California Apparel News

After a soft Spring 2007 launch, designer Karen Noseff is pulling out the stops for her Fall 2007 collection of Fortune Denim. “I feel like this is my true launch. It’s a full collection with jeans and skirts, capris and twill pants and colored denim,” said the young Dallas-based designer, who makes her jeans in Los Angeles and is moving to the city later this year.

Packed with fashion items such as a classic pencil skirt in dark indigo, four jean silhouettes, capri pants, corduroy pants and twill pants, the collection features Japanese denim in dark washes, raw denim coated with resin, and gray and black overdyed treatments. “We use a unique combination of 70 percent cotton and 30 percent polyester. It gives the denim a different sheen and helps the jeans retain their shape,” Noseff said.

Inspired by her mixed heritage—her mother is Chinese, her father American—Noseff latched onto the concept of building a denim line around the idea of the humble fortune cookie. “It’s an East-meets-West fusion. They’re California-style jeans with ancient Eastern elements,” she said.

The all-American blue jeans, with skinny hipster, straight leg and boot cuts, feature Eastern details on the inside, “like a surprise.” The denim’s button is stamped to look like a Chinese coin and embellished with 24 tiny Swarovski crystals. Red silk fabric embossed with the symbol for the Tang dynasty lines the waistband and pockets, and a quirky “fortune” is sewn into every pair. Each pair of jeans is sold in a red satin bag to match the lining. The outside of the denim is clean. “There is no branding, no logo, no tag. The only thing we allowed ourselves is an “F” on the back pocket,” Noseff said.

Already in about 45 stores, Fortune Denim hopes to make a big splash when it makes its Project Global Trade Show debut in February in Las Vegas. Set to wholesale for $90 to $100, Fortune will target high-end specialty stores and better department stores. “I have high hopes for the line. For Spring 2008, I want to introduce knit tops, blouses and T-shirts with cool graphics and fashion-forward fits,” Noseff said. For more information, call (818) 497-3978.

True Love & False Idols Launches Tracy Denim Collection

Los Angeles–based men’s streetwear brand True Love & False Idols will debut a collection of jeans for guys at the Project and United trade shows in Las Vegas this month. The brand’s Tracy Denim collection, named after the late friend of designers Alex “2Tone” Erdmann and Alex Vaz, marks the first time TLFI has strayed from premium T-shirts, sweaters, hoodies and tweed jackets.

Unlike their heavily embellished, graphic-heavy tops offerings, the duo’s denim is clean and understated. The three fits (slimstraight, relaxed-straight and slight-boot) feature four different square and rectangle rivets stamped with messages to their friend Tracy, including “I miss you.” Using 1 percent stretch denim for the slim- and straight-leg silhouettes and rigid denim for the more “urban” relaxed fit, the collection also features a variety of clean custom washes, including resin treatments, black and indigo washes, and faded gray and blue “rocker” washes, with nicks and patches. Denim connoisseurs will also have the option of a selvage fabrication.

“Our focus is on the fit and details,” Vaz said. Hidden details and special touches add a sense of luxury to the jeans. Rivets are finished in gold, silver, nickel and matte metals. Pockets are flapped or feature snaps, and the waistbands and pockets are lined in customprinted satin. Tonal embroidery— usually in the form of the numeral two to represent the two Alexes—and printed patches peaking through tiny nicks are as embellished as the jeans get.

“We’re a mix between L.A. denim and East Coast denim,” Vaz said. Erdmann said the three distinct styles will help them appeal to urban customers, premium shoppers and fashion-forward guys. “We’re just two guys making the best jeans we can and stuff we like and want to wear, but we think the denim will appeal to a wide demographic. Hopefully, what we’re offering will get our customers excited,” Erdmann said. The slim fit is for the guy who likes the skinny jean trend on the younger skate kids “but wants to wear the trend like a man,” Vaz added, so the fit is a little looser, a little more forgiving. The denim will wholesale for $125 to $145 and will be manufactured in Los Angeles. For more information, call (213) 627-2087.

Chinese Laundry New Denim License

Los Angeles–based contemporary shoe brand Chinese Laundry has announced a licensing agreement allowing Vibes Base Enterprises Inc. to design, manufacture and market contemporary denim and coordinating tops under the Chinese Laundry Denim brand. The collection will bow for Fall 2007 and will feature low- and midrise jeans and sexy tops that will retail for $88 to $140.

“Our partnership and original contemporary designs from head designer Tina Rani will appeal to the Chinese Laundry brand customer and will attract new customers to the brand,” Steve Hagstrom, vice president and general merchandise and marketing manager of Vibes Base Enterprises, said in a statement.

Agave Debuts Cashmere and Leather

For Fall 2007, premium-denim brand Agave will make a major play for lifestyle status with the debut of its men’s cashmere collection and men’s and women’s leather outerwear collection.

Bowing with seven garment-washed, finegauge silhouettes, Agave’s cashmere collection sought to “take iconic pieces and give them a fresh look with our choices of yarn, color and detail. Our goal was to create our own look in knitwear that would work perfect with our artesian denim,” said Jeff Shafer, the brand’s owner and designer. The collection includes a zip-front cardigan, half-zip argyle polo, mock turtleneck, crewneck sweater and Western-style polo. Each design ships with a removable Agave antique nickel pin and will retail for $175 to $225.

Agave’s first foray into leather has been a long time coming, Shafer said. “Leather has always been part of my design vision for the brand since the beginning, but we wanted to establish the core denim collection and build the Agave lifestyle around that,” he said. Debuting with four styles made from Italian lambskin, the outerwear collection features unique treatments seen more often in T-shirts and denim—and that’s half the point. “We wanted to make sure we created something really special,” Shafer said. To that end, a casual blazer, a hip-length woman’s jacket, a jean jacket–style jacket and a motorcycle jacket are garment-washed, vegetable-tanned and distressed for a unique look. The jackets will retail for $500 to $550. Agave will show the new collections, as well as their premium denim, at Project in Las Vegas this month.