Friday, March 31
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Society For Rational Dress, The Battalion, Goddollars
Los Angeles labels Society for Rational Dress, The Battalion and jewelry line Goddollars got the spotlight treatment courtesy of Kitten maga...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Samora
Summer Olayan’s designs for
Mallow 'n' FAB
Accessories licensor and private label manufacturer FAB/Starpoint has named Rick Mallow vice president of licensing and marketing for the New York firm. Mallow is a licensing business veteran who most...
Strong Turnout for L.A.'s Fall Market
Saturday’s immigration protest makes history but had little impact on business ...
Changes in Store for Dallas' FIG
Dallas’ Fashion Industry Galler y (FIG) is expected to have its largest market ever March 30–April 2 since opening in the downtown arts district two years ago, but the contemporary showcase is ...
Food and Fashion at The New Mart
Restaurateur Fred Eric and Barbara Kramer of Designers & Agents got together March 24 at Eric’s newly christened Tiara Cafeacute; at T...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Chulo Pony
Vancouver, British Columbia–based
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Erin Fetherston
Erin Fetherston brought her girlish style sense to Los Angeles Fashion Week when the British designer hosted a fashion presentation March 21 at the Chateau Marmont in Hollywood....
Ambiguous in the Rockies
Irvinebased Ambiguous Clothing has hired Brian Chrinka as its new sales rep for the Rockies territory. Chrinka’s company, ChrinkaInc, also reps Academy Snowboards, Flux Bindings, Celsius Boots, Mission...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Kai Milla
Kai Milla hosted an intimate showcase of her
Eastman Restructure
Chemical, fiber and plastics maker Eastman Chemical Co. has restructured the company into two divisions. One will focus on performance chemicals and intermediates, fibers, coatings, adhesives, specialty polymers and ...
Gehry's Tiffany
The curvy steel waves on Frank I. Gehry’s Walt Disney Concert Hall have made it a Los Angeles landmark....
New Boutique Has Insider Edge
Most retailers feel that they bring a unique quality to their specialty stores. Michelle Dalton Tyree, however, is betting on her fashioninsider status to help set her new Los Angeles boutiqu...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Meghan
Designer Meghan Noland’s
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Charlotte Ronson
New York designer Charlotte Ronson threw her
Los Angeles Fashion Week 2006: Taverniti So Jeans
For those expecting to see miles of denim on the runway,
Cargo No More
Conde Nast Publications has shuttered its men’s shopping magazine, Cargo, two years after it launched in the wake of its successful sister publication, Luck...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Marco Marco
Los Angeles designer Marco Morante showed his version of fast fashion March 24 at the Highlands nightclub in Hollywood....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Bradley Bayou
Designer Bradley Bayou is known for flirty party frocks and evening dresses—and his
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Collection Bebe
The much-anticipated show of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios teamed fashion designer David Cardona with costume designer and stylist Arianne Phillips and Bebe Chairman...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Valeria Marini
Italian actress-turned-designer
Material World Looks to L.A. for Next Move
First there was Miami Beach, then New York, and now Los Angeles....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Yanuk
Silver chain jewelry, Converse tennis shoes and army boots adorned the models who walked the post-modern runway for...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Truth By Your Grace, Lisa Jane
Hipsters and scene-sters converged on the Mountain Bar in Los Angeles’ Chinatown to see styles by...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Juuml;nker
Juuml;nker Designs tends to put on fashion shows that are as much a performance as they are a...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Desanka
A suite at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel in Beverly Hills March 23 provided an elegant setting for the Desanka...
Los Angeles Fashion Week 2006: Sew Down
In its eighth incarnation,
CFDA Nominates Three From Calif.
Trovata, Rodarte and Tom Binns are among the California designers nominated for Council of Fashion Designers of America awards this year....
Friends With Restraining Orders
A U.S. District Court judge in Los Angeles has granted Costa Mesa–based Paul Frank Industries a temporary restraining order against Paul Frank Sunich, preventing Sunich from using the Paul Frank trademark or trade nam...
Jeantex Continues on Growth Track
Jeantex Group Inc., the Huntington Beach, Calif.–based manufacturer of denim for such brands as Stronghold Jeans, Blue Cult, Guess and Lucky, is planning to...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Jennifer Nicholson
Jennifer Nicholson returned to the
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Kelly Nishimoto
Los Angeles designer Kelly Nishimoto embraced the very California concept of fusion and paid homage to her Japanese and Scottish ancestry at her March 22...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Directive West A-List L.A.
Los Angeles-based buying office Directives West set its sights on Fall ’06 trends when it presented its...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Fremont
Los Angeles contemporary label Fremont promised “snowfall in L.A.,” and delivered just that March 25 when it staged its...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: David Meister
Designer David Meister used the element of surprise to his best advantage at his
Two More Join the CAFTA Club
Nicaragua and Honduras are expected to be the next two countries to be part of the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA)—a development that could happen as early as April 1....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Iron
Los Angeles-based Iron’s signature is composed of flowing, bodyconscious garments that are printed with the art created by company founder and president Leejay Mintz....
Scent of Surf
Huntington Beach–based surf giant Quiksilver Inc. struck an exclusive worldwide licensing agreement with Inter Parfums Inc. for a line of fragrance, sun care, skin care and other related products under Quiksilver’s Rox...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Juan Carlos Obando
Juan Carlos Obando took inspiration from the bleak futuristic fiction of Phillip K. Dick for his Fall/Winter ’06 collecti...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Buffalo David Bitton
For the second straight time, Canadian label
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Catherine Malandrino
While photographers, journalists and celebrities jostled for space March 22 at Smashbox Studios on the last day of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, New York–ba...
Meltin' Pot Seeks Big Audience With Small Store
For the past year, Italian denim brand Meltin’ Pot has been making steady progress on introducing its five-pocket jeans to the United States. The r...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Corey Lynn Calter
Corey Lynn Calter returned to the runway after a two-season hiatus....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Voom by Joy Han
Designer Joy Han managed to mix the styles of the 1920s with the 1970s, and the results were on display March 22 when she bowed her...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Brightlab
Mixing fashion and film is traditionally reserved for costume designers. But Brightlab is taking it a step further. The Los Angeles merchandising company is doing crossover marketing by...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Moda Management Presents Peter Lau and Annie Lin
Moda Management introduced two rising star designers from Hong Kong to Los Angeles March 20 at its...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Suspect
Suspect, a Los Angeles-based men’s collection, partied in Hollywood March 21 then took the party downtown March 26 for something a little more subdued and fashion focused....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Yana K
Yana Khromova, the 22-year-old designer of
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Thrive
Things got a little wild at the fashion launch party for
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Agent Provocateur
Agent Provocateur’s
Tarrant Apparel Loses Licenses With Entertainers
Tarrant Apparel Group has ended its licensing agreement with entertainer Beyonce Knowles to produce her House of Dereon line, and is having trouble with its licensing agreement with ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Antik Denim
Antik Denim shed its Western-wear influence for
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Anthony Franco
Anthony Franco found inspiration in the grit of the 1970s for his
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Lourdes
Lourdes designer Patricia Fistes-Adams is not a believer in less is more. She went big for Fall at her fashio...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Gen Art
Gen Art kicked off Los Angeles Fashion Week March 17 with its third annual...
Friday, March 24
Daytime Pick-Up Fees to Increase at L.A.-Area Ports
Fees to pick up cargo containers during daytime hours at L.A.’s two ports are increasing by 20 percent on April 3....
Da-Rue Opens Sales for DRLA
Los Angeles–based Da-Rue of California has enlisted Sharon Koshet Sales in Los Angeles to market its DRLA Fall ’06 line featuring better suitings and tops made in Cal...
As Baby Boomers Retire, Missy Shifts Focus
The first wave of baby boomers is turning 60 this year, but don’t tell them that. The new sexagenarians are not acting their age, especially when it comes to their clothing choices. As a result, appare...
Rock & Republic's Rockin' Goodbye to Fashion Week
Rock & Republic said farewell to Los Angeles Fashion Week with a rock ’n’ roll black tie party on March 20 at Sony Studios in Culver City, Calif. Label founder Mi...
Oleg Cassini, 92
Fashion designer Oleg Cassini died in Long Island, N.Y., on March 17 of undisclosed causes at the age of 92. Cassini helped define Jacqueline Kennedy’s iconic style during her White House years, but the designer had a...
CIT Promotes Cohen
Mitch Cohen, senior vice president and Western regional manager at CIT Commercial Ser vices in Los Angeles, has been promoted to executive vice president and Western regional manager...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Deborah Lindquist
Deborah Lindquist’s
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: P.KaBu/Maggie Barry
In an event that was equal parts performance art, Cirque du Soleil-esque theatrics and fashion show,...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: 2BFree Clothing
2BFree Clothing continues to gain a loyal and steady following for its sexy-yet-simple sportswear...
Paul Frank Fight Is Taken to the PR Firms
A flurry of press releases issued in the back-and-forth battle between designer Paul Frank Sunich and his former partners at Paul Frank Industries Inc. have kept e-mail boxes full....
CALA Launches New Contemporary Show in S.F.
Gerry Murtagh, owner of Apparel Market Transport, is launching a new trade show, the Contemporary Association of Los Angeles Ap...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Louis Verdad
A dramatic ensemble of sophisticated vixens dressed in black and white opened
Filius: Modern Menswear
Designer Alessandro Tomassetti honed his skills with two of the best-known women’s designer labels in Los Angeles, Louis Verdad and Petro Zillia....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Alan Del Rosario
Alan Del Rosario returned to the Los Angeles Fashion Week runways on March 21 with his new collec...
Brothers & Sisters
The New MartSuite 209 (213) 623-2312 ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Elsie Katz Couture
Seattle designer Donna Baxter read Tim Burton’s “The Melancholy Death of Oyster Boy” and never looked at beauty the same way. Burton wrote the collection of stories about children who don...
Feeding Fashionistas at the Tiara Cafeacute;
Fred Eric thinks he’s found the perfect way to warm up to the fashion industry—appeal to their palates. Eric’s long-awaited Tiara Cafeacute; is set t...
Shifting Business Model
Private-label maker takes a leap into branded business with Kathy Ireland ...
Denim Label's Menswear Gets the Spotlight at Scott Hill
Since starting up in 2000, 7 for All Mankind has spent a great deal of time focusing on women and what they want to wear....
Go Forth & Towne
San Francisco–based Gap Inc. is expanding its new concept store, Forth & Towne, to five new markets, Los Angeles, San Francisco/San Jose, Atlanta, Houston and Seattle. The stores, which began opening last ...
More Wet Seal
Wet Seal Chief Executive Joel Waller announced during a recent conference call regarding the company’s fourth fiscal quarter ended Jan 28 that the teen retailer will open 20 to 25 stores by the end of 2006. The announ...
Findings
At 10,000 square feet, Dierdre Roffoni’s sprawling Findings showroom is a study in modern design and comfy spaces....
Putting the Fit into Online Shopping
Online apparel shopping has proved to be a growth industry for some—and a pain for others. Navigating through various Web sites to find the right-fitting garments can sometimes be akin to rolling dice,...
Ports Trying to Balance Economic Gain with the Environment
If 2004 was the year of congestion at L.A.’s port complex and 2005 was the year of solution, what does that make 2006?...
E-tailer Finds Demand for Design Online
When designer Kara Janx was eliminated from the competition of Bravo’s reality show “Project Runway” last month, Tanya Zilinskas didn’t spend a lot of time mourning the defeat. Sh...
Updated Designer Has Roots in Los Angeles and China
When China began emerging as a dominant manufacturing source for apparel companies in the early 1990s, Los Angeles designer Vera Devletian seized the moment. Twelve years la...
Denim Veteran Launches New Line
Michael Cassel, the man behind Los Angeles–based selvage denim line Stronghold and founder of the Von Dutch clothing line, has announced plans for a new premium denim line. LSD, sho...
L.A. Fashion Hits the Desktop
IMG Media, a division of IMG, parent company of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, has struck a deal with MSN Video to put Los Angeles Fashion Week sho...
My Tribe: Haute Leather
Designer Melinda Fletcher and Jean Pierre Guez teamed up to launch My Tribe, a line of high-quality leather pieces with a 1970s rock ’n’ roll vintage slant. Guez, who owns the appare...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Joseph S. Domingo
San Francisco designer
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Chan Luu
For designer
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Kara Saun
Kara Saun created an elegant, futuristic mood for her
Seasoned Designers Have a Hold on Celebrities
Fledgling apparel designers looking to Hollywood to get their clothing in the spotlight may have a tough challenge ahead, given the grip that top-tier designers have with film, television and advertis...
Got Fashion Game?
NBA stars Derek Fisher and Nick Van Exel built clothing companies. Former Los Angeles Lakers star Magic Johnson also jumped into the fashion game recently. His Magic Johnson...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Kevan Hall
Images of Diana Ross in the 1975 film “Mahogany” were the inspiration for L.A. designer Kevan Hall’s Fall...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Ya-Ya
Designer Yael Aflalo went for a clean look with classic shapes for her
Chloe to Bow at South Coast Plaza
French fashion house Chloe picked the South Coast Plaza shopping center as the site for its second American boutique. It opened March 22....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Society for Rational Dress
Designer Corinne Grassini opted out of the traditional fashion week runway show, choosing instead to debut her...
Dan's Showroom
Gerry BuildingSuite 905310-200-9654
Whiteboy in Transition
The first fashion show produced by the Los Angeles–based Whiteboy label was a snapshot of a clothing label in transition....
Jones On the Block?
New York–based Jones Apparel Group Inc. announced that its board of directors is considering selling the company and has retained Goldman, Sachs & Co. to assist in the process. The board left open ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Sue Wong
Sue Wong always opens her
Mercedes-Benz Announces New Fashion Scholarship
Students may find it easier to overcome the financial hurdle of attending design school after a new scholarship announcement by Mercedes-Benz. The “Drive Your Future ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Uriel Saenz
After several seasons showing in independent fashion showcases, Los Angeles designer
Weaver to Retire From Pac Sun
Greg Weaver, the 52-year-old chairman of Pacific Sunwear of California, Inc., announced he will retire on April 1. He helped transform the surf an...
Los Angeles Fashion Week 2006: Morphine Generation
Morphine Generation, which launched as a T-shirt company in a dark garage in Summer 2003, has since evolved into a full rock ’n’ roll lifestyle line. Titled “A New Romantic Coll...
Creative Concepts
California Market CenterSuite A272(213) 627-4066 ...
Friday, March 17
San Francisco Fashion Industries Closes its Doors
After 86 years serving apparel manufacturers, wholesalers and importers in northern California, San Francisco Fashion Industries will shutter its door on March 31....
Car Company Scion Launches Clothing
Scion has made the leap from cars to clothing after the car company’s employees began asking for something more stylish to wear than the typical corporate-logo tee....
Paul Davril Does Battle With Spammers
Los Angeles–based manufacturer Paul Davril Inc. is putting up a fight against the swarm of spammers, hackers, viruses, spyware, etc....
Quiksilver Tries Out Youth Concept-Again
When Quiksilver, Inc. licensed the Tony Hawk skateboarding brand to moderately priced department store Kohl’s Corp. in 2005, the Huntington Beach, Calif.–based surfwe...
E-Commerce Companies Capitalize on West Coast Fashion
The strong West Coast retail scene is extending beyond the storefront and heading deep into cyberspace. As demand for West Coast fashion comes from other areas of the country and the world, e-tailers ...
Black Hearts Brigade: Tees and Tops With a Dark Side
It’s not often that a sales rep describes a clothing line as “morbid”—and means it in a good way....
Paul Frank Sues Paul Frank Industries
Last November, Paul Frank Sunich suddenly left the company he co-founded, leaving many in the apparel community to question why the enigmatic designer would split with the company that bears his name ...
Blue Cult In Flux
Slow sales in the United States and stiff competition have Los Angeles–based denim maker Blue Cult Inc. streamlining its business and trimming the chaff....
Going To Ryder Cup Again
Carlsbad-based golf lifestyle company Ashworth Inc. has struck a deal to become lead vendor and official licensee of the Ryder Cup, next scheduled for September in Ireland. Ashworth has been working with the ...
Big Projects Help Revive S.F. Retail
San Francisco’s retail scene got another shot in the arm when it was announced that Los Angeles–based Westfield America and Cleveland real estate developer Forest Cit...
Downing Promoted at Neiman's
Dallas-based specialty store Neiman Marcus has promoted Ken Downing to senior vice president, fashion director. Downing has been vice president, public relations for the company since 1997. He joined ...
Cuffz Partners with Celebs for Charity
Los Angeles–based handbag label Cuffz by Linz has partnered with a trio of celebrities to create three custom-designed bags to help raise funds and awareness for several charitable or...
Not a Wife-Beater
Los Angeles–based T-shirt maker Splendid is taking a stand on wifebeaters, the phrase used conversationally to describe rib-knit tank tops. The company has partnered with anti-domestic violenc...
Pacific Sunwear Takes Baby Steps With New Chain
Pacific Sunwear, Inc. will open its first One Thousand Steps footwear stores in mid-April, but the company will start small with its fledgling chain of shoe stores....
In Lieu Boutique Combines Old San Francisco Charm With Cutting-Edge Design
SAN FRANCISCO—The Old World feel of San Francisco’s North Beach neighborhood is a fitting locale for the indie, vintage-inspired boutique In Lieu, where owner Christina Claypool has created a y...
Gen Art Styles Competition Seeks Entries
Nonprofit organization Gen Art is looking for entries for their 8th annual International Styles Competition set for May in New York....
ASR Parent Company on the Block
The financial community has been abuzz since Dutch media conglomerate VNU accepted a takeover bid from a group of private equity firms on March 8. Valued at $9 bil...
Fashion, Art, Music Focus of Alternative Fashion Week Event
In its eighth installment, Sew Down, the biannual runway show and marketplace, is b...
Paradox Paradis: New Take on Old Hollywood
A gala event worthy of Old Hollywood will be the official launch of Paradox Paradis, a new evening and ready-to-wear line by Darin Humecki and Scott Nassani....
L.A. Fashion Week Takes on International Flavor
This season’s Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios is taking on a certain foreign flavor, much like Los Angeles itself....
Top California Design Firm Gensler Shows Face in Home State
Gensler is the name of one of the biggest design firms in the United States, but Californians may just be getting re-acquainted with the San Francisco–headquartered company over the past 12 months. So...
And the Winners Are
Nintendo, Victoria’s Secret and Los Angeles–based Architect take design awards ...
Politicians Want to Expand Buy-American Amendment
Congressman Robin Hayes (R-N.C.) introduced legislation on March 14 to extend the Berry Amendment to include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security....
New FBI Program for Small Businesses
Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization Fashion Business Inc. has launched a new program that would allow many small businesses to take FBI’s industry training seminars for free....
Leona Goes to Hollywood
Australian dress label Leona Edmiston opened a second Southern California boutique on March 14. The line, devoted to bright, frilly dresses, ensured the glamour of the openi...
Lepore's New Look
New York–based Nanette Lepore showed the first gowns designed by the 10-year-old fashion label on Feb. 28 at the Nanette Lepore boutique on Los Angeles’ Robertson Boulevard. Model Carrie Anderson, pictured, wore Lepore’s...
!iT Jeans Gives Men Another Go
Several seasons after phasing out its men’s line, Los Angeles–based denim maker !iT Jeans introduced a completely reworked men’s collection at the Project Global Trade Show in Las Vegas last month....
Petro Zillia Gearing Up for Retail Debut
For the first time since Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week came to Los Angeles, the popular contemporary label Petro Zillia will not be showing during Los Angeles...
New Items From Kasil Jeans
ACCESSORY ADDICT: Kasil Jeans is raising the offerings on its men’s jeans with the iPod-friendly “Victory” jean. The jean is equipped with an extra pocket that perfectly holds a full-s...
SIMA to Honor McKnight
The Surf Industry Manufacturers Associationwill honor Bob McKnight, chief executive of Quiksilver, with the Waterman of the Year award at its annual Waterman’s Ball and Aucti...
Michael Stars Adds Cashmere
After years of making highend T-shirts for women, Los Angeles–based Michael Stars has added cashmere to its repertoire. The new line of tissue-weight, 16-gauge cashmere T-shirts debut...
Sue Wong Set for Global Expansion
Los Angeles designer Sue Wong is on an expansion track and has announced plans to align with industry partners that can help the company achieve its next level of growth through marketing, li...
Troubled Jeans Company Outsources Distribution
Innovo Group Inc., makers of Joe’s Jeans and Indie apparel, has decided to outsource its distribution, warehousing and customer service while it looks for ways to re...
Here Comes the Bride's Shoes
New York–based Iconix Brand Group Inc., owners of the Candie’s, Bongo, Badgley Mischka, Joe Boxer and Rampage brands, has struck a deal with Titan Industries for two new footwear collections under the B...
Friday, March 10
Lingerie Americas Prepares to Expand
NEW YORK—Although bitterly cold winds were blustering outside, the feeling inside the Metropolitan Pavilion and Altman Building was warm and inviting for lingerie trade show ...
Mediating 'Channel Conflict'
Manufacturers who take the plunge and sell directly to consumers online inevitably encounter a phenomenon that has been called “channel conflict,” or “resistance and resentment,” f...
February '06 Cold Puts a Chill on Retail Sales
Sales at apparel chain stores declined by 1 percent in February, but, for the most part, America’s business was good, according to Michael Niemira, chief economist for the New York–bas...
Industry Split on Effect of Proposed Copyright Law
Debate hinges on ’orphan works’ ...
Quiksilver Goes To the Grove
Huntington Beach–based surf giant Quiksilver Inc. opened a new Quiksilver Youth concept store at The Grove lifestyle mall in Los Angeles. The store, designed to be a “gathering place for all boardriders,”...
Otis Students Fuel New Fashion Pub
Students at Los Angeles’ Otis College of Art + Design have been tapped to ferret out the next big trends in Southern California fashion and lifestyle for the Modus Project, a...
L.A. Casting Call for Third Project Runway
“Project Runway,” Bravo TV’s hit reality series that searches for America’s next great designer, is gearing up for its third season. Houston designer Chloe Dao was named winner of the show...
DAG's Apparel Pitch
Chicago-based Denim Apparel Group has completed its acquisition of Moonlight Graham Inc., makers of retro-themed sportswear featuring Major League Baseball, General Motors, Anheuser-Busch, Universal Studios and Cadbu...
Levi's Shutters Little Rock Site
San Francisco–based Levi Strauss & Co. will close its distribution center in Little Rock, Ark., and eliminate 340 jobs by the end of 2006. The company said more than a quarter of the workers at the facility will be eligible for early ret...
Calif. 'Sweatshop' Bill Falls Short
Two years after the state enacted an anti-sweatshop bill, little has been done to enforce it. Not one single contractor, be it a garment contractor or a food contractor, has been cited with violating ...
First-Time Retailer Bets on Beverly Hills
Nina Messiah does not consider herself someone who enjoys gambling against high odds. But her friends thought the first-time retailer was taking on an insurmountable challenge when she opened a fashio...
Accessories Designer Spotlights Clothes
Michelle Roy opened her first boutique at 221 N. Robertson Blvd. in Los Angeles last month. The 1,000-square-foot store shines a spotlight on the accessory designer’s special relationship with apparel....
Skechers Teams With Zoo York
Manhattan Beach–based footwear maker Skechers USA will produce a new Zoo York branded footwear line for the action sports market, under a new licensing agreement with Zoo York parent company Marc Ecko....
CFA Hosts Acting Labor Chief
California’s acting labor commissioner, Robert Jones, fielded questions and concerns on a few hot-button issues affecting the apparel industry at a recent membership meeting of the Ca...
Design Suites Move Closer to Smashbox Studios
In this, their fifth season, the Design Suites hosted by Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios will relocate for its March 21–23 run to a new, roomier home at HD But...
Canada's Consoltex Sold
Boca Raton, Fla.–based private investment firm Sun Capital Partners Inc. announced that it has acquired the stock of Canadian textile maker Consoltex Inc. from American Industrial Partners for an undisclosed a...
East Side Story: Boutiques on Melrose's East Half Hoping for a Comeback
One of Los Angeles’s formerly leading streets for fashion and pop culture is looking to make a comeback....
CMC Hires Former L.A. Mart Exec
The California Market Center has hired Jon Weiglin as director of leasing for the Gift and Home category....
Nordstrom Finds an Oasis in the Desert
Nordstrom executives have signed a letter of intent with the Westfield Palm Desert center in California’s Coachella Valley to open a two-story, 149,000-square-foot store in spring of ...
More Showrooms for Fashion District
Just when it appeared the Los Angeles Fashion District was maxing out on its real estate offerings, another developer has come up with a plan for a $62 million apparel wholesale mart...
Meeschka Brings New Rock Style to Laguna Beach
For years, Laguna Beach, Calif., has been known as an artists’ colony and a tourist destination where the preferred looks have been surf clothes, Hawaiian shirts and stylish, premium denim....
Wal-Mart-Anchored Centers Sold
Two Wal-Mart–anchored shopping centers in the Los Angeles area have changed hands, said representatives of real estate company Reza Investment Group, Inc....
Surf Industry Support
After overcoming bone cancer, Australian pro surfer Ritchie Lovett faced the burden of overwhelming medical bills. On Feb. 28, the surf industry threw a party at Mozambique restaurant in Laguna Beach...
House Passes Anti-Counterfeiting Bill
Traffickers and counterfeiters have more to lose, now that a Federal bill that will close loopholes and strengthen criminal penalties has passed the United States House of Representatives....
Survey Takes On Online Competition
A majority of retailers and others interviewed for a recent survey said they would increase advertising and promote online business in order to face the challenge of heightened competition from incr...
Tag-It's Man
Los Angeles–based zipper and trim supplier Tag-It Pacific Inc. hired Wouter C. van Biene as chief operating officer for the company. Van Biene was previously senior vice president, operations, for Asce...
Friday, March 3
Op and NBA Strike a Deal
Basketball fans will soon be able to wear the trappings of their devotion on the beach. Irvine, Calif.–based Ocean Pacific has announced a partnership with ...
MAGIC Marketplace: Style for Fall '06
The MAGIC Marketplace showcased key trends for
More Fashion at Amazon
Seattlebased e-tailer
eWarna Offers 'Pay-Per-Use' Pricing
Color systems specialist eWarna has rolled out a new “pay-per-use” pricing structure for its online color collaboration solutions....
Rodeo Fetes Costume Design
The Rodeo Drive Committee and the city of Beverly Hills honored three costume designers whose work has been frequently nominated for Academy Awards with a gala celebration Feb. 28....
First Country Joins CAFTA
Crossing the finish line first doesn’t earn El Salvador a gold medal ...
Joe Boxer's Licensees
New York–based Iconix Brand Group Inc. has struck three new licensing agreements for its Joe Boxer brand in Canada and Northern Europe. An agreement with Boxer ehf allows the Reykjavik, Iceland– based company t...
Earl Joins Jordache
New York–based Jordache Enterprises and a group of private investors have acquired Earl Jean from VF Corp. for an undisclosed amount. The Earl brand will join Jordache’s existing premiumdenim labels, Jo...
Forecast From Las Vegas: Sunny Summer, Hints of Fall
LAS VEGAS—Somehow the trade show scene in Las Vegas managed to expand even as it consolidated....
Ford 'n Zegna
Former Gucci designer Tom Ford will design a new menswear line in a licensing deal with Italian luxury house Ermenegildo Zegna. Ford’s former partner at Gucci, Domenico de Sole, has held a seat on the ...
Putting On the Scot
Scottish whisky brand The Glenlivit is getting in on the Academy Award gifting action by sending Best Actor nominees a bespoke kilt and all the traditional Scottish accessories, just in time for the M...
Rebel With a Cause
Siblings and co-founders of Rebel Yell clothing, Daniel and Andi Ballard, celebrated the addition of their new business partner, Guy Oseary, with a party at Los Angeles bout...
Perry Ellis Extends Nike Swim License
Perry Ellis International has announced that it has extended its Nike Swim license through 2009. The updated agreement incorporates men’s, women’s and children’s swimwear, performance and casua...
U.S.-Colombia Free-Trade Pact Negotiated
After days of intense negotiations, the United States and Colombia agreed upon a free-trade deal that will eliminate tariffs and quotas on most goods and services....
Ann Taylor to Settle Two California Overtime Lawsuits
New York–based women’s retailer Ann Taylor Stores Corp. announced it has reached a tentative agreement to settle two California class-action lawsuits....
Innovo on the Auction Block?
Innovo Group Inc., the Commerce, Calif.–based clothing maker that designs blue jeans under the Joe’s Jeans and Indie labels, has hired Piper Jaffray & Co...
