California Apparel News

Christian Weber, the founder and creative director of Los Angeles– based designer label CW Christian Weber, has split withhis U.S. backers, Alliance Apparel Inc., a Korean-American company with a background in the juniors business.

Weber is currently in Italy, where he struck a three-year deal with two new European investors. The designer said he cannot name the two investors because he is under a confidentiality agreement until his collection officially relaunches at the end of the month. But he did say one investor is a large Italian group that will help support company operations and the other is a Belgian and Italian company that will support distribution and logistics.

The designer is also meeting with U.S. investors in the hopes of reopening an office in the United States. Weber is confident he will find a new U.S. backer—particularly considering how wellreceived the collection became in such a short time.

“It’s not a blind investment anymore,” he said.

Weber launched his collection for Fall 2007 and quickly garnered support from influential retailers and the fashion community in Los Angeles and in Italy. CW Christian Weber was featured on the runway in Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion show during Los Angeles Fashion Week last October, and the designer hosted an informal fashion show during Milan Fashion Week in September. Recently Weber was invited to show on the runway at Milan Fashion Week in February.

Trademark dispute

Weber is currently finalizing the label he will show under at Milan Fashion Week while the fate of his trademark is still up in the air.

However, Weber’s attorney—Gary J. Nelson, a partner at Christie, Parker & Hale LLP in Pasadena, Calif.—is confident the designer will be able to regain the use of his name.

“It’s an interesting phenomenon in the garment business when people sell their names as trademarks,” Nelson said. “If [Christian] wanted to put a hangtag on every piece of clothing that basically told his life story but didn’t necessarily use his name as a trademark, he could do that. In Christian’s case, I think there are some issues with the contract they entered into, which may be unique to his case, that might put him in a better position to ultimately reclaim his name.”

Nelson said there are several marks at issue, including CW Christian Weber and Christian Weber.

“Generally, if it’s a well-established individual who is famous or semi-famous and they sell their name for a ton of money, that’s going to be very difficult to get their name back,” he said. “Each case is certainly different, but Christian’s case is certainly not in that first example. In Christian’s case, the situation is a little different in that he has contractual issues that could be problematic for [Alliance Apparel] if they decide not to settle.”

Alliance, based in Commerce, Calif., produces juniors apparel under the Blu Heaven label. Blu Heaven executive Paul Shin referred inquiry on this matter to collegue Michael Park, who said the company has been advised by attorneys not to comment on legal matters.

Italy meets L.A.

Weber spent several years in Italy designing for Versace before moving to Los Angeles to launch his line with the concept of bringing together Italian quality with Los Angeles’ edgy sensibility. The line was predominately produced in Italy from European fabrics, except for the jersey pieces, which were produced locally.

The conceptual collection drew inspiration from such international sources as Spain’s flamenco tradition and the medieval European and Japanese armor on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Still, the collection was rooted in Los Angeles’ casual approach to luxurious, sexy dressing.

The collection sold at high-end specialty stores, including Fred Segal Couture in Santa Monica, Calif., as well as a CW Christian Weber store in Seoul, which has been closed.

The designer said he intends to continue with plans for the Milan runway show, although the schedule has not yet been finalized for the Feb. 16–23 event.

Because Europe only has two fashion seasons, it’s hard for a company to skip a season, especially when building a brand. A company that skips one of the five markets in the United States has less chance of losing momentum, he said.

“There’s more opportunity to sell in the United States, he said. “The next time in Europe is six months away.”

For now, Weber’s company will be based in Milan and Prato, Italy. The designer hopes to return to the United States and, if possible, Los Angeles. He said he would like to maintain the line’s connection to Los Angeles, which was a selling point for many overseas buyers.

“Being from Los Angeles has been a door opener,” he said, adding that European distributors were pleased with the business built in the United States.

“I definitely do hope to return to Los Angeles at some point or at least have a design/ creative office in L.A.,” he said. “Our ’other’ home is L.A. and in my thoughts and heart [the city] will always remain our headquarters. Hopefully, one day our U.S. headquarters will be L.A. again.”