CLAD Joins CFA
The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD) has joined the California Fashion Association (CFA). CLAD plans to kick off the partnership with a series of business-to-business seminars sponsored by CFA member-service companies and aimed at the specific interests of CLAD’s roster of independent and up-and-coming designers.
Darren Gold, president of CLAD and co-designer of contemporary label Mhope, said meeting with CFA executive director Ilse Metchek helped him decide to join CFA.
By joining CFA, CLAD will have assistance in organizing seminars and fund-raisers, securing sponsorship for CLAD events and attracting new members, Gold said.
“After I met with Ilse and she showed me the proposals of the things they could do for us, I thought, ’Why haven’t we done this before?’ For us, [we’re] designers who are running our businesses and that takes up so much time. We have a lot of ideas and things we want to do, but it’s hard for us to implement them because everyone is so bogged down with their own company and their own business.”
Gold presented Metchek’s proposals to CLAD’s members, who were equally enthusiastic about joining CFA, he said.
Currently there are about 20 CLAD members, including labels Mhope, Eisbar, Mona & Co., Nikolaki, Naqada, Huzzi, Linda Weng and Jessica Elliot.
The 5-year-old organization’s roster of previous members reads like a who’s who of Los Angeles designers: Monah Li, Alicia Lawhon, Cynthia Vincent, John Cherpas, Kellie Delkeskamp, Freddie Rojas, Dianne and Eric Martin, Anita Arze, Pete Lugo, Christopher Enuke and Anna Huling.
One of the group’s goals for this year is boosting current membership. Gold said the group has lowered its annual dues from $350 to $150 and will begin charging separate fees for individual events. For example, the group is planning a meet-and-greet event with stylists and press following Los Angeles Fashion Week in April. There will be a nominal fee for the designers interested in participating.
“There are some great people out there that have small businesses,” Gold said. “They are selling, but they couldn’t afford to join [CLAD when the annual dues were $350]—now they can.”
“Having CLAD as a member continues to fulfill our mission as the integrated tool for networking within the apparel and textile industries,” said Metchek. “Further, the CLAD members have the ability to gain valuable information from other member-service experts, such as our lawyers, accountants, compliance experts, sourcing services, etc.”
CLAD members have been sent a questionnaire with sample topics for the seminar series, including charge-backs, markdowns and collections, health insurance, human resources and labor law, marketing and copyright protection, out-sourcing production services and international export opportunities.
The voice of the industry
CLAD is the second industry organization to join CFA recently. The Association of Textile Dyers, Printers & Finishers (ATDPF) recently joined the umbrella organization, which also counts as member organizations the Textile Association of Los Angeles, the Fashion District Business Improvement District, the Central City Association, the California Manufacturing Technology Center and the World Trade Center Association.
CFA is the de facto voice of the apparel industry, particularly in Southern California. The organization was formed in 1995 in the wake of the El Monte sweatshop scandal, when the discovery of a group of Thai nationals held against their will in an El Monte apparel factory put a very bright and very negative spotlight on the local industry.
Part of CFA’s focus is to counter criticisms that paint the industry with a broad brush.
The organization also works to promote the local industry and to support its members by offering educational and informational seminars and industry panels, by hosting international trade delegations to Los Angeles to investigate export opportunities for California brands, and by serving as a network for the exchange of information.
In 2000, the CFA and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. formed L.A. By Design to promote Southern California’s position as a world-class creative center.
“The benefit to CLAD and ATDPF, as well as the other member organizations, resides with the leadership of each group,” said Metchek. “Our business-to-business information is the tool—what they do with it is their own business. Additionally, if there are specific issues to the group, such as energy to the ATDPF and sponsorships for CLAD, we give them input and assistance wherever possible. CFA is the back-up research office for anything they want to know.”
