ATLANTA, GA – August 19, 2024 – ANDMORESM presented its August editions of Formal Markets in Atlanta and Las Vegas, showcasing top Spring/Summer 2025 styles across bridal, prom, quinceañera and more, with booming growth in bridal sourcing reported from coast to coast. Formal Markets in Atlanta ran July 29 – August 2 at AmericasMart Atlanta, and Formal Markets in Las Vegas ran August 11 – 13 at The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas.
"ANDMORE’s Formal Markets in Atlanta and Las Vegas are the only markets in the country with full opportunities to source across every category," said Caron Stover, ANDMORE SVP, apparel. "With a strong bridal industry, growth in quinceañera and deep prom buying, Formal Markets brings together the best-of-the-best brands and buyers to source every formal category and close out their order writing early."
Across both Atlanta and Las Vegas Formal Markets, the bridal category was bustling, with brands across both markets writing to close out their sourcing seasons by mid-August.
“We always start our buying in Atlanta and finish up in Las Vegas,” said Didi Stout, General Manager and Buyer at Trudy’s Brides in Campbell, CA. “In Vegas, we were able to see everyone we needed to see and wrap up our bridal buying for the year.”
Leaders across the bridal industry are recognizing the growing value of their presence at Formal Markets, highlighting the benefit of expanded showroom space and strong buyer turnout this August.
“We have gotten a lot of value out of our showroom in Atlanta, and we knew it was time to invest more into our space to introduce a permanent runway and make it a great place for us to show our full bridal collection to buyers. In addition, ANDMORE has done a wonderful job getting our buyers here to the markets,” said Justin Warshaw, CEO and Creative Director at Justin Alexander, a brand exclusive to Formal Markets in Atlanta and Las Vegas.
Crystal Lu, Creative Director for Casablanca Bridal, said, “This August was extremely successful for Casablanca. I was excited to see so many bridal-focused buyers in Atlanta, and we saw lots of foot traffic from across the country in addition to our typical market appointments. Many of our stores came to Atlanta to see us and preview our collection, and then we saw them again in Las Vegas where they made their final buying decisions and wrote with us.”
Robust Prom Season Sales in Atlanta Reflect Continued Strong Sourcing
Formal Markets in Atlanta, together with the concurrent August edition of Atlanta Apparel, welcomed visitors from 10 countries and 42 states, with the Southeast and Midwest drawing the highest attendance. Notably this August, 40% of attendees at the concurrent markets reported plans to buy across the formal category. Additionally, Formal Markets in Atlanta welcomed hundreds of buyers to Atlanta on Sunday, July 28, in town early for a bustling day of pre-market appointments.
This August, Formal Markets Atlanta featured 200+ individual collections across three permanent showroom floors and one floor of temporary exhibits. In addition to strong bridal buying, buyers and exhibitors noted strong order writing for the upcoming prom 2025 season.
“We come to Atlanta twice-per-year and we don’t need to go to any other market to write all of our orders,” said Corie Walters, Owner of The Bride & Groom in Columbus, MS. “We got to see a few of our bridal lines, and we even wrote orders for over 300 prom dresses this August. We always wish we could have more time.”
Prom and quinceanera brand, Sophia Thomas Designs, enthused on Instagram, “What an amazing market. We had so much fun with our existing retailers and are so excited about the new accounts we wrote with. We are so thankful for all who came out to celebrate the grand opening of our new showroom and are so excited for the Spring 2025 season.”
Beyond exhibits, Formal Markets presented its Spring/Summer 2025 fashion show, showcasing 73 looks across prom, bridal, mother-of-the-bride, flower girl, quinceañera and men's.
Vibrant Quinceañera Demand Boosts Order Writing in Las Vegas
The Las Vegas edition of Formal Markets, which showcased near 90 individual collections across The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas, welcomed buyers from five international countries and 41 states, with 65% of market attendees visiting from the West. Beyond bridal, there was a high demand among attendees for quinceañera lines.
Princesa by Ariana Vara
Exhibitor Luis Tejeda, Commercial Director for quinceañera brand, Ragazza, added, “This is our second time showing in Las Vegas and coming here we see more buyers than we are used to. We introduced our traditional Mexican line, Morena, and it did wonderful at this market. We are looking forward to taking more space next year, and designing new dresses to introduce at Formal Markets,” said Tejeda.
In addition to exhibits, Formal Markets Las Vegas hosted the second annual in-person edition of Mon Cheri Academy pre-market education, organized and presented by Steve Lang, CEO of Mon Cheri Bridals. Following the in-person session in Las Vegas, Formal Markets buyers have four more opportunities to learn in virtual Mon Cheri Academy sessions: September 23; October 21; November 4 and December 2. For more information and registration, visit www.atlanta-apparel.com/mca.
ANDMORE presents its Formal Markets three times annually – April and August in Atlanta and August in Las Vegas. The Atlanta editions of Formal Markets run April 1 - 3 and August 4 - 8 at Americasmart Atlanta. The 2025 edition of Formal Markets in Las Vegas adopts a Monday – Wednesday date pattern, running August 25 – 27, at The Expo at World Market Center Las Vegas. For more information, visit https://www.atlanta-apparel.com/Markets/Formal-Markets.
About ANDMORE: ANDMORESM, formerly International Market Centers, is an Omnichannel Wholesale Marketmaker that fuels opportunities for wholesale buyers and sellers to connect, grow and prosper through physical markets, design centers and digital channels. The company owns and operates more than 20 million square feet of premium event and showroom space, hosting live events in Atlanta, High Point, N.C., Las Vegas and New York City. By pairing face-to-face events with always-on digital tools, ANDMORE provides truly omnichannel business platforms for its global wholesale customer base. www.ANDMORE.com
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