California Apparel News

The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD) recently presented its new executive board members and announced that it is refocusing its position in Los Angeles’ fashion industry.

Shana Rocheleau; newly appointed president of the 4-year-old grassroots Los Angeles-based organization; said the group has sharpened its focus into three areas: to assist designers as a trade organization, to produce a fashion show to promote its members and to assist in the creation of Los Angeles Fashion Week.

“CLAD’s mission is to build common industry spirit,” she explained. “First and foremost we’re a trade organization, but I see potential in CLAD to bring L.A.’s fashion week to the forefront of the trade industry.”

Rocheleau was part of a panel to introduce the newest members of the CLAD executive board, including Eisbar’s Bobby Benveniste, vice president and new member coordinator; Lee Trimble, Fashion Week project coordinator; and Katherine Koyanagi, legal consultant. (Other members of the board including Talking to Angels’ Anita Arze, vice president, Gunther Scia, director of finance, and Eisbar’s Kiernan Lambeth, secretary, were not present.) CLAD members Nick Verreos of Los Angeles-based label Nikolaki and Marla Hope and Darren Gold of mHope Clothing were also in attendance.

The organization sponsors industry-specific seminars, such as a recent discussion of legal issues affecting apparel designers. CLAD members can also benefit from the networking opportunities and added exposure membership in the group brings.

Nikolaki’s Verros said he and his business partner, David Paul, found the group to be a good resource for their label.

“It did take it to another level in terms of exposure,” he said, adding that following the last CLAD fashion show in November of last year, Nikolaki designs were featured on the covers of California Apparel News and the “Southern California Living” section of the Los Angeles Times.

“You can’t put a price on that,” he said.

Other plans in the works for CLAD include investigating bringing a group of designers to New York for an alternative trade show, Rocheleau said.

CLAD will also host a fashion show in Los Angeles on April 17, coming at the tail end of Los Angeles Fashion Week. Artist Management’s Paul Swanson and Jacob Greenwald are producing the event. The two have joined the group’s advisory board to assist with marketing and sponsorship. Under Swanson and Greenwald’s direction, CLAD has secured sponsorship of the fashion show from Hornburg Jaguar and Los Angeles magazine. The duo also helped line up their client singer/dancer Niki Haris to host the event.

The show will feature nine designers, including Eisbar, James, Goretti Couture, mHope, Mona & Co., Nikolaki and Ten:02. Organizers are anticipating more than 550 attendees.

“This time around we’re bringing the CLAD show to a higher level of production with higher financial sponsorship,” Swanson said.

In addition to participating in Los Angeles Fashion Week’s roundup of fashion shows, CLAD has taken on the task of coordinating the fashion week calendar (this season, sponsored by California Apparel News). The group accepted all calendar submissions, alerting designers if their event coincided with a previously scheduled show.

Trimble, who worked to secure CLAD’s responsibility for the calendar last season, is helping produce the CLAD fashion show this season. Her responsibilities will also include investigating the possibility of facilitating an official fashion week in Los Angeles. Trimble, who has been part of the planning to launch a local fashion week, called recent efforts “laudable,” citing in particular the Audi Presents Designer Collections of Los Angeles event held last November.

“One of CLAD’s goals has been to stay ahead of the curve in fashion, to make this [fashion week] compete with other fashion weeks as far as showcasing breakout talent,” she said.

Trimble added, “We’re definitely more funky than your traditional fashion organization, but you have to be in order to attract edgy designers.”

For more information on CLAD, call (310) 659-1750. —Claudia Figueroa