Bettie Page Clothing by Coral & Jade Prepares for Vegas MAGIC Show

I recently had the pleasure of interviewing Denise Medina, vice president of Coral & Jade Apparel, the company that brings to life the irresistible designs at Bettie Page Clothing. We talked about the upcoming WWDMAGIC (the WWD stands for Women’s Wear Daily) show in Las Vegas, current trends in vintage style, Bettie’s broad appeal and more.

Tori: Can you say a bit about yourself to introduce yourself to our readers?  

Denise: I am half of the husband and wife team that owns and actively operates Coral & Jade Apparel. We design and manufacture Bettie Page by Coral & Jade including dresses, separates and swimwear. We wholesale to stores, boutiques and web stores around the world.

Tori: Can you say a bit about the MAGIC show, maybe a little history, what it involves?

Denise: Twice a year, in February and August, our team loads up the company van to travel to Las Vegas to show our new lines at MAGIC. This is the culmination of 6 months of preparations including designing and merchandising the new collections (four of them) and having samples made (over 225). Once all of the samples are complete, there’s a three-day photo shoot with models, hair and makeup artists. We sift through photos (over 13,000) to pick the perfect ones for each style and then work with the graphic artist to create the new catalogs (four of them). This will be our fourteenth trip to WWDMAGIC at the Las Vegas Convention Center, where we will have three long days to show the new collections to customers, some with appointments as well as many, many walk-ins (there are over 60,000 people attending all of the shows). It’s a very exciting time as we will have the opportunity to see firsthand how well the customers like the collections!

Tori: What sort of feedback have you been getting from customers on the Bettie Page clothing line?

Denise: Customers love the styling of the line, and they appreciate the quality and the fit of the garments.

Tori: What are some current trends in the industry that might be of interest to Bettie fans and/or vintage fashion lovers? 

Denise: Vintage styling has crossed over into modern fashions. We’ve seen it for about four years in swimwear, now we see it more in prints and skirt lengths as well as in crop tops and higher waist bottoms.  Because of this, there is demand for apparel with vintage styling from mainstream boutiques and lingerie/swimwear stores, as well as from the traditional retro/vintage stores.

Tori: Do you have any fun anecdotes about Bettie that come to mind that you’d like to share?  

Denise: I did not know Bettie when she was alive. What I know of her has been learned from the research we’ve done to style the clothing collections. Her appeal is undeniable, and I am continuously amazed at the range of ages of people–from teenagers to those just young in spirit–who idolize her for her look and her spirited approach to life.