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Photo by Jeffrey Smallwood<\/em><\/p>\n Standing in the front door of Outfitters, the lifestyle retail store he manages on the corner of Pine Ave. and 3rd St., Zeid \u201cZ\u201d Arar knew he had to be on point.<\/p>\n It was last Tuesday morning and for the next 48 hours, nearly 15,000 of his industry\u2019s elite\u2014from owners to artists to buyers, all with connections to the biggest surf, skate, sneaker and streetwear brands in the world, including the 50 or so that Outfitters carries\u2014would be within a half-mile of his shop.<\/p>\n The twice-annual Agenda show <\/a>had again taken over the Long Beach Convention Center, this time for its largest show to date. Bringing more than 700 companies as diverse as The Hundreds, New Balance, Quiksilver and Emerica together under one invite-only roof, Agenda is where buyers in charge of stocking these brands (at major chains and mom-and-pops alike) peruse and place orders for the new season\u2019s designs.<\/p>\n But after 11 years in business, Agenda has become much more than just a place where youth culture brands come to make sales in sunny SoCal.<\/p>\n It has expanded to become an all-encompassing celebration of the California lifestyle with live art, daytime drinking, a food truck court and celebrity sightings from Famous Stars and Straps owner (and Blink 182 drummer) Travis Barker to Long Beach luminary Snoop Dogg, who this year had no less than three collaborations with different brands featured across Agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cWe teamed up with Snoop Lion for a collaboration piece not only because of our Long Beach roots, but because our logo is a lion and it fit perfectly with his name change,\u201d says Lexi Amparan of three-year-old Long Beach-based accessories company, Rastaclat<\/a>.<\/p>\n Originally known for African-inspired braided bracelets made from high-quality shoelaces, the brand debuted its expanded line of durable belts, hats and shoelaces at last summer\u2019s Agenda show.<\/p>\n Rastaclat bracelets (including a Snoop Lion collaboration) on display at Agenda. Photo by Sarah Bennett<\/em><\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re doing our own thing in our own way and people seem to understand that here,\u201d Amparan says, noting that the brand got its start in the sneaker community, but is quickly branching out to other streetwear segments. \u201cWe are a niche product and we don\u2019t want to water down our message, so Agenda is perfect for us.\u201d<\/p>\n The secret to Agenda\u2019s success is not so much that it caters to one lifestyle niche, but instead has grown to, authentically and organically, coalesce a combination of niches\u2014streetwear, fashion, action sports, sneakers, surf and hardgoods, among others\u2014that though increasingly related in the real world were never before put under one roof at a trade show.<\/p>\n![\"DSC](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/DSC_1118.jpg\")
\u201cIt\u2019s important for us to be able to see the material in person so we can feel it right there,\u201d says Arar, who often accompanies his owner as they walk Agenda\u2019s floor, buying the latest from brands like Diamond, Obey, LRG, Neff and GDK. \u201cThey can send a catalog, but we can\u2019t always see what the actual color or texture is. Going to Agenda much better than emailing back and forth for orders. And for us, it\u2019s right down the street.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"rastaclatcollaboration\"](\"https:\/\/lbpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/01\/rastaclatcollaboration.jpg\")
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\u201cIt could be bigger if I wanted it to be, but that\u2019s not the whole thing with Agenda,\u201d Levant says. \u201cOur whole thing is controlling the growth. Every month, we hear from hundreds and hundreds of brands that we just choose not to do business with. If we wanted to let the reigns loose, we could make this thing twice as big, but we don\u2019t want to do that\u2014it would ruin it.\u201d<\/p>\n