XS Helmet and they did have an impressive selection at their booth. I was at their booth when I received an important reminder – “go to The Woods”.
One of the sections at Agenda is The Woods. Each of the sections really is a show within a show. The Woods highlights the outdoors. And what is the outdoors without a fox? Probably lonely, but we don’t need to worry because Fjällräven which is Swedish for artic fox has been around since 1960 and is now going strong in USA.
Prior to Agenda, I had two Fjällräven backpacks aka kankens. I had ordered one on-line and the other was a present from Grandma – fashion sense can be inherited or developed. At Agenda I was surrounded by Fjällräven bags. It’s a powerful feeling to see and touch all that functionality, durability, and dependability.
In addition to kankens they displayed many other bags and parkas that made me realize just how desperately I want to take up snowboarding. Had Agenda been earlier I could have taken a Fjällräven sleeping bag to Woodward West winter camp. I can say I left that booth wanting more Fjällräven and outdoors in my life.
I also realized at Agenda that it’s easy to add unique art to my life thanks to Society6. I was greeted by their art display in the lobby but going to their booth showed me the true uniqueness and beauty of their products.
When you buy a product from Society6 you are supporting artists. Each piece in the collection whether it be print, phone case, mug, or tapestry is made in partnership with an artist. And that artist is paid each time a piece is commissioned. Don’t be afraid of the pricing, it’s incredibly reasonable.
My favorite items in the collection were their new throw blankets. Throw blankets are a favorite of mine because they are the perfect way to warm up and express yourself. Personally I wear my throws not just at home but also to school and they have the most extensive selection I’ve ever seen.
I like choices so I was extremely happy to run into Tattly Tattoos. I’ve been sporting Tattley Tattoos for over a year. I remember selecting ones like the rainbow skateboard for events like Girls Combi Classic 2015. I’m always pleased by the quality and how the tattoo continues to look amazing.
Tattly Tattoos was started by Tina Roth Eisenberg because she was tired of low quality temporary tattoos. Since 2011 Tattly Tattoos has commissioned artists plus lets clients design their own tattoos. The display at Agenda was impressive. I left wearing the blue butterflies.
Temporary tattoos are like jewelry to me. You can’t have enough and you should never wear the same pieces daily. Needless to say I was excited to be introduced to Butik Showroom. Butik Showroom is a leading women’s accessories showroom founded in August 2001 by Becky Rosenberg. They offer international and domestic accessory collections that are always current.
I loved the pieces and I loved that Butik Showroom offers emerging accessory designers a way to the next level. By having pieces in the showroom your pieces are seen by a larger audience. As a fashionista I’m often looking for that piece that will finish my look – so thrilled to have so many more options. 
Another introduction for me was KOMONO which means “small things”. Dreamers and designers dedicated to perfectly timed accessories, KOMONO like me is rooted in Belgium. My grandfather came from Bevern Waas and I’ve been lucky enough to visit Belgium several times.
With multiple collaborations including Happy Socks, Baloji, Andy Rementer, and Jean-Michel Basquiat there is so much to love about KOMONO. Having recently admitted needing glasses to see, I was captivated by their sunglass collection. I was impressed with their quality and would definitely switch out the lenses for prescription.
I finished my Agenda adventure at Obey Women’s. Growing up and living in Southern California I’ve always been captivated by Shepard Fairey’s iconic drawing. And loving stories – I loved the story he shared with Agenda Emerge on how he put it up, they took it down, he put it up, he got arrested – but nothing deterred him from his mission.
Obey has an incredible amount of new shit for women (literally just look on their web page). And I’m interested to see more.
That’s a wrap for me on Agenda 2016 January Long Beach. I left inspired to expand the number of fashion posts on the skatingfashionista.com blog so I’m confident it was just my first Agenda Show. I’m very appreciative to the Agenda Show and all the fabulous vendors who gave of their time and continue to help me on my mission of getting more girls skateboarding for fun and keeping it fashionable – more girls skateboard when they see stylish girls skateboarding!
