California Apparel News

LYON, FRANCE—Nony Tochterman, designer for Los Angeles–based label Petro Zillia, discussed French textiles and the U.S. apparel market at a Dec. 9 panel discussion hosted by a group of French weavers.

About 100 French manufacturers and representatives participated in the event, organized by Lyon-based textile organization Espace Textile and hosted by the trade group’s international export manager, Agneacute;s Elisabelair. The discussion was held at Villa Creatis, the new center designed by Jean-Michel Wilmotte for the textile, garment, digital, cosmetology and leather industries and the headquarters for Espace Textile.

Espace Textile annually guides French weavers—mostly from the Rhocirc;ne-Alps region, of which Lyon is the capital—through the American market. The organization brings French mills to the European Preview textile show in New York and the Los Angeles International Textile Show in California. Participation among Espace Textile’s mills at the shows has grown 20 percent to 60 percent during the last five years.

The panel was held to compare the perspectives of U.S. designers with those of the 100 or so French weavers that participate in European Preview and to understand the motivations of American fashion buyers.

Elisabelair said the U.S. market has become one of the most important outlets for French textiles despite the weak dollar, which has made European exports costly for American buyers.

Espace Textile recently completed a study in collaboration with the French economic missions in the United States that attempts to define the specifics of the American market. The study dealt with several issues for French mills: How can French mills identify the protagonists of tomorrow’s U.S. fashion? Who are the designers? In which sector of the market do they operate? What are their needs and requirements?

Organizers identified several target groups in the U.S. market. The first included well-known labels Oscar de la Renta, Ralph Lauren, Michael Kors, Marc Jacobs and Eileen Fisher. The second group included up-and-coming labels that are distributed in American shops but are less well-known in France. Examples include Petro Zillia, Narciso Rodriguez, Richard Tyler, Trina Turk, Zac Posen, David Cardona, Cynthia Vincent and Proenza Schouler.

Color virtuoso

With her pink hair, pale-yellow jacket, azure briefcase and apple-green shoes, Tochterman shared her personal and professional philosophies: “Life is short—enjoy it!”

For her, fashion is about much more than clothes. “It is a form of artistic expression that allows us to make life more beautiful,” said the designer.

Her colorful, contemporary styles dovetail neatly into the aesthetic of French textiles.

“Their sense of innovation and knack at combining colors fit in perfectly with my collections,” Tochterman said. “Depending on the seasons or that moment’s inspiration, I can also fall for Italian fabrics. But on the whole, they turn out to be more classical than French textiles, whose range really corresponds to my expectations in terms of colors.”

Problems with French production

Tochterman had nothing but praise for French textiles and said she never misses a single edition of the European Preview and Los Angeles International Textile Show. Still, she said she has reservations about collaborating with professionals on the other side of the Atlantic. “It is at times difficult to work with French manufacturers,” she said, noting that it is not easy to align the French manufacturing schedule with American fashion requirements.

While European distributors organize their most important purchases twice a year, in Spring and Autumn, American ready-to-wear professionals are accustomed to much more frequent collections, launched five times a year to meet the women consumers’ need for novelty and outfits specific to special occasions such as cruises and vacations, Tochterman said.

Rigor, reactivity and creativity are the three criteria for U.S. designers purchasing French textiles, according to Tochterman, who explained that American designers cannot afford the smallest delay in delivery deadlines. “More than one American company has given up working with French suppliers since French companies close over periods corresponding to the peak clothes-buying times in the United States, where everyone keeps on working,” she said.

With the rise of the euro and China’s monopoly on the U.S. fabric market, French mills need to capitalize more than ever on creativity, according to the event’s organizers.