California Apparel News

Menswear buyers had three venues to shop during the inaugural Los Angeles Men’s Fashion Week, held Aug. 1–3.

Local industry watchers declared a fashion week when the Project Global Trade Show announced plans to hold a West Coast version of its New York–based contemporary streetwear show at the same time as the 8-year-old upscale men’s show Westcoast Exclusive. Next, Los Angeles–based contemporary streetwear show Agenda announced it would hold a menswear-only version of its show during the same week.

The shows ran concurrently, but the venues were spread across town.

In downtown Los Angeles, Project California was held at the Cooper Design Space, and Agenda was held on the 11th floor of the California Market Center. The Westcoast Exclusive was held at the W Hotel in the Westwood section of Los Angeles.

“If there was just one show, I would say there’s just a bunch of disenfranchised guys,” said Ilse Metchek, executive director of the Los Angeles–based California Fashion Association. “The importance of these shows is that they have new business. They have new ways to do things.”

Most of the retailers browsing the shows came from specialty stores such as Fred Segal in Santa Monica, Calif., Up Against The Wall in Washington, D.C., and Villains Clothing and Shoes in San Francisco.

At Project, Randy Brewer, general manager for Villains, said the shows served a niche for boutiques.

“It’s a great mix,” Brewer said. “All of the right companies are here.”

But the contemporary men’s market is still a work in progress, according to Sam Ben Avraham, director of Project California. “You have a lot of stores in Middle America just getting into fashion,” said Ben Avraham, noting it will take another few years for the contemporary men’s category to catch on nationally.

“Up until two years ago, no one took it seriously—they saw it as a side business,” said Ben Avraham, who shifted the merchandise mix from traditional designer labels to contemporary in his men’s and women’s boutique, Atrium, in New York. “It was hard for us to convince people in the beginning. Now, it’s no longer a subcategory.”

California is well positioned to cater to the growing trend, according to Stuart Berman, president of Bregman & Associates, a Los Angeles–based retail consulting/buying office.

“We’re learning that the California menswear market is growing quickly from a retail standpoint and is leading the way in terms of fashion direction in the young men’s market,” Berman said. “There’s more growth coming from California’s young men’s resources than New York or any other part of the country. In terms of volume, New York has a stronger position in the market just because of the number of resources available to them in the city. But when it comes to direction, all of the major retail stores are looking to the West Coast.”

Crossover buying

Despite the distance, many buyers at the Westcoast Exclusive said they planned to check out the shows downtown, and buyers with Project gift bags were spotted walking the halls of the W Hotel.

“All of the exhibitors that were here were all walking around with smiles because they reached their sales expectations,” said Amy Freeman-Cohen, on-site producer for the WCE.

“What Project has done for Los Angeles is drum up more excitement for the menswear industry,” she added. “It’s a good balance for us because they bring in a young, trendy ’what’s the season’ retail account base. There is some crossover of that market into the better menswear, but it’s mostly the level of excitement that comes with a more hands-on market week for menswear.”

Project California

Project California drew 150 vendors and 1,500 attendees—fewer participants than the New York show, which drew 4,000 attendees and 250 vendors. Still, many vendors who came to Project California said the show had an important purpose.

“We don’t have a show like this,” said Mark Encinas, account manager for New York–based Kangol Red, who recently relocated from Los Angeles to New York. “It’s bringing a lot of cool brands to Los Angeles that don’t have a presence here.”

Brands ranged from the big business of Nike Footwear and the Marc Ecko Collection to companies unknown in the United States, such as Mandi, based in Satilde;o Paulo, Brazil.

Vendors had to pay $6,000 for a 10-by-10 space (just as vendors did at the New York show), but many, including Mandi owner Marcelo Loureiro, were pleased the show did not permit big booths to overshadow those of smaller companies.

“The customer doesn’t know if the company is big or small,” Loureiro said. “So the small guy has a chance to compete.”

Many vendors, including Loureiro and Encinas, said business was fine and retailers were placing orders. Villains’ Brewer said the show was a good idea but it had some kinks to iron out. Project California followed three New York menswear shows: Project, Confirmed (formerly called To Be Confirmed) and ENK’s The Collective and was held one week before the Los Angeles women’s market and three weeks before the massive MAGIC International and the many satellite shows in Las Vegas.

The next Project California is tentatively scheduled for February 2005 and may be located in downtown Los Angeles, said Edina Sultanik Silver, a spokeswoman for the show.

Westcoast Exclusive

Many buyers at the Westcoast Exclusive said the men’s market is on a rebound. Buyers were in the mood for business, causing many exhibitors to forecast hearty business going into Spring.

“Spring is [typically] slow for men’s sportswear, but buyers are here placing orders, and they’re very optimistic about business in what’s typically not a busy season,” said WCE co-founder Stevi Goetz.

About 34 exhibitors came to the show with some 106 lines. New exhibitors included Joseph’s Cloak, Ko’s Menswear, Backer Sportswear, Ben Hogan Apparel, Cirrus Cashmere Inc., Poggianti and Vuarnet France. Many exhibitors offered Spring deliveries as early as Jan. 15.

The Los Angeles–based menswear trade show has been offering tailored suits and better casual sportswear to men’s boutiques for eight years.

“We’re noticing that the menswear business is coming back in a big way,” Goetz said. “The baby boomers are looking to mature their wardrobes.”

Buyers from Mario’s specialty boutique in St. Helena, Calif., wrote orders with the Steven Matus showroom in Beverly Hills for Haupt’s two-ply cotton striped shirts in brown, yellow, blue, white and orange color combinations and micro-blend trousers with exposed zipper pockets. The showroom offered a plethora of colorful leather belts with sleek sterling-silver buckles.

Sales rep Terry Moore showed a bold awning-striped linen jacket and paisley jacquard club jacket with imprinted stripes by the Arnold Brandt Collection, as well as a sophisticated and sporty piqueacute; knit shirt with a contrast woven collar by Tomas Elliot.

Moore said many traditional menswear styles are getting a contemporary makeover.

“Men’s clothing is more body-conscious, and the attitude is much younger,” he said. “Suits are trimmer with flat fronts, and they’re made with fine fabrics.”

Sportswear buyers focused on bright colors and innovative prints, according to Bob Segel, the Laguna Hills, Calif.–based rep for Tailorbyrd and Altea Italian Neckware. On the show’s second day, he saw 15 clients before noon, including buyers from Nordstrom, who placed orders for Tailorbyrd’s short- and long-sleeved sports shirts with abstract prints and better casual knit shirts. Segel said print trends in neckties ranged from paisley and floral prints to retro-dot and geometric designs in purple, pink, gold, green and coral.

Sportswear makers tried new fabrics and prints to keep their lines fresh and innovative. Toronto-based Dager, a better sports-shirt collection for young men with wholesale prices ranging from $42 to $65, showed a seersucker sports shirt with multicolor barber stripes and convertible cuffs, as well as sports shirts with stripes and floral silkscreen prints.

Many domestic menswear companies are taking their cues from European dress-shirt makers, according to sales rep Paul Amundson of Amundson & Associates in Toronto.

“Most of our shirts are cut to the same specifications as a dress shirt, but the patterns and fabrics make them look sporty,” Amundson said. “It’s a popular design technique used among today’s European dress-shirt makers.”

Eton of Sweden offered four men’s dressshirt collections: business, designer, evening and royal. The royal collection is made with fine Egyptian cotton and is available in highcollar, straight-point, moderate-cutaway, fullspread and buttoned-up collar styles. The line also has mother-of-pearl button details. Retail price points start at $110.

Retailer Gerard Bendl of Custom Shirts in La Jolla, Calif., said he was impressed by the innovative styles offered at the show. He was particularly drawn to New York–based Jhane Barnes’ Spring collection, which featured short-sleeved silk cashmere sports shirts; short-sleeved silk cashmere waffle shirts in taupe, oatmeal and blue; silk spacedyed polo shirts in yellow, green, blue and coral; and ribbed-sleeve linen sweaters in orange and khaki.

Bendl said his budget was up 5 percent over last year.

“Business was good in the early part of spring but slowed in June,” Bendl said, adding that overall annual sales for 2004 are on track to increase by 10 percent. “The economy is getting better; the customer has held back for so long, and now they’re out to buy.”

New format in Las Vegas

In 2002, the WCE launched a Las Vegas run, held concurrently with MAGIC International. In August, the WCE Las Vegas show will switch from a hotel-room format at the Rio All-Suite Hotel & Casino to a 167,000- square-foot open-booth format at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

The WCE’s Los Angeles edition is known for attracting specialty store buyers from the Pacific Northwest and Southwest regions, and the Las Vegas show has a broad account base made up of national buyers and international buyers, Goetz said, adding that the show is taking measures to attract international buyers. The WCE recently appointed Tricia Terraneo to the new position of international relations director.

Agenda

Cities as far-flung as Tokyo and London have been the sites of past Agenda shows. The eighth show was held in Los Angeles, and 27 independent labels—from Carlsbad, Calif., to Vancouver, British Columbia—sent vendors to the show.

Stores ranging from Nordstrom to small boutiques—such as Barracuda and Brooklyn Projects, based on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles—browsed the show, according to Aaron Levant, co-owner of Agenda. The event had an artsy twist, as evidenced by the streetwear, deejays spinning house music and video games playing in the background.

Reaction to business was mixed. Steve Chiu, designer for Vancouver-based Uppercrust, said his company wrote orders for specialty stores, including True Grit in San Antonio. Chiu said Agenda offered opportunities not available elsewhere. “It’s important to have a show for a lot of new designers who may not have the finances to go to a show that costs $6,000 for entry fees,” he said.

Agenda charged $600 per rack.

Other vendors bristled at the slow traffic. “The timing isn’t great,” said Adam Krohn of San Francisco–based Upper Playground, adding that Agenda was scheduled too close to shows such as MAGIC.

“[Agenda] is definitely more of a networking thing, but the Los Angeles stores come here, and the price is right. So it’s cool,” he said.

John Hodges, buyer for Identity Board Shop, a three-store skatewear chain based in Buena Park, Calif., said his customers are embracing the looks offered by Agenda’s exhibitors.

“You can still sell a Volcom shirt with logos all over it,” Hodges said. “But more people want art and not such a big logo.”

The next Agenda show is scheduled to run Sept. 10–11 in San Diego.

Risqueacute; Business

Wearing only underwear, 11 male models spread across the lobby of the California Market Center on Aug. 2 and slowly put on their clothes. This reverse strip show, called “11 Men,” was produced by the Heaven showroom, located in suite B1190 of the CMC. The show promoted fashion from the Agenda show— including RVCA, Grnappletree and Astronaut—and brands from the Afterburn showroom in suite B1189, including Krush and Greasy.

Heaven showroom coowner Jose Angel, who choreographed “11 Men,” hoped the clothes and the shock value of the half-naked men would attract buyers to the Agenda trade show on the 11th floor.

Angel did not appear in the show. Expect a new version on Aug. 13, during Los Angeles Fashion Week. Also expect a twist: The next show will be called “11 Women.”