California Apparel News

Traffic was heavy and business was brisk during the Oct. 29–Nov. 2 run of Los Angeles Market Week—despite the uncertainty during the last days of the presidential election and the ongoing financial strain caused by rising fuel costs.

Noting the packed parking lots at the California Market Center and the long hours buyers spent searching for the most fashionable collections in the showrooms of the CMC, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and the Gerry Building, attendees and exhibitors reported the Spring market was one of the best showings of what has historically been a strong market.

Many credited the week’s success to an improving economy. Others said buyers were lured by the Los Angeles Fashion Week events, held the week before market.

Buyers were also compelled to browse the temporary shows, Brighte Companies in the CMC and Designers & Agents at The New Mart and the Cooper Design Space.

CMC Strong

Cecil Strickland, CMC executive director of retail relations, projected the Spring market was the best-attended market in 11 years but would not release specific figures.

The retailers in attendance included strong Southern California boutiques Kitson, On Sunset, H. Lorenzo, Forever 21 and Fred Segal Santa Monica. San Diego– based Charlotte Russe, Texas-based The Neiman Marcus Group Inc. and Little Rock, Ark.–based Dillard’s Inc. also shopped the market.

Steve Barraza, chief executive officer of Los Angeles–based manufacturer Tianello, said many of the retailers were buying immediates for Nov. 30 delivery.

Diane Levin, owner of her namesake showroom, forecast a more than 30 percent increase in sales from last year’s market. For this show, she unveiled an expanded 1,600-squarefoot showroom on the fifth floor of the CMC.

One of her customers, A.J. Cohen, owner of the 1,500-square-foot Local Joe boutique in Bend, Ore., said retailers traveled to Los Angeles because the city is a capital of jeans manufacturing.

“There’s a bigger denim buzz than I can remember,” Cohen said. “Expensive denim seems to be what is happening. Eleven years ago, people thought I was insane to charge $100 for Diesel, but will people spend $200 for a pair of torn-up jeans one year from now? I don’t know.”

Krishan K. Chaudry, designer of the Chaudry brand and chief executive officer of KVM International Fashion LTD., based in New Dehli, India, said sales increased 50 percent in his CMC showroom during the market partially because of the popularity of the bohemian look.

Not every section of the CMC was buzzing, however. The C wing of the third floor housed exhibitors from the Pacific Coast Travelers apparel association, which focuses on resortwear, misses lines and accessories. PCT President Henry Dietz reported that sales were good for the 55 exhibitors, 27 of which did business in temporary showrooms. But, he said, the frequency of trade shows—one every 70 days in his estimate—may hurt his association’s sales.

Brighte business

Traffic reports were mixed among Brighte Companies exhibitors, but most said business was brisk for much of the show’s Oct. 29–Nov. 1 run in the CMC’s fashion theater. Demand for space prompted organizers to add another venue, the exhibition hall. Some said the split location caused confusion.

“In the last four hours of the show, there was a rush to come down here,” said Zenith Arreglado, vice president of Peter Nygaring;rd Signature.

“For the most part, it was slow down here,” added Long Beach, Calif.–based designer Darcie Emmerson, who showed silk and cotton tops and hand-painted silk items with fellow designer Genevieve Cruz. Emmerson said several buyers on the main floor did not even know there was a downstair’s venue.

Still, the last-minute rush made it worthwhile for most, Arreglado said. Nygaring;rd scored with silk floral-print dresses, mintgreen raincoats, and a collection of pink-andwhite suitings and pants sets. The Canadian company also brought its younger Bianca Nygaring;rd line to Brighte for the first time and did well with it, Arreglado said. In fact, the young contemporary edge seemed to be what many buyers were looking for.

“They’re attracted to new things,” said rep Nicole Hammacher, who showed two lines, the eclectic Post Vegas and the refined Avita. “They’re all window shopping, but that’s good for us.”

Hammacher and Avita designer Amanda Shi showed silk cashmere tops and bamboofiber cardigans, skirts and camis. Some designs were paneled with an Italian copperbased fabric, which acted as a mesh with seethrough characteristics. “The bamboo keeps you cool in the summer,” Shi said.

As usual, Brighte served as a launching pad for several new lines. The Jeffrey Schwager Showroom from New York showed Ashley Paige’s new sportswear line, Ash by Ash. The line, highlighted during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, featured knit viscose sweaters, ruffle skirts and A-line dresses ($32 to $100 wholesale). Schwager also showed Los Angeles line Stephanie Beare, which emphasized suitings and separates in polka-dot, lollypop and striped patterns.

“We had a good Cruise season. We’re just hoping it will continue on through Spring/Summer,” said Schwager rep Mandi Dobrin. “But the reality is that the money available isn’t what it used to be.”

Malibu, Calif.–based Stone Crown, another new local resource, debuted at Brighte with a collection of graphic T-shirts, tanks and sweat suits with Asian inscriptions and a winged gothic emblem. The line has caught on with the Malibu celebrity crowd, according to owners James Cunningham and Tayo Abidoye.

“We’ve received some great exposure here,” Abidoye said. “We’re keeping it simple with soft details We’re not trying to throw the brand in your face.”

Despite some confusion on the part of buyers shuttling among venues, show producer Elyse Kroll said the event was the most successful to date.

“The minute the doors opened, exhibitors were writing business. I believe that Brighte gave retailers a reason to come and stay—in terms of merchandise mix, amenities and atmosphere.”

D&A attendance up

Ed Mandelbaum, co-producer of the five annual Designers & Agents shows and annexes in Los Angeles, said the Spring 2005 market was the biggest his New York–based company has ever organized, surpassing the D&A shows held in Tokyo and New York. The show increased its new exhibitor participation by 50 percent over last year by opening a third venue, the eighth floor of the Cooper Design Space, he said.

Mandelbaum said that during the first half of the four-day show, which began on Oct. 29, 1,400 buyers came, equaling the total number who visited the Spring 2004 market. There were a total of 230 booths and 375 collections, he said.

Still, Mandelbaum said business could be even better, arguing that the late market dates hold back business for the show’s exhibitors. Not only have buyers used up most of their budgets, but European products also cannot exhibit in Los Angeles because they have already gone off sale in Europe, he explained. Mandelbaum said he would like to move the dates forward and increase the percentage of European products and designers showing at D&A from the current 15 percent.

Not everyone agrees. Dominique Blanc, one of the Europeans at Designers & Agents, is an agent for French-based Accessoire Diffusion S.A.S., which retails $180 to $280 women’s shoes made for its Lundi Bleu collection and eponymous line at Urban Outfitters Inc.’s Anthropologie chain, Los Angeles–based Village Footwear and other stores. Blanc, who comes to the Los Angeles D&A twice a year, said the earlier dates do not work for her. “If I had to choose between the Milan show and this, it’s finished [for D&A],” she said.

Reports on traffic varied from vendor to vendor.

Traffic was a little slow at Kate O’Connor’s booth, which showed its knits for the first time at D&A, according to manager Angela Lubonovich. Despite strong reviews for the label’s Oct. 26 fashion show, Lubonovich said she did not do as much business for Spring/Summer 2005 as she had wanted.

The Los Angeles–based designer also shows at New York’s Fashion Coterie, operated by New York–based ENK Shows. Lubonovich said increased awareness of the D&A show and weekday dates would boost traffic. “I think the word needs to get out and that the dates of the show [need to] change to Wednesday to Friday instead of a weekend,” she said.

In contrast, Jenni Cho, business manager for Sage—the line of jewelry, fragrance and clothes designed by Sage Machado— said traffic was “amazing.” Buoyed by recent write-ups in Elle and InStyle magazines, the company reported that buyers from Japan, Italy and the United States ordered jewelry ($175 to $500 wholesale) and fragrance for Holiday 2004, as well as silk skirts ($135 to $210 wholesale) and other items from the year-old clothing collection for Spring 2005. Dina Gardner, Sage’s sales representative, said she saw “a large percentage increase” of new accounts.

Buyer Gillian Guess, attending the show for her third year, said she likes shopping at D&A. “It’s the best-edited show there is,” she said.

Guess, owner of San Diego’s Niche Boutique, which carries accessories and unique clothing, said she placed a lot of reorders for immediate items and made purchases for Spring 2005. Her buys included Not Rational handbags, Moss Mills animal-inspired jewelry, Sass & Bide dresses and tops, and Kristen Lee shoes. For Spring, Guess said she foresees muted colors, including light yellow.

Traffic jumping at The New Mart

“We had our best market ever,” said Ethan Eller, manager of The New Mart. “We registered 1,500 buyers, up over approximately 1,200 a year ago. I’ve never seen the building this busy. It was jam-packed non stop.”

Marcia Sarowitz, owner of Woodland Hills, Calif.–based A Definite Maybe, headed to her second appointment at Da-Nang’s showroom on The New Mart’s ninth floor—and waited 15 minutes until the representative finished with another buyer. Sarowitz said she had not made any appointments with other designers and showrooms but ran out of time at her first appointment with Da-Nang and had to return. Silk dresses from Da-Nang’s Rangoon line were at the top of her order list.

Sarowitz said she placed more orders this year for more expensive items, including Say hand-knit shrugs ($165 retail) and Tylie Malibu handbags ($250 to $400 retail). The economy had no impact on her business, she said.

“Bling bling is very good,” she noted. “Sequined tops are popular.”

Terry Sahagen, owner of Terry Sahagen Sales, said business went beyond her expectations. “This is always the strongest season,” she said.

A good mix of designers didn’t hurt. The lines shown at her recently expanded 3,400- square-foot showroom included Whim, Ella Moss, Tracy Reese, Plenty, Milly, Larok, Weston Wear, Blue Angels, Ruth and Jesse’s Girl.

Business was also good at S.A.M., which stocks contemporary lines including Primp, In the Now and Ash, said account executive Alana Wishnew, who noted the showroom had “well over 100 appointments and lots of drop-ins.”

Showroom 605, shared by Kevin Spencer and Paul Stork, was packed on Friday and Saturday. At one point, Spencer and Stork were each juggling five buyers at a time and asking stores to write their own orders for young men’s contemporary line, Caffeine, and graphic T-shirt collection, Gutguts. Spencer said he and Stork had scheduled 20 appointments over five days and received a lot of stop-bys, too. Buyers traveled from as far as Oklahoma, Texas, Oregon and Arizona, he said.

Stork, who represents contemporary lines NYBased and Industry, said he started 10 new accounts. “I booked $20,000 more than last year on paper,” he said.

Stork said he had been concerned that buyers would wait until after the election to fax orders to him. But, he noted, about 95 percent of his buyers left orders before the market ended on Tuesday.

New faces at Gerry and Cooper Design Space

At the Gerry Building, traffic was quiet. But the growing number of new tenants with established names helped to attract some crossover traffic from the other main showroom buildings.

“It’s hard to compete with the CMC when they have an open bar over there,” joked Roman Valdez, showroom manager for San Francisco– based Blue Marlin.

Yet, Valdez and others did receive some crossover business. At Blue Marlin, graphic Tshirts and cap-sleeve tops featuring icons such as Gandhi, Mother Teresa, Che Guevara, Lenin and Chairman Mao (approximately $20 wholesale) were the attractions.

“There’s a big switch to contemporary lines now. That’s why you’re seeing [retail] concepts like Metropark,” Valdez said.

Across the hall at Level 99, denim was the ticket. The Los Angeles resource zeroed in on sub-premium retail price points of $80 to $100.

“Contemporary retailers understand there’s demand for this price point right now,” said Jane Kwon, sales executive.

Level 99 showed denim boyshorts, denim capris and cropped jackets. Cowboy jeans, denim bikini tops and embroidered shirts provided a Western look grounded by basics such as crosshatch denim and jeans with welted pockets that were priced upwards of $36 wholesale.

Despite reports that Gerry Building owner MJW Investments had placed the historic structure on the selling block, tenants did not appear to be phased. “It’s all about buyer awareness. We compare the situation to the 127 building [The New Mart] when it started,” Kwon said.

The Cooper Design Space also found success by feeding off neighboring buildings. Several tenants, including Lotta and Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, also exhibited at the Designers & Agents show.

“I’m trying to transition away [from D&A] and just show my lines here [in the showroom],” said Lisa Loeff of the L2 showroom, located on the second floor of the Cooper Design Space. Loeff kept her showroom open and, like other tenants, also took space at D&A.

She said she was getting lots of hits on embroidered woven tops from Love Junkie and on Emerge tanks and T-shirts featuring socially conscious messages. Also per f o r ming well was Zooey, a sportswear line.

“The way the market is right now is that if the buyers see something they like, they’ll buy it. It has to be right for their stores,” Loeff said.

Though the Cooper Design Space saw fewer buyers than its neighbors on the west side of Los Angeles Street, some showroom owners, including Missy Arko, said the trade-off is atmosphere and location. Arko relocated her Femme showroom from the CMC’s fifth floor to the third floor of the Cooper Design Space this summer. She highlighted a new line of vintage-inspired sparkling chiffon and charmeuse jerseys as well as tops from San Francisco resource Janna Stark.