California Apparel News

Members of the Shanghai Garment Trade Association (SGTA) were in Los Angeles recently as part of a whirlwind U.S. tour to promote several Shanghai events, as well as to drum up support for the formation of an international fashion association.

Xu Xiu Qing, SGTA’s secretary general, senior economist and senior garment designer, met with several local industry leaders during her brief visit in Los Angeles on Jan. 3 to discuss the licensing and distribution opportunities for U.S. labels at the upcoming Shanghai International Fashion, Clothing, Accessories Exposition (SIFE), set for July 21–24 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center in Shanghai, China.

The annual expo is a licensing opportunity for U.S. brands, said Frank Yuan, founder of the ASAP Global Sourcing Show, who served as interpreter for Xu.

“If you have a turn-key store concept, you can open 1,000 stores a year [in China],” he added.

Yuan said the show provides an opportunity for international labels to research and strike licensing deals to open retail stores in China. A manufacturer could sign several of these licensing agreements—similar to the franchise concept—each covering a different province in China, at the show, he added.

There are about 25,000 potential licensees at the show, said Xu through Yuan.

The show, which is nearly 10 years old, has grown significantly in recent years, according to Xu. But there is still a limited U.S. presence. Only about five or six New York companies attended the last show, Xu said.

China Cup entries sought

Xu was also in town to promote the China Cup design competition, set for March 19–22 in Shanghai.

The competition was established 9 years ago to spotlight upand- coming designers. Nearly 2,000 entries are received from 62 cities in 31 countries, including entries from nearly 100 colleges. Entries are submitted in one of four categories: women’s apparel, men’s apparel, childrenswear and underwear/beachwear. Finalists receive a trip to Shanghai and winners are selected during the fourday event, which focuses on a different category each day. Prizes include cash up to $45,000 and trips to Europe and Hong Kong.

For the past three years, U.S. students from New York design schools have participated in the China Cup, Xu said, adding that they would like to see entries from California design students as well.

“Right now only New York [students] attend the China Cup,” said Ellen Cui, secretary of the chief secretary’s office of SGTA. “We have not set up relations with the California fashion industries.”

The theme for the 2003 China Cup is “In the Name of Peace” and participants were asked to submit designs that are both fashionable and practical but also “advocate peace by creating an environment of acknowledging cultural and religious differences and depicting an ideal community full of friendship, justice and peace.”

The deadline has passed for the 2003 competition, however Xu said the China Cup committee would still accept entries for the underwear/beachwear and chilchildrenswear categories. Additional information is available on the China Cup Web site (www.cncup.net) and on the CGTA Web site (www.cnfashion.net).

International aspirations

Xu’s trip had a third mission—to gauge interest in forming an international fashion association composed of fashion associations from international fashion centers including Paris, Milan, London, Tokyo, Hong Kong, New York and Los Angeles.

A global association would enable members to share resources—including sourcing brands, resources and production. The association would “open a platform for dialog for all these major cities,” said Xu through Yuan.

Xu said she would like to host an initial meeting in Shanghai in March during the China Cup to discuss bylaws and establish a board of directors. —Alison A. Nieder