Friday, June 30
Cotton Uptick
Demand for organically grown cotton is expected to propel global sales to $2.6 billion by the end of 2008, according to a new report released by Oakland, Calif.–based Organic Exchange. Global sales of organic ...
The Board Room
The Professional Club, formerly known as the Textile Professional Club, wrapped up its season with a dinner June 22 at the Bel-Air Bar & Grill, where...
Zumiez Acquisition
Everett, Wash.–based Zumiez Inc., an activewear retailer, has completed its acquisition of Fast Forward, an action-sports retail chain with 19 stores, mostly based in Texas, with one store in Californi...
Rokara: High-Low Fashion for the Upper-Crust Rocker
After 20 years of making clothes for punks, Goths and misfits under the Lip Service, Black List and Kill City brands, Original Cult is launching a contemporary line...
Quiksilver to Russia, With Love
Quiksilver Inc. announced this week a new partnership with a Russian apparel maker to design, manufacture, market and distribute Quiksilver and Roxy branded products in Russia....
China Growth
China has taken control of half of the U.S. apparel market in areas where quotas have been removed, gaining much of it from other developing countries, except India and Vietnam, according to recent da...
Port Security Measures Could Delay Cargo
Port workers may be hauling more than cargo this time next year....
Active Gambles With Santa Monica Flagship
Competition has never been much of a worry for the nearly 20 years that Active has been in the retail business. But the surf, skate and fashion purveyor may be in for a shock this August....
Alstyle, OP Moves
Todd Scarborough, president of Anaheim, Calif.–based Alstyle Apparel, has been named corporate vice president, apparel division, for parent company Ennis Inc. He retains his position as president of Alstyle. In other news, Ir...
Medieval Touches Put Menswear Line on Path to Modern Success
Kings of Glory might be a way to make a statement against modernism—and do it fashionably....
MAGIC Moves Swim
Buyers in search of swimwear at the Aug. 28–31 MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas will find the category has a new home....
J. Crew IPO Stirs Interest in Apparel Stocks
J. Crew Group Inc.’s initial public offering has stirred up interest for investments in apparel stocks after posting the third-largest IPO opening ever for an apparel company....
Gottschalks Chairman Retires
Joseph Levy on June 28 announced his retirement from Gottschalks Inc.’s board of directors. Levy, a member of the department store’s founding family, served as chairman of the board since the Fresnobased company went public in 1986. A...
Barneys, H&M Announce New California Stores
San Francisco will be the address of a flagship department store for Barneys New York, according to a company statement released June 27. On the same day, ...
Jason's Wine Store Changes Hands
Jason’s Fine Wine & Spirits, located on the ground floor of the California Market Center in Los Angeles, has new owners....
Baby Boomers Pump New Life Into Desert Retail
The El Paseo Shopping District in Palm Desert was one of the first luxury retail strips in California’s high desert area. Although the 300-store strip now is the add...
Rampage Closes, Forever 21 Moves In
Charlotte Russe Holdings, Inc., is closing its Rampage stores, which it has owned for nearly 10 years....
St. John Appoints New Retail EVP
St. John Knits International Inc. has appointed Ralph Polese as its new executive vice president of retail. He joined the Irvine, Calif.–based luxury brand in March as the chief executive of i...
'Project Runway' Returns for Third Season
California designers will play a major role in the third season of the reality TV show “Project Runway,” which returns to the Bravo TV network July 12....
Friday, June 23
Palm Springs Mall Set for Redevelopment
Orange County, Calif.–based Hopkins Real Estate Group, which closed escrow June 7 on the Palm Springs Mall, has big plans for the 315,000-square-foot center...
Quick Turnaround on Innovo's Board
Faster than you can say “blue jeans,” a recently appointed board member has left Innovo Group Inc., the struggling apparel company in Commerce, Calif., that makes Joe...
Tukatech Names Divisional President
Tukatech Inc. has named Rajive Puri as president of its TukaForms dress forms division. Puri will be responsible for managing development, manufacturing and sales. Puri has more than 35 years...
Designer Sees a Shift in Shirts
Tanks, tees and beaters have been riding high with the denim wave, but designer Isabel Sokiryansky is putting her stock in blouses....
Barneys Co-op to Open at The Grove
Barneys Co-op will open at The Grove shopping center in mid-March 2007, said Todd Russell, senior vice president of retail leasing and marketing for Caruso Affiliated, owner of the Los Ange...
Mervyns' New Crew
Hayward, Calif.–based retailer Mervyns has restructured its executive staff, promoting seven vice presidents in the process. Among the promotions is David Kranz, the divisional merchandise manager for misses apparel, now vice president, merc...
C&C Co-Founder Exits Company
Cheyann Benedict, who co-founded the widely popular Los Angeles T-shirt company C&C California, has left the company a little more than one year after it was purchased by Liz Cla...
Boutiques Tame Downtown L.A.'s Former Badlands
For one year, Bonnie Kim and Sally Daliege brainstormed on the services that downtown Los Angeles needed to make the area not merely inhabitable, but as livable as New York’s Greenwich Village....
Knocking Off the Little Guys
Big-name designers aren’t the only ones who see their work knocked off. Up-and-coming brands and young designers are learning the hard way that their work is just as susceptible to knockoffs—and more di...
Vintage Retailer Offers Own Line of Classics
Last June, Shareen Mitchell, owner of vintage treasure trove Shareen Downtown, decided to make a classic shirtdress to entice her loyal vintage shoppers....
New Generation Updates RedHorse
New Generation Computing Inc. has been busy. The Miami Lakes, Fla., firm, which develops sourcing and supply chain management software, released an updated version of RedHorse, its e...
Blue Jeans Company Acquires Retail Chain
Blue Holdings Inc., the blue jeans maker in Commerce, Calif., is getting into the retail business in a big-time way....
L.A. by Design
Port of Los Angeles to celebrate centennial with help from L.A.’s fashion community...
Forth & Towne in L.A
San Francisco–based retail giant Gap Inc. announced plans to open three Forth & Towne stores in the Los Angeles area by fall: at the Westfield Century City Shopping Center, the Oaks Shopping Center...
Apparel Brands Find a One-Stop Shop for e-Commerce
Executives at Los Angeles–based OneStop Internet Inc. have found that their formula of providing third-party e-commerce and fulfillment services under one platform has been a good fit for the ...
Plus-Size Gets Focused on Fashion
The plus-size market is getting a long overdue injection of fashion—thanks to emerging designers such as Santa Ana, Calif.–based Jessica Svoboda, who is among a handful of labels bringing the category a...
FIDM Students Get a Taste of Real-World Manufacturing
Preparing the next generation of apparel designers and merchandisers for the real world of the global apparel business has been a challenge for educators, but administrators at the F...
European Consolidation
French luxury department store Printemps will soon have an Italian owner. The Paris-based corporation PPR, owner of luxury firm Gucci, announced it would sell its 17-store Printemps chain to the chair...
Fed Sells L&T
Cincinnati-based Federated Department Stores will sell the upscale Lord & Taylor department store chain to a property development firm for nearly $1.2 billion. NRDC Equity Partners LLC, based in Purchase,...
Tuff Gong Finds Denim Revelation
The message of the late reggae star Bob Marley will live on through music—and fashion....
Cal Poly Debuts Student Showroom
The hands-on approach to fashion education at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona took a new turn recently. The school’s Apparel Merchandising and Management Department o...
Ogle Me This, Ogle Me That
Los Angeles–based designer Avril Ozen thinks women can never have too many T-shirts. After years of designing printed tees for her Language Los Angeles line, Ozen has launched Ogle, a line o...
Design Starts Here
Fashion will be center stage for the Port of Los Angeles’ centennial celebration when a fashion show will be presented July 12, 2007, in Grand Hope Park next to the Fashion I...
New Fashion College Focuses on Couture
Apparel designer and manufacturer Sonia Ete is bringing the fine art of couture to Southern California via her Academy of Couture Art, which bowed recently at the Pacific De...
LACMA's New Exhibit Celebrates Paradigm Shifts in Fashion
An upcoming exhibit at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, “Breaking the Mode: Contemporary Fashion from the Permanent Collection,” recognizes designers who think—or thought...
Friday, June 16
Retail on the Sunny Side of the Street
When Nina Messiah opened her self-named boutique in Beverly Hills in March, she knew she had staked a claim to one of the world’s blue-chip shopping towns. But Messiah also knew that some of the city’s ...
D&A to Increase Menswear Presence in L.A.
The Designers & Agents Annex trade shows in Los Angeles have been the domain for women’s fashions for their 9-year history, but co-producers Ed Mandelbaum and Barbara Kramer announced June...
Mamont Joins 1928 Jewelry, Will Be Honored by AIU
Karen Mamont has joined the 1928 Jewelry Company as director of marketing....
Grassini Launches New Brand
Los Angeles–based designer Corinne Grassini has been busy of late. Earlier this year, she partnered with specialty retailer Naked to create 0-41, a...
Quiksilver Gets Off the Board
Style-conscious surfers, beach-lifestyle lovers and snowboarders apparently have had trouble finding gym shorts or sweatpants that appeal to their particular aesthetic. For them, Huntington ...
Trovata Now a Trio
Costa Mesa, Calif.–based contemporary brand Trovata announced that one of the designers is leaving the company....
Tommy Lee Jeans
Los Angeles–based apparel maker People’s Liberation Inc., producers of the People’s Liberation and William Rast brands, have struck a deal with rock star Tommy Lee to create a limited-edition apparel line under the bran...
Ranahan Launches Men's
Ranahan, the year-old women’s premium denim line started by sisters Amy and Allison Gammon and based in Los Angeles, will be launching a men’s collection for Fall 2006.“...
DMC Names New Executive
The Dallas Market Center has promoted Robbin Wells to executive vice president of leasing, a newly created position....
Custom-Made Blue Jeans
A company based in Port Louis, Mauritius, is offering to reproduce a favorite pair of blue jeans or make a pair of custom-fit jeans created specifically to the customer’s measurements. Tailormade Jeans...
Boateng, Branding & Videotape
If the glare of the television camera is unnerving, British designer Ozwald Boateng hardly lets it faze him. “It is scary,” conceded the Givenchy menswear creative director. But he...
Good Attendance, Girly Styles Mark Fall II/Holiday Market
Retailers are betting on feminine styles for the upcoming Fall II/Holiday season, snatching up all things girly at the Los Angeles Fashion Market, which ...
New CFO at Guess
Los Angeles–based contemporary brand Guess? Inc. announced the appointment of Dennis Secor as senior vice president and chief financial officer of the publicly traded company....
Next Ecco
The Ecco Domani Fashion Foundation is looking for up-and-coming designers for its EDFF awards, now in their sixth season. The designers will compete for a $25,000 grant to help produce a runway show at New Yo...
Garment Contractor Ordered to Pay Overtime Wages
A Los Angeles garment contractor that specializes in silk-screening T-shirts has been cited for owing more than $56,000 in overtime pay to its workers....
Apparel Importers Start Filing for Tariff Rebates
The check is in the mail....
Iconix Inks Licensing Deals
New York–based Iconix Brand Group Inc. has struck several licensing agreements for its Joe Boxer, Bongo and Rampage brands. The deals include a Joe Boxer home collection produced by Beco Industries and...
Friday, June 9
California Lawmakers Pass Wage Bills
Two bills proposing a $1 increase in California’s minimum wage have been passed by the Senate and Assembly and are heading to Gov. Schwarzenegger’s desk....
Universal Blue Partners With Distributor
Universal Blue, owner of the Blue Cult, Blue Cult Elite, Sacred Blue and Blue 2 denim brands, announced June 6 that it has signed a partnership agreement ...
Anvarian Cancels Fall Deliveries, Adopts New Direction
Designer Pegah Anvarian is in the middle of a major shake-up of her brand....
ASR Debuts Holiday Edition
While most large retailers have completed their Holiday season purchases, exhibitors at the inaugural Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo’s ASR Holiday show said there were eno...
Inside Out: Lingerie Designers Branch Out Into Ready-to-Wear
A competitive lingerie market has prompted Los Angeles–based lingerie and loungewear designers to expand into the category of ready-to-wear to get a bigger slice of the retail pie....
Trovata, Binns Win CFDA Award
West Coast golden boys Jeff Halmos, Josia Lamberto-Egan, Sam Shipley and John Whitledge of Trovata, and self-proclaimed outsider and jewelry designer Tom Binns have...
Marc's New Man
Paris-based Mouml;et Hennessy Louis Vuitton has named LVMH exec Bertran Stalla-Bourdillon chairman and chief executive officer of its Marc Jacobs International unit. When Stalla-Bourdillon takes the reins at Marc Jacobs, he ...
Sweet May '06 Sales Could Bring Strong June
May was a good month for retail. And June is looking good, too....
Retailing the Zara Way
Spanish retail giant Zara has become synonymous with fast fashion, but getting an understanding of how its fashion machine operates has been a futile task for outsiders....
Rhodes, Mohlere In at Perry
Miami-based Perry Ellis International Inc. has named Gail Rhodes senior vice president of its women’s swim division, which includes the JAG, Jantzen, South Point, Zuma Beach, Original Penguin and Perry Ellis labels. Michelle Mohlere has been...
The Style Assembly
Cooper Design SpaceSuite 419(213) 622-0184 ...
Caruso Breaks Ground in Glendale, Fights New Political Challenges
When Rick Caruso began his career developing lifestyle shopping centers such as The Grove in Los Angeles, he knew that the market could be rough. But he didn’t know that hardnosed politics was...
California Consumers Losing Confidence in Economy
Higher gasoline prices, slowly rising inflation rates and a weak job market have made California consumers a tad less confident about the economy’s future....
The World Wide Web, Take 2
Experts have begun to observe that the online shopping experience may be heading toward a new paradigm as e-tail giants eBay, Yahoo! and Amazon increasingly deliver more dynamic con...
More Castaldi for Yves
Los Angeles–based manufacturer Jeantex Group Inc. has agreed to reduce its ownership stake in Yves Castaldi Corp. from 51 percent to 20 percent. As a result, Yves Castaldi Corp. will surrender 6 millio...
New at True
Los Angeles–based premium-denim maker True Religion Apparel Inc. has named Daryl Rosenberg chief operating officer. He replaces Mark Saltzman, who will remain with the company until the end of September. Rosen...
FBI Brings Gerber Software to Tech Lab
Tolland, Conn.–based Gerber Technology has joined forces with trade organization Fashion Business Inc. to provide FBI’s Los Angeles–based tech center with product-development management...
The Intersection Party Set for October Fashion Week
Members of The Intersection are planning a major party for buyers attending the Spring 2007 Los Angeles Fashion Market, which will run Oct. 20–24, immediately follow...
Board Changes at The Wet Seal
Henry D. Winterstern, chairman of the board of directors of The Wet Seal, has announced plans to step down from his position with the teen retail chain to focus on his other business commitme...
Apparel Group Wants Extension of Burmese Ban
One of the largest apparel trade groups in the United States is asking Congress to renew import restrictions on goods coming from Burma, also known as Myanmar....
Colorful, Intricate Bray Steve Alan Debuts in U.S.
Italian fashion label Bray Steve Alan made its American retail debut recently with its own store, Bray Suite Anthology, at the Sunset Plaza in Los Angeles....
Revelation Showroom
California Market CenterSuite B571(818) 536-1256 ...
True Religion Hires Licensing Agent
Los Angeles–based premium denim maker, True Religion Apparel Inc., is well on its way to becoming a lifestyle brand....
French Fashion-Basically
Retailer Thierry Gillier has a history of giving a French twist to jeans and T-shirts....
Junk Yard Showroom
Gerry Building, Suite 903(213) 489-4686
Charlotte Tarantola
The New Mart 127 E. 9th St., suite 403(213) 488-0288
Hot Kiss Licenses New Categories
Los Angeles–based junior lifestyle brand Hot Kiss has announced the signing of three new licensees that will add kids’ apparel, wallets, luggage and intimates to its offerings....
Ben Sherman Celebrates Mod With L.A. Store
The rock bands of the British Invasion of the 1960s keep selling records, but will their mod look stay fashionable?...
Meister's New Exec
Kellwood Co. has named Gail Cook president of its David Meister division. Cook previously was a strategic consultant to the apparel industry and held executive positions at Liz Claiborne in that company’s Dana Buchman...
Tuesday, June 6
Retro Looks for a New Line
Vintage-look handbags and shoes ...
Friday, June 2
Customs Investigating Apparel Smuggled Into United States
Customs officials are searching for the exporter of more than 200 containers of apparel that were classified as furniture parts and toys before being shipped to the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach...
Herald Tribune's Luxury Conference
The International Herald Tribune, the international edition of The New York Times, will host the sixth run of its annual fashion and luxury conference in Istanbul, Turkey. Suzy Menkes, fashion edit...
Whiteboy Goes Public
Los Angeles–based Sub-Urban Brands Inc., maker of 3-year-old streetwear brand Whiteboy, went public on May 16. Now trading on the Over the Counter Bulletin...
Levi's Web Site Focuses on History
San Francisco–based denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. has retooled its corporate Web site,
Consumer Meets Trade in New Retail Venture
Retailer Phillip Dane has an unusual concept for his new boutique, Ready To Wearhouse, which is scheduled to open in mid- July in Los Angeles....
Changes Afoot at SIMA
Now in its 17th year, the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association seems to be hitting its stride. Staffed by a full-time team, SIMA is growing its educational offerings and internati...
Class-Action Suit for Polo
Two San Francisco law firms have filed a class-action suit against the Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. on behalf of four former retail employees who say the company violated several California labor laws. The suit, f...
Sun Cap's Performance Fibers Continues Expansion
Sun Capital Partners’ Performance Fibers affiliate has inked a deal to acquire Invista’s German polyester yarn business for an undisclosed sum. ...
Credibility by Sheri Drobnick
For 15 years, Sheri Drobnick scouted the market as divisional merchandise manager of contemporary and better sportswear for Los Angeles buying office Directives West. When she left Directives...
Guatemala Entry to CAFTA Waiting for Approval
Guatemala is still waiting....
Joe Hearts Alexandra
Fledgling tops line Alexandra Lozov presented a
Mintee
Mintee Kalra draws upon her varied education in bespoke tailoring and Indian cultural upbringing for her lifestyle line, Mintee....
Vietnam Signs Trade Pact With U.S.
A trade pact signed between Vietnam and the United States paves the way for the Southeast Asian country to enter the World Trade Organization....
NGC Names West Coast Sales Exec
Miami Lakes, Fla.–based New Generation Computing Inc. has named Linda Chase to the new position of director of sales for the company’s western region....
S.F. Fashion Week to Showcase Spring '07
Select Bay Area designers will showcase their Spring 2007 designs Aug. 23–27 during San Francisco Fashion Week at the San Francisco Design Center....
A Kingdom for a Tattoo
For Christian Audigier, the tattoo is not merely a work of art. It’s a gateway to an empire....
West Coast Labels Nominated for Dallas Fashion Awards
West Coast fashion brands once again led the charge of nominees for the 31st annual Dallas Fashion Awards to be presented Oct. 28 at the Dallas Market Center....
MJW to Sell Boyle Heights Land
MJW Investments, a real estate developer active in the Los Angeles Fashion District, is selling a 23-acre parcel near the historic Sears Roebuck & Co. building in East Los Angele...
Fabric Firm Finds Diversity In Real Estate
To many in the apparel industry, the Emrani family is best known as owner of Emday Fabrics, a 60-year-old textile firm....
Boutique Test Drives Brit Fashion
When Lilian Raven opened her fashion boutique G.L.A.D. on Los Angeles’ Melrose Avenue in 2004, the Liverpool native thought she was going to have to leave behind the fashion-forward looks of h...
Trina Turk Inks Licensing Deal for Swim
Los Angeles–based designer Trina Turk has struck a licensing agreement for swimwear with Los Angeles–based BlueWaterDesignGroup, a division of Apparel Ventures Inc. ...
Kingsbury In at Kohl's
Kohl’s Department Stores has named Tom Kingsbury as senior executive vice president, a new position for the Menomonee Falls, Wis.–based retailer. Kingsbury is a 30-year veteran of May Department Stores Co., most recently servi...
Newness on 5 at CMC
There are changes afoot on the California Market Center’s fifth floor, and buyers will get a firsthand glimpse of them during the June 9–13 run of the Los Angeles Fashion Mark...
Coming to Deener
One year after leaving Yanuk, designer Ya-el Torbati has launched her own line of women’s premium denim for Fall 2006. Named after her hound, Deener includes classic five-pocket jeans...
New Boutiques Signal Fashion Future in Los Feliz
In the past, Los Feliz Village may have been best known for its famous nightclubs such as The Derby....
L.A. Fashion District Scrubs Out Crime With 'Clean and Safe' Team
Los Angeles’ Fashion District borders some of the city’s meanest streets. But when Los Angeles Police Department officer Randall McCain discusses the district’s safety record, he might as well be talking...
