California Apparel News

Dresses, novelties, new lines and Immediate goods helped keep spirits high at the Jan. 12–16 run of the Los Angeles Fashion Market, held at the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and the Gerry Building.

New York–based trade shows Designers & Agents and ENK International’s Brighte Companies returned to The New Mart and the CMC, respectively.

January is typically one of the smaller markets of the year, and this season many reps said buyers were more interested in immediate items than the traditional Summer goods offered in January.

Retailers shopping the CMC were looking to a new flock of fresh goods to buoy sales following a mixed holiday season.

“We had a poor holiday season on the islands,” noted Jacqueline Correa of Chi Bella Boutique, a contemporary women’s store in Kailua Kona, Hawaii. “Consumers are not spending much money. Tourism is holding its own, so I don’t know what’s causing it.”

Correa was in Los Angeles looking for men’s and children’s apparel to expand her store. Other retailers, including Bobbie Wakefield of Oakland, Calif.–based Wakefield’s Boutique, said it was better to be in a niche in the current business climate. Her store, which specializes in career clothing, reported one of the best holidays in years.

“We’ve been doing well with church groups,” she said, noting that she was eyeing dressy knits from Cary Lowe’s and Mitch Steadman’s showrooms.

While the January market usually is rampant with fill-in business, there seemed to be more interest this time in new samples, said Margaret Cox, who showed a diverse range of looks from graphic jackets and dresses from Karla Kay to embellished coordinates from resources such as Christine Phillipe.

“The attendance was as we expected. The buyers were prepared to place multiple orders this time, coming off the October market,” noted Chris Myers of the XCVI showroom. Key sellers were novelty cropped stretch pants and ruched straight-leg pants by XCVI and novelty lounge/sleepwear by NAP featuring skulls and floral designs.

Rompers with pockets for iPods and cell phones by Fact were the hot item in the Landa Sales showroom. The yoga/activewear line features moisturewicking and other performance characteristics that have translated well into casual use, said showroom owner Shana Landa. Landa brought in a complementary line called Biza, a bamboo fabric– based collection with a fashion twist. The line features camis, hoodies, boat-neck tees and pedal pushers in stretch French terry priced from $11 and up.

“Rompers are going to be a key item for Spring. Dresses and denim will remain important, but you have to have the right fit and price,” said Landa.

For David Perlman, owner of the PerlmanRep showroom, the key is to find a niche within the consumer’s budget.

“They will spend $200 for the pair of jeans that they have to have, but then they will have limitation for tops and shirts. That’s where I come in,” he said. Perlman said his sales have grown seven-fold over the past season by focusing on moderately priced items such as knit tops from Kersh running from $16 to $40.

Natural themes continued to grow, with organic fabrics and unique prints playing big, said Jennifer Cohen of the 1060 Sherman showroom, which markets its own line featuring original prints by noted artists around the world. Among them were graphic African tribal prints over soft fabrics on dresses and other pieces. Standouts included a “Paul Klee” print dress and an “Out of Africa”–themed print.

The new line drew lots of out-of-towners, said Cohen.

“I think I saw more accounts from Chicago here than I did at Intermezzo [in New York],” she said.

Even the celebrities were out at the CMC scoping Spring’s new looks. Actress Jenny McCarthy was seen checking out the lines in the Sharon Koshet Sales showroom. Koshet carries eveningwear and updated lines, including Alberto Makali, Hippie Ink, Arev/ Vera Cristina, Kirsten Jade, Nina Austin Hope, and Emma and Maddesign.

The showroom has become a hot spot for stylists and celebrities. Several of the models from the NBC game show “Deal or No Deal” were also picking up outfits in the showroom.

Koshet said buyers were liking paper-thin skirts in metallic shades such as bronze and steel as well as double-layer stretch-lace tanks by Arev. White Bermuda shorts and white crocheted tunics were also hot from Vera Cristina, reported company rep Arlet Rostamian. Arev’s foil-print denim featuring embellishments down the seams was a hot seller.

“Interesting denim is still selling well,” said Rostamian.

CMC officials did not release attendance figures, but they characterized the show as generally positive for exhibitors and buyers.

“We were pleased overall with the market,” said John Kim, general manager of the CMC. “We feel that this L.A. Fashion Market appealed to retailers because of all the new resources we have added to the building.”

Added Sue Bhanubandh, director of leasing for the CMC’s contemporary floor: “Everyone had a very positive attitude this market, and the entire fifth floor worked together in an unprecedented manner. We feel that the teamwork we saw this market sets a great tone of what’s to come in March.”

Immediates at Cooper and The New Mart

Cooper Design Space executives estimated its buyer attendance grew 20 percent over last year’s Summer market. “It’s a smaller market, but it seems to have been positive overall,” said Mona Sangkala, leasing director of the Cooper building.

Tim Ellis, owner of the Proper Fools showroom, said an influx of new brands helped make the Summer market better than last year’s. Disney Vintage, a recent addition to the showroom, helped open new doors, and Ellis estimated he wrote approximately 20 orders over the five-day market. Proper Fools carries Anzevino & Florence, Lips denim, Orthodox, Rokara and Kill City, most of which do not offer Summer goods. Instead, buyers loaded up on Immediate goods to fill in their racks. “Last season was a little soft. My orders were down. I think this is a good sign that this season will be strong,” Ellis said.

At the Findings showroom, buyers who had a successful December looked to stock up on Immediate goods and early April and May deliveries. “Fall was so hot, and it hit retailers really hard. No one wanted to buy cold-weather clothes. But sales in December, much to everyone’s surprise, were great,” said Findings’ Rebecca Anderson. Buyers scooped up dresses from Graham & Spencer, novelty denim from Genetic Denim, knits from Inhabit, which debuted its first Summer collection, and versatile jersey dresses from Rozae Nichols. Optimistic buyers remain cautious about Fall and later offerings, though. “They want to push sweaters out as far as they can. They’re asking for Fall in October—versus June or July— which makes me think Holiday will be big,” Anderson said.

Ethan Eller, general manager of The New Mart, said 1,035 stores registered for the Summer market—down from 1,190 attendees last year. Still, on the last afternoon of the market, buyers were crowding some showrooms and placing orders. At Showroom 903 in The New Mart, buyers put in lastminute orders for Da-Nang, Joe’s Jeans, C&C California and Dream Society. “Buyers are looking for everything from Immediates to final Spring deliveries,” said Todd Picciano, who sells the Joe’s Jeans men’s collection at the showroom.

Appointment-driven at Gerry

Traffic was obviously down at the Gerry Building, said Stacia Diamond, owner of the Clarity showroom on the seventh floor.

“We did okay because all of our appointments showed up,” said Diamond. The showroom, which was formerly known as the Jak & Rae showroom, is now independently owned, following the recent move by Hot Kiss Inc. to shelve its Jak & Rae contemporary women’s line.

Diamond said Jak & Rae may be back in the future, but she has added several new lines, including Mr. Winter, featuring screen tees for men and women; Matin, veganinspired handbags; Female, chiffon print dresses; and Report Collection, the new women’s launch by the European men’s label of the same name.

Diamond said she will continue to sell Emphasis, which launched as a lower-priced sister line to Jak & Rae.

Jessica Rufenacht of the Karma showroom on the second floor said she also worked in a lot of appointments but noticed some improvements with walk-in traffic.

Meanwhile, buyers picked up allover screen-printed tees for $11 to $15 from Orange County– produced Five Crowns and beachy, young contemporary dresses and tunics in nautical stripes from Chica Boom for $12 to $25.

“Dresses are still a strong alternative to denim, but it’s not officially taken over yet,” Rufenacht said.

Dresses key at D&A

Buyers roaming the aisles of the Designers & Agents show on the third floor of The New Mart loaded up on immediate goods and plenty of print dresses for the Summer season, exhibitors said.

The Jan. 12–15 show, which last year split its space between The New Mart and the Cooper Design Space, shrunk to 127 collections this season, compared with 143 last year. Ed Mandelbaum, who operates the New York–based contemporary showcase with partner Barbara Kramer, said the smaller edition was a conscious choice. “Last year, we had just a small group at the Cooper. This year, we wanted to fill The New Mart to the brim,” he said. D&A’s attendance at The New Mart dropped 6 percent from last year.

Despite the drop in participating brands, exhibitors reported adequate traffic and seemed to be in high spirits. Mattie Ilel of Los Angeles–based apparel, shoe and handbag brand J.P. & Mattie reported excellent traffic and plenty of buyer interest. “Even the weekend was really strong,” Ilel said. Leather sandals with real turquoise embellishments, leather handbags designed to fit laptop computers, and airy cotton-blend dresses and smocks in neutral tones did well with buyers, she said. The brand tested a line of T-shirts featuring images inspired by Japanese cartoons at the show.

The sea of denim that has greeted buyers at previous D&A shows was replaced with a bounty of pretty Summer dresses. “We weren’t bombarded with denim, which is good because buyers are going to see so much of it at Pool and Project [Global Trade Show, both in Las Vegas next month],” said Sarah Yellin, co-owner of The Circle boutique in Los Angeles.

At Harkham and Mixie, printed dresses in jersey, cotton and silk fabrications caught buyers’ eyes. A silk zip-front dress from Harkham and a tunic with a modified floral print were hits with specialty-store buyers, said Miki Dinning, the brand’s sales rep. Saori Soga, a sales rep for Santa Ana, Calif.–based Mixie, said buyers shopped for anything with patterns and bright colors. Teal, red and kelly green were favorites among buyers, she said.

At 1-year-old New York–based denim brand Raven Denim, buyers eschewed skinny and gray jeans in favor of trouser and wide-leg styles in light washes. Heather Beaudoin of West Hollywood, Calif.–based Z Brand said skinny jeans with leather detailing on pockets were special enough to catch buyers’ attention, but cargo pants in neutral washes and light fabrications performed well for Summer. Other winners included cotton linen trench coats and lightweight military jackets. Tadd Zarubica of Denim of Virtue lured buyers with skinny jeans in saturated candy colors, including purple, turquoise and red, but said his best-sellers for Summer were slim jeans in mid-tone washes.

Serious shoppers at Brighte

Exhibitors at the Brighte Companies show reported moderate buyer traffic, yet some said there appeared to be fewer lookyloos and more serious shoppers this time around.

The Jan. 12–15 show featured fewer new exhibitors, but buyers found a blend of accessories such as Kitson–brand shoes, named after the popular Robertson Boulevard boutique in Los Angeles, as well as growing local lines such as Voom by Joy Han, whose booth was crowded almost until the final hour of the show.

Han said sales have grown from nil to a half-million dollars in shipments per month. The company is known for its original prints on silk dresses, priced from $89 to $159.

“A lot of buyers are coming here because they are starting to know our brand, but there are also a lot who don’t know the line and are buying it because they love it,” said Han, who designs the line, which has been shown in recent seasons at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.

The green movement continued to grow at Brighte, with a host of companies featuring natural fabrics. West Hollywood–based CO2 was among them. The company showed original discharge prints on tops, tunics, dresses and outerwear made from cashmere and bamboo.

“We are taking it from the yoga mat and making it more fashion-forward,” said Monique Kairouz. “We’ve had a terrific show. The prints really attract attention.”

Pascal Benouaiche produces the prints featuring fantastical scenes with figures, flora and fauna. Prices range from $70 to $155.

Los Angeles–based shirt maker Tee Party said shifting trends with less emphasis on denim has the company producing moreversatile tops that can be dressed up or down. At Brighte, Tee Party owner Debbie Davies showed cotton shirts with mesh panels, which gave them more of a dressed-up feel. She also featured mock wrap tops along with stripes and basics. “It has a feminine feel, so it has lots of appeal,” she said.

Newcomer Sulu featured hand-loomed and embroidered Kurti shirts and tunics, which could transition from day to night.

“This is my first time here, and I made connections with buyers from Hawaii and Australia, so it’s very unusual for us to see them, being from Westport, Conn.,” said owner/designer Sulu Grant, who spent 10 years as an electrical engineer with Hewlett-Packard before jumping into fashion last year.