California Apparel News

Visitors to the Feb. 1–3 run of upscale menswear trade show Westcoast Exclusive got a glimpse of the future. The show rolled out an expanded roster of men’s apparel that included contemporary and streetwear-inspired lines aimed at a younger customer with a fashion focus.

The show, held at the W hotel in the Westwood section of Los Angeles, featured nearly 50 exhibitors and more than 100 lines. In addition to traditional suit and casual labels, the show bowed Threads, a group of contemporary menswear lines including Modern Amusement, Von Dutch, Ben Sherman, Joe’s Jeans and Nike White Label.

Show organizers do not yet have final attendance figures, but they estimated traffic was up 15 percent over last year.

Among the stores that came to shop the show were Nordstrom, Bloomingdale’s, Mel Fox, H. Lorenzo, Sy Devore, Scott & Co., Black & Blue, At Ease, The Showroom, Vice, Bernini, Theodore, Rodeo Place and Blow Out. Organizers said buyers came from as far as Japan and Canada.

“We worked hard to get people here, and the response has been great,” said Larry Hymes, one of the founders of WCE.

Hymes showed several new labels, including Seams, a line of hand-painted button-down shirts; Spanish label Sistemfive; and Crosby & Grand, a collection of “Vintage Collectible” outerwear that featured leather jackets with embroidered quilted-satin lining.

“The retailers seem really happy to see the progress of where the show is going,” Hymes said.

Rob Keirstead, a regular WCE attendee and a partner in the Dungarees boutique in the Brentwood section of Los Angeles, wrote an order for contemporary men’s line Da-Nang.

Dungarees carries both men’s and women’s apparel, but the store’s men’s business has expanded in recent years, Keirstead said. Two years ago, men’s accounted for about 25 percent of the store’s business. In the past six months, Dungarees’ men’s business has grown to nearly 40 percent. Keirstead credited several of his existing lines—including Ted Baker, AG Adriano Goldschmied and Agave-Denimsmith—with helping to grow his business. On the surf-and-skate side of the business, Keirstead said Rvca did particularly well for the store.

Holiday sales were particularly strong, Keirstead said. “In December, we had the best month we’ve had in three years,” he noted.

Retailer Barry Zeldes, owner of Z Clothing in Brentwood, said he also had strong Holiday and post- Holiday sales—and he also attributed the increase to a change in inventory.

After years of catering to a conservative clientele with traditional upscale menswear labels such as Canali and Ermenegildo Zegna, Zeldes began adding edgier merchandise to the mix. But rather than court a new customer, Zeldes opted to educate his existing customers.

“Nobody discovers you fast enough,” he said. “Rents are high, and you can’t wait for new people to show up.”

Now Zeldes tells his customers, “This is a new world, it’s a new attitude, and you have to do it right.”

And his customers are responding, he said. “It’s up to me to get them to dress appropriately.”

Super Bowl shoppers

The trade show opened on Super Bowl Sunday, but many attendees said they saw strong attendance before the game started and slow but steady traffic throughout the game.

“We had customers right at the opening of the doors and right up until 6 p.m.,” said Paul Nelson, West Coast sales representative for the Indigo Palms Denim Co., a division of Tommy Bahama.

“This show fits perfectly as far as timing and as far as our customer,” he said.

This was the first time Da-Nang exhibited at WCE. Los Angeles–based Innovo Group owns the denim brand, as well as the contemporary men’s denim labels Joe’s Jeans and Yanuk. All three exhibited at the show “to show our support as a brand based in Los Angeles,” said Chip Thompson, Joe’s Jeans New York representative.

Many of the WCE exhibitors had just returned from showing in New York at the Collective, To Be Confirmed and the Project global trade show. Innovo had shown its three labels at Project, and Beaverton, Ore.–based Nike had shown its Nike White Label, a high-end vintage sports–inspired line, at the show, as well.

This was the Nike brand’s first time at WCE, and rep Lacy M. Rapone was pleased with the results.

“I’m impressed with the retailers attending the show,” she said. “Our product is the premium Nike label. We are targeting channels of distribution where Nike’s never gone before.”

Rapone said buyers from Ron Herman at Fred Segal Melrose wrote orders for the line on the show’s opening day.

“I would definitely try this show again,” she said.

WCE heads next to Las Vegas for its Feb. 22–24 run at the Rio All-Suites Hotel & Casino.

The Road Ahead

For the second season, Westcoast Exclusive hosted a panel discussion on the state of the menswear business.This season, the panel included Michael Toschi of upscale men’s footwear, outerwear and accessories brand Michael Toschi International; retailer Sam Malouf of Burlingame, Calif.–based Malouf’s; and Alison A. Nieder, executive editor of the California Apparel News.

Topics included the effect of the rising euro–U.S. dollar exchange rate, the disappearance of the middle-class buyer and ways retailers can boost their business.