California Apparel News

Retailers turned out in droves at the Jan. 14–18 Los Angeles Market Week, although roller-coaster Holiday sales led many to buy with caution.

The California Market Center reported that buyer traffic was the highest it had been in nine years, thanks, in part, to a 26 percent increase in first-time attendees.

But many retailers and reps said they were cautious, having come off a Holiday sales season in which business fluctuated. And those buyers heading to MAGIC International in Las Vegas in February kept spending to a minimum.

Still, attendees responded to current trends, said CMC showroom representatives. Traffic, they said, was strong for those with the right products and off for others.

With the reemergence of bohemian silhouettes as well as novelty tops, ornamented dresses and skirts, trends were there for the taking. The only problem for some was which label to select.

“It comes from the top of the food chain,” said rep Chris Myers, explaining that most of his sales were from established vendors. “The product has to be unique.”

Buyer Laura Swenson of Alta, a threeunit specialty chain based in the San Francisco Bay Area, agreed. Swenson, whose Holiday sales had been up 5 percent, looked for proven items such as knit tops, embroidered skirts and jackets. “We’re happy with this market,” she said.

Among the major retailers shopping the show were Macy’s West, Nordstrom, Marshall Field’s, Dillard’s and Anthropologie, according to CMC officials.

“This has probably been the most gratifying market in respect to the number of retailers that have offered their thanks, appreciation and acknowledged the dramatic improvements in the past 2 1/2 years at the CMC,” said Cecil Strickland, the CMC’s executive director of retail relations.

Myers said this was one of his best shows in the building. He sold crinkle tops and camis in bright jewel tones from Gasp. Stretch-poplin gauchos from XCVI and gauchos from Beau Dawson were also checking.

Bentzi Gershon of the Moda showroom said buyers were going for camis across the board as well as bright graphic tops (agrave; la Custo Barcelona) from local resources such as Baba. Colored and regular denim from Flesh was also a performer. In fact, anything denim-friendly was strong, Gershon said.

Misses and updated showroom owners said they experienced slower-than-usual traffic and relied on regular customers for business. Bob Meyerson of Studio III figured buyers were saving their budgets for Las Vegas. He did well with vendors such as One98nine, which makes washable suede jackets ($90 to $99 wholesale), and Janine of London, which offers jumpsuits.

Margaret Cox said business was fleeting but the recent rains caused a run on lightweight raincoats by MycraPak.

“The January market is sometimes hard to predict,” Cox said. “The stores are looking for items.”

Lynda Winner of Les Winner & Associates agreed. She reported upbeat traffic in her third-floor showroom, which sold items such as shirtings from The Great White Shirt and knitwear from Angel and Courtney Washington. Winner, a breast-cancer survivor, donated 2 percent of her sales during the market to national charity Team Survivor, which offers support and health programs to cancer survivors. “It’s a great charity that renews confidence in your body and gives cancer survivors some inner strength. We just wanted to give something back,” she said.

Avenue Montaigne, which showed at Brighte Companies in the fashion theater, donated half of its sales during the market to charities involved in helping the victims and survivors of the recent Asian tsunami.

The uncertainty at retail had buyers looking for close delivery dates in order to keep inventories in check, noted Crayola Sisters rep Michelle Stojokovic. “They were writing for Feb. 28 and March 28 deliveries,” she said.

Showrooms such as Crayola Sisters and Susan Burnett found brisk fill-in business with accessories and bed-and-bath lines. A line of beaded, sequined and jeweled waist and shoulder ornaments from Ama Tutti (priced from $25 to $65 wholesale) performed well for Crayola Sisters. Burnett sold bath-and-body products from Lady Jayne’s Closet and Kiss Me in the Garden.

Glowing debut

The continued melding of apparel and home products prompted CMC officials to launch Glow, a new concept staged on the seventh floor of the C building. Glow, which took place between the apparel and gift markets, featured apparel, skincare, furniture accessories, spa, aromatherapy and yoga-related products in a warm environment that featured colored windows, cushioned lounge pads and bedding.

“We tried to combine fashion, gift and home products in a way that fostered an open, collaborative platform for introducing new product,” said Lorelyn Eaves, the CMC’s vice president of marketing.

Tanya Tsarukyan of StudioChic, a Glendale, Calif.–based company that markets modern handmade pillows and wall and tabletop applications, was pleased with the event. “It’s a great concept and makes for a sophisticated way to present our product,” she said.

Big buys at Brighte

Many exhibitors at the Brighte Companies contemporary show, held Jan 14–17 in the CMC’s fashion theater, said they noticed some slow periods. But the quality of the orders placed made up for any lack of walk-in traffic, they noted.

Show producer Elyse Kroll of ENK Productions said several companies placed “very large” orders. “ENK was very satisfied with our turnout, but exhibitors were thrilled. Exhibitors seemed unusually jubilant about this market,” she said.

Kroll will oversee the debut of Brighte Las Vegas next month, which has enlisted about 100 exhibitors.

In Los Angeles, vintage Indian silks, athletic-inspired tops and hippie-chic items were among the key looks.

“Buyers want sparkle, and this bohemian look is back again,” said Analisa Pulice of Los Angeles–based resource Notice. “Geometrics, Pucci prints and anything ethnic is doing well.”

Pulice reported inconsistent traffic, which she blamed on inconsistent Holiday sales. “It’s affecting this market, but I think as a whole the Summer market is doing better than last year,” she said.

New York designer Yoana Baraschi, former creative director for Betsey Johnson, attended the market to garner West Coast appeal. Her silk chiffon hand-embellished camis and dresses got some looks from local retailers, said representative Kay Preece. “Anything embellished with beads is doing well,” Preece said.

Vintage was also a hot ticket, said Claire Pinckney of Los Angeles–based Ana Capri. She showed bustle-back dresses, while Tiffany Alana of Los Angeles keyed in on the label’s signature biascut dresses and new tweed jackets.

And is there room for another premium denim brand? Yes, said Anna Kizner of Q-Gene, a New York company whose niche is in reversible denim for men and women—two pairs of jeans in one. Wholesale price points for the jeans, sold in rises ranging from 6 1/2 to 8 1/2 inches, are between $44 and $110.

Members Only at Gerry

Most of the activity at the Gerry Building could be found in the Select Showroom, where proprietor Matt Germaine previewed racer jackets from Members Only, the brand that has found new life with the reemergence of ’80s fashions.

Select will officially debut the collection at the Project Trade Show in New York this week as well as in Las Vegas next month. Like the showroom’s Le Tigre line, Members Only, once the domain of men, has been redesigned to include fashions for the female consumer, as well. Germaine is selling solids and a new color-block style in a variety of SKUs ($20 to $22 wholesale).

“One of the attractions is that the markups for these are crazy,” Germaine said. “It’s a great American brand and falls in line with the trend of vintage T-shirts, glam jeans and big sunglasses.”

The showroom owner said the jacket is finding business in the urban market and from international customers, especially those from Japan. “It’s kind of a continuation of the track jacket,” he noted.

Attendance up at New Mart, Cooper

Ed Mandelbaum, co-producer of New York–based Designers & Agents, said the show has grown. He said that for the first time during a January show, D&A rented the Cooper Design Space’s 11th floor. D&A, which ran Jan. 14–17, also used the third floor of The New Mart.

Steve Hirsch, owner of the Cooper Design Space, said he is pleased that D&A will occupy his property five times a year. “The whole market is growing,” he said.

Mandelbaum said that, compared with a year ago, the number of registered stores increased to 1,609 from 1,200, the number of booths grew to 114 from 78 and the number of companies rose to 191 from 125. He attributed the uptick not only to the growing contemporary market but also to the weakening dollar, which is making European clothing pricier.

Ethan Eller, manager of The New Mart, said the January market is generally the third-largest market of the year for the building, following the Spring and Fall markets. He said 1,500 buyers registered for the market, up 30 percent from a year ago. He said retailers from every state and 42 countries came, including those from Sri Lanka and Indonesia, which are still recovering from the Dec. 26 Indian Ocean tsunami.

Summer brings good business for T-shirts and jeans. Jackie Brander, owner of Fred Segal in Santa Monica, Calif., placed orders for Paige Premium Denim, Yanuck and People’s Liberation, among other brands. “Most of my big buys have been with denim,” she said.

Shaun Hurley, president of Jeanius Corp.’s 2- month-old label, 575 Denim, said that in the first four hours on Jan. 14, the Los Angeles company received orders from 15 stores, including Len Druskin of Edina, Minn. Only one of the buyers had an appointment.

Roxanne Peterson, who owns Roxanne’s in Monarch Beach, Calif., said she was scouting a new denim line for her trendy store. Planning a Moroccan corner in her shop for Spring, she also ordered tunics, camisoles, tank tops, halters and jewelry from Focus, Leila Ross and other showrooms.

Benefiting from buzz from the Spring/Summer 2005 fashion show he held Jan. 15 for new contemporary line Voom, Average Joe Inc. President Denny Rabineau said he quadrupled the business he had a year ago. Popular items were tube tops and baby-doll dresses with alligator embroidery. Rabineau, who also owns missy dress label Mica, projected that by the end of 2005, Voom will make up more than 70 percent of revenue, which he forecast will grow to $20 million from $12 million in 2004.

The Jan. 16 Golden Globes win for television show “Desperate Housewives” gave a boost to the Stacy Keyes Showroom, which carries T-shirts emblazoned with the soap opera’s name, along with licensed products from The Walt Disney Co., The Coca-Cola Co. and other companies. Wholesaling from $15 to $20 and manufactured by Jem Sportswear, the “Desperate Housewives” T-shirts feature destroyed washes, glitter and frocking. Owner Keyes said overall business was up 10 percent from a year ago. She said she also got a lot of business from Nordstrom Inc., which will initiate a licensed shop concept in its national chain on March 30. The idea is that Nordstrom will give T-shirts printed with licensed names and images to customers as gifts with purchases, Keyes said.