As is tradition, the annual ASI Show Fort Worth brought big Texas energy. Featuring a variety of suppliers often local to Texas and the South, this year’s show – which ran from March 29-31 – was packed full of trends in apparel, decoration, drinkware and fun. ASI Media scoured the show floor to spot the top new products and promo trends for distributors to keep an eye on moving into the summer buying season.

Fashion Forward – and Retail-Inspired – Women’s Cuts

Promo has historically been a bit behind retail when it comes to carrying over trending styles and products – but there was no shortage of retail-inspired looks on the show floor, especially styles catering to women.

Charles River Apparel (asi/44620) has leaned into inspiration from retail brands with cult-like followings in its new arrivals for spring, said Territory Manager Jamiee Benson. A new waffled crewneck with a split hem, for example, was modeled after the bohemian, loose style available at retail brand Free People. A new half-zip hoodie was inspired by the popular Lululemon scuba jacket, with a high kangaroo pocket. The company wanted to demonstrate that apparel for uniforms, company stores or other professional use doesn’t have to stick to the same silhouettes that aren’t always the most flattering on women, said Benson.

Charles River Apparel’s (asi/44620) collection of new women’s styles leans into retail-inspired looks more so than classic workwear silhouettes.

Lauren Raughton at Terry Town (asi/90913) also said the supplier had interest in its recently added Lululemon-inspired bag collection because of the clean lines of the black and beige belt bags, backpacks and tote. And, while it doesn’t quite fit the modern athleisure trend, the same can be said for the company’s square straw totes, decorated with a leather patch. The leather patch in particular, said Raughton, is “a retail look without the retail price point.”

These backpacks and straw totes from Terry Town (asi/90913) took inspiration from retail athleisure and resortwear brands.

Toying With Texture

In addition to detailed, full-color DTF transfers galore – a trend that’s already proven it’s here to stay – texture took center stage in terms of apparel decoration techniques on the show floor.

In Your Face Apparel (asi/62493), based in Carrollton, TX, offers a 3-D printed rubber patch that attracted attention at the show, said Lauren Brown, In Your Face Apparel’s business development coordinator. The apparel supplier also created a blue crewneck specifically for ASI Fort Worth, showing off its Texas heritage and its embossing capabilities, which can work over blank apparel or over a screen print.

Brown said the embossing in particular is a trend that’s made its way over to promo from the retail and fashion worlds. “It’s big in high fashion,” she said. “Louis Vuitton is doing it; Dior is doing it.”

In Your Face Apparel (asi/62493) showed off unique decoration methods like 3-D rubber patches and embossing on the floor at ASI Show Fort Worth.

For Headwear USA (asi/60282), it was the supplier’s corduroy caps with a full panel’s worth of embroidery that caught the eye of show attendees. Because of the sheer size of the embroidered section – most often a cityscape – in addition to a company logo in the usual decoration spot on the front, it’s a decoration option that takes a significant amount of machine time, said Nik Mirich, president of Headwear USA. But it pops, especially when combined with a hat texture that’s not your standard performance wear.

These corduroy styles from Headwear USA (asi/60282) are sturdy enough to take a full panel of embroidered decoration on the sides.

Putting Stock in Socks

Footwear in promo has been having a moment – first with custom shoes, and now with socks.

“Athletic socks are definitely trending,” said Rebecca Palomares, strategic account manager at Sock Club (asi/88072). They were handing out a custom Texas-branded design made for the show with a higher rise style modeled after the Nike Elite sock – which attendees were also using as beanbags to toss into a branded cornhole board in the Sock Club booth. The supplier’s newest style, a quarter crew sock, was heavily inspired by the popularity of the Alo Yoga brand’s (a favorite with celebrities and influencers) crew styles.

Earthy Tones & Pastel Hues

Earthy neutrals, especially greens were everywhere on the show floor, from fleece hoodies to corporate attire. Ayi Doumassy, director of sales and business development at Storm Creek (asi/89879), said customers kept pulling this green softshell jacket out from the middle of its rack to put it on the front and take a closer look. In addition to its trendy green hue, Doumassy said the fabric is different than what people would expect – softer than the traditional fabric of a softshell jacket. “Anything with soft fabrics is appealing,” he said.

This new jacket style from Storm Creek (asi/89879) kept attracting attendee attention on the show floor.

But amid the earthy shades, there was also a huge variety of pops of pastel tones like lavender, blush pink and yellow – just in time for spring. Landway (asi/66238) had a rain jacket on offer in pale purple and light blue shades, softer than what the supplier usually offers. And drinkware and cooler supplier RTIC Outdoors (asi/77359) had an entire display of spring-hued options in contrast to its army green and outdoorsy roots.

Traditionally specializing in darker or earthier colors, Landway (asi/66238) has introduced some lighter hues for its jacket styles, like this lavender.

Tone on Tone Lid Color Matching

Also in that pastel display, RTIC showed off another trend in drinkware: tone on tone color matching for lids.

According to a sales rep at Diamondback Branding (asi/49546), it started with retail brand Simple Modern, whose tumblers have long come with color-coordinated lids and straws for a monochromatic look. Now, the trend has made its way over to stainless-steel tumbler styles that traditionally have a clear lid, like RTIC’s. The lid colors run the gamut, from trendy pastel shades to deeper hues – another way to make a drinkware campaign stand out in an often-saturated category.

An eye-catching display in the RTIC Outdoors (asi/77359) booth showed off two trends: pastel-hued products and color-matching lids.

Durable Drinkware

Silipint (asi/87306), a drinkware supplier known for its vibrant tumblers and bottles made from 100% silicone, has toned it down with one of its newest items: clear silicone glasses. From their display on the show floor, the items look like traditional glassware, but they’re made from Silipint’s durable silicone material.

Sales Manager Joy Curley said the glasses have been hugely popular in the resort and hospitality industry so far, specifically for barware. “You can’t have glass by the pool,” she said, “but you can have these.”

It’s almost a bit disorienting when Silipint’s (asi/87306) new clear silicone drinkware – which looks like glass – bends and doesn’t break.

Outside of the traditional “drinkware” category, there’s also been shifts having to do with sustainability. Water Promotions (asi/95395), a longtime supplier of branded single-use plastic water bottles, faced challenges after major corporations – and even some states, like Massachusetts – have pulled back from single-use bottles.

“We were losing so many of our big corporate clients – accounts we’ve had for years and years – because of the plastic,” said Steven Levinson, president and CEO of Water Promotions.

So, the supplier pivoted to add canned water – à la Liquid Death – to its product lineup to still cater to those corporate clients, as aluminum wasn’t subject to the same limitations. So far in 2025, says Levinson, Water Promotions has already sold more cans than bottles.

Canned water like this vibrant display has been a way for Water Promotions (asi/95395) to cater to corporate clients who want to use less plastic.

And a Bit of Fun

It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s a giant yeti?

And no, not the drinkware kind, though that’d be what you’d expect at a trade show. Taking up – a lot – of space in the middle of the show floor was an enormous fluffy yeti inflatable from Floatie Kings (asi/54686) that looked like it was modeled after the Abominable Snow Monster in the holiday classic Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

A giant inflatable display from Floatie Kings (asi/54686) towered over attendees on the show floor at ASI Fort Worth.

While the timing of ASI Fort Worth was a few months too late for Christmas celebrations, the giant yeti did its job of serving as an eye-catching centerpiece for the Floatie Kings display of custom inflatables, which also featured a 6-foot tall Three Olives vodka inflatable and a variety of custom inflatable coolers. The company can create almost any shape or size of blow-up display, said sales manager Ryan Humphries.

“They’re meant to grab attention,” he said, “so I’m glad the display is showing off what we can do.”

Product Hub
Find the latest in quality products, must-know trends and fresh ideas for upcoming end-buyer campaigns.