California Apparel News

Aaron Levant, the 24-year-old wunderkind who launched the Agenda trade show in 2003 as a venue for streetwear, has successfully built the event into a biannual production in San Diego where major brands such as Adidas exhibit.

Now Levant is about to mark another entrepreneurial milestone in his life by opening a Hollywood boutique in March that will be peppered with rock-star flash.

Levant’s boutique, called 645 N. Martel, after its streetaddress in Los Angeles, will be his first attempt at retail. It will also be the flagship store for streetwear brand DCMA Collective, started in 2006 by Joel and Benji Madden, the twin brothers who front the rock band Good Charlotte. Their other brother, Josh, is also a co-founder.

The 800-square-foot boutique will be decorated with Victorian-style fixtures. Nearby will be a 25-by-15-foot skateboard bowl. Behind the store is the 3,200-square-foot headquarters for the trade show and the company’s showroom operations staffed by six people.

The label already has gained a certain amount of buzz. Joel Madden made tabloid headlines this year for being the boyfriend of reality TV star Nicole Richie. He is also the father of her unborn child.

The Madden brothers have done some marketing on their own, selling the collection to retailers such as Pacific Sunwear. But Josh Madden said the line’s success was hampered by its lack of organization. There was no DCMA Collective showroom, and it had few people to deal with increasing sales inquiries.

It was DCMA Collective’s director of marketing, Tal Cooperman, who suggested last summer that the label partner with Agenda. Levant’s company not only produces trade shows but also runs its showroom at 645 N. Martel Ave. for popular streetwear brands Fresh Jive and Brooklyn Projects.

Josh Madden, based in New York, first met Levant in 2004. He said he chose to partner with Agenda because he felt that Levant understood the streetwear scene. He also said his new partner has good business sense. “He doesn’t get carried away with new ideas,” Madden said. “He knows what is cool, but he also knows what makes sense.”

Levant will not only be running the burgeoning streetwear label’s store but also will act as the brand’s sales representative as well as take care of the brand’s marketing, distribution and licensing and some design. The businessman forecasted that DCMA Collective could earn more than $50 million by 2011. If all goes well, Levant said, he will consider opening other DCMA Collective boutiques.

The brand seeks to make a visceral statement with its logo: a graphic depicting a set of brass knuckles. Wholesale price points will be $12 for T-shirts, $45 for hooded sweaters and $30–$35 for footwear. It will offer garments for both men and women.

Other streetwear lines have found success by mixing entertainment fame with retail know-how. The line Famous Stars & Straps was founded by Travis Barker, drummer for rock band Blink 182. It is sold at surf and skate retailers such as Zumiez and Tilly’s. In August, the brand opened a boutique on Los Angeles’ stylish West Third Street.

However, fame doesn’t always translate into sales, said Tom Wallace, president of Los Angeles trend-forecasting company Label Networks. “It’s been picked up by various retailers,” Wallace said of DCMA Collective. “But it has not been street-tested. Aaron will do great marketing. But [streetwear aficionados] will later decide if they want to wear it.”

Riches to riches

Levant is an unlikely success story. He seemed destined to fail despite being born into privilege. He grew up in Agoura Hills, an affluent Los Angeles suburb. His father is Brian Levant, a TV writer and director whose credits include top-rated TV shows and pop-culture touchstones such as “Happy Days” and “Mork & Mindy.”

At the age of 15, Levant said, he was kicked out of high school when he and some friends went to a school dance carrying the drug ecstasy and a stun gun. Levant was also kicked out of a boarding school, he said. At age 17 he started interning for Los Angeles–based streetwear label Grn Apple Tree.

He showed initiative and a certain business savvy. Soon he became an assistant graphics designer for the label and head of marketing. By 2002 he was a partner in the label. He started Agenda with Grn Apple Tree founder Luis Pulido Jr. Pulido left Agenda to focus on Grn Apple Tree, which is sold at prominent Southern California surf and fashion boutiques such as Active and Val Surf.

Levant said his busy business schedule and experience have stamped out past wild behavior. He settled down this year, marrying high-school sweetheart Laura Fotie in July.

For most people, the task of juggling a trade show, showroom and retail business is overwhelming. Ryan Walker, founder of the United Trade Show, next scheduled for Jan. 22–23 in New York, said he sold his Hollywood showroom in November because it was taking time away from his trade show. In addition, trade-show exhibitors often felt slighted if United’s showroom didn’t represent their sales, he said.

But for Levant, everything is a challenge, and he said he has big plans for Agenda. “We want it to become bigger than ASR,” Levant said of his ambition to change the relationship between his organization and Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo. Agenda is the satellite show of ASR, the dominant trade show for surf and skate labels held at the San Diego Convention Center. Its next show is scheduled for Jan. 24–26.

He certainly has the patience to guide a project’s growth. When he first produced Agenda in January 2003, it was held at a Long Beach, Calif., Thai restaurant that seated 50 people. In September 2007, it covered 35,000 square feet of the San Diego Concourse.