California Apparel News

Traffic was up—in some cases, way up—at the Jan. 15–19 run of Los Angeles Fashion Market, according to many reps who said the market was much improved over last January.

“I feel like the fog has lifted,” said Jennifer Lazarus, owner of Showroom 903 at The New Mart. “People were apprehensive last market, and now they’re coming back.”

Not everyone was so positive. Many cited lackluster turnout from local buyers and a schedule that was too close to the trade shows in Las Vegas in February. And while buyer traffic around the many showroom buildings appeared to be light, retailers were spotted reviewing lines and writing orders at showrooms in the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space, the Gerry Building, the Lady Liberty Building and the 824 Building, and among the exhibitors at the concurrent trade shows, Designers and Agents, Brighte Cos., Focus and Transit. Signs of improvement at CMC

For vendors and showroom owners of the California Market Center, business was steady at market.

Liza Stewart, owner of the self-named Liza Stewart showroom in the California Market Center, said her sales increased 25 percent compared with the 2009 January market. It was a good showing despite a steady drumbeat of macroeconomic worries. “We sense it getting better, even though it does not seem like it,” she said.

Retailers ranging from department stores such as Nordstrom and Belk, boutiques such as Leaf & Petal and Diane Merrick, and e-commerce emporium Piperlime shopped the show. Stewart and Michael Gae, co-owner of the Rep et Trois showroom, said retailers made orders for Immediates and for April 30 and June 30 deliveries.

CMC management did not reveal buyer attendance for the market. But Joanne Lee, senior vice president of CMC Services, forecast the market’s business was a good sign for the rest of the year’s business. “There was a lot of refreshing energy surrounding this January market,” she said. “Overall, this market is only a starting point for growth and recovery in 2010.”

Gae said Rep et Trois is broadening its appeal by offering traditional contemporary brands as well as those with a young contemporary price point, which typically wholesale from $20 to $39. For example, Rep et Trois label Black features fashion tops and cocktail dresses with beading and embroidery.

Gae said he noticed an increase of boutiques from Canada and the American Midwest shopping the January market for young contemporary labels headquartered in Los Angeles.

Retailers said offering fashions that were both affordable and stylish were crucial to making sales. Delia Sandoval co-owns the Tru Blu boutique in Newport Beach, Calif. “They’re looking for trends,” she said of her customers. “But they’re looking for trends at a low cost. They’re not making so many impulsive buys.” Jean leggings and cocktail dresses have been selling well at Tru Blu recently.

Veteran Los Angeles retailer Diane Merrick said she mostly shopped for gifts and accessories at the January market. However, she noted that she was going to save her budget to spend at the MAGIC Marketplace and Project Global Trade Show in February. Brands that caught her eye during the January market included leather goods Illia and T-shirts by Thirty-Five Millimeter Clothing.

The CMC hosted satellite trade events such as Transit, a footwear show that was located in the penthouse of the CMC. Retailers Kitson, Diavolina and LF Stores walked the show. Transit vendor Julie Buchser, with the Los Angeles–based Velvet Angels footwear label, said the quality of the retailers made the show. “The traffic has not been amazing, but it has been a worthwhile show,” she said.

The CMC also hosted its Focus show, which features a mix of contemporary apparel and accessories brands. The show, held Jan. 16–18 on the CMC’s 13th floor, also featured a runway show on Jan. 16, organized in partnership with Fashion Business Inc. (See related story here.)

The show drew praise from exhibitors who said they appreciated the excitement—and the boost in traffic—the night of the show.

“Saturday and Sunday were unbelievable—it was the best show we’ve had,” said Jerry Wexler, co-owner of J. Wexler Sales showroom on the CMC’s eighth floor. Wexler has been showing the Mystree collection at Focus for several seasons.

This was the second time at Focus for Los Angeles–based designer Ximena Valero, who said she landed orders from Russia and India at Focus. Valero said she hoped show organizers would continue to host events at Focus, and she offered to host her own daily fashion shows there in the future.

We want to make it stronger and more interesting,” she said. Business building at The New Mart

For market, Showroom 903’s Lazarus went big with Joe’s. The showroom owner reconfigured her 3,600-square-foot New Mart showroom to showcase the full range of the Joe’s Jeans collection. In an adjacent space, Lazarus showcased collections from DaNang, American Vintage, Custo Barcelona, L.A.M.B. and C&C California.

The showroom owner said buyers are vacillating between placing safe buys with known brands and looking for something that isn’t carried in other stores. At market, some placed orders for immediate goods, while others ordered Summer merchandise.

Price, quality and partnership seemed to be motivating buyers the most, she said.

“[Buyers] want a company you can work with and have confidence in,” she said.

The story was similar at the Seven on Nine showroom, according to Erin Herrera, who said she received both up-front buying and orders for later deliveries. Many of the buyers came from out-of-state, including many East Coast and Southern retailers, Herrera said.

Herrera said she was doing particularly well with a new collection, Left on Houston, based in Los Angeles. “Everyone is buying that,” she said, adding that orders were also strong for Alternative Apparel and Fidelity denim.New brands join lineup at D&A

Designers and Agents set up shop on The New Mart’s third floor for a three-day run Jan. 15–17. Despite having an abbreviated brand roster—the show rang in at just short of 40 brands—traffic was up 15 percent over the same show last year, said show organizer Barbara Kramer. “It’s an in-between show, so it is always going to be a smaller show—but it was still bigger than the show last January,” she said. Retailers such as Blue Bee, Traffic and Showroom were among those that shopped the show for Spring and Summer items.

On top of beefed-up attendance, a handful of new brands brought freshness to the show. New to the show floor were brands such as Kill City, Resin, TroveTkees and JNBY.

Stacia Diamond of Kill City said she brought the brand to D&A for the first time to help get some face time in front of the key boutiques that shop the show. Key items for the brand were novelty denim pieces, slouchy boyfriend shorts and jackets, vests, and skinny trousers cut from cargo.

Harajuku Lovers furthered its progression into fashion bottoms with the addition of the brand’s first jeans. The brand, which is expanding into more minimal, lightly branded pieces for a more sophisticated customer, launched denim for Spring 2010. The brand has been adding pants to its collection slowly and is adding silk jodhpurs for Summer 2010.

Resin, a new New York–based denim line from the founder of PaperDenimCloth, made its West Coast debut at D&A. The collection, which features super-clean skinny jeans with cool washes, is made in Los Angeles and wholesales for $62 to $70.

Traffic up at Cooper

The Cooper Design Space saw its attendance shoot up 30 percent over the same market last year, said Mona Sangkala, the building’s leasing manager. Buyers from key West Coast retailers shopped the building for goods from Spring through Summer.

Sales rep Lisa Williams at the Blue Bird showroom reported a noticeable uptick in traffic and a steady flow of the usual buyers. Anchor brands, such as LNA and The Battalion, served to lure returning buyers to shop the Summer collections and catch up on Spring orders. The showroom—which represents brands such as Knit Wit, Tiger Lily, Blake Standard and Nieves Lavi—saw buyers drawn to items with interesting silhouettes, such as cropped shirts and oversized pieces, as well as Helloh, a new women’s contemporary line.

Showrooms reported buyers ready to write orders despite a lackluster Holiday season. On their must-buy lists for Spring and Summer: striped tops, gauzy pieces, basic skirts and easy-to-wear separates with a twist.Business to be had at Brighte

Even if traffic seemed slower at the Brighte Companies trade show, held in the California Market Center’s Fashion Theater Jan. 15–18, the show’s vendors said there was still a lot of money to be made.

Veteran Brighte vendor Gillian Julius said the current show had been her most profitable. She estimated her sales for her self-named Gillian Julius label increased more than 35 percent compared with her sales at Brighte in January 2009. She credited her good sales performance to the product she was offering. Instead of leather goods and footwear, which were her focus until 18 months ago, the Gillian Julius label was concentrating on jewelry and accessories.

Rosie Tisch, a sales representative for contemporary label Saivana, estimated the current Brighte show’s sales for her label may have dropped 10 percent compared with the same show in the previous year. Retailers may have been saving their funds until the Las Vegas trade shows in February, she said. They also might have been ordering Saivana at the The New Mart building’s Diane Levin showroom, which recently picked up the label.

Retailers shopping the Brighte show included Madison, Fred Segal Santa Monica, Harari, LF Stores, Bebe, Blue Bee, Dillard’s, Planet Blue, Scoop Australia, Von Maur and Macy’s.

Brighte producer ENK International Trade Shows released a statement that the most recent show enjoyed improved buyer traffic compared with the same show in the previous year. But it did not reveal how much traffic improved. Accessories key around the district

Reps at the Lady Liberty building, the Gerry Building and the 824 Building reported seeing focused buyers and strong interest in accessories.

At the Bar Showroom in the Lady Liberty, it was “quality over quantity.” Buyers—including those from TNT The New Trend in Canada; Wrights in Manhattan Beach, Calif.; and Theodore and Pretty Thing in Beverly Hills—shopped for knits and jewelry with Immediate or Spring deliveries from brands such as Beautiful People (which is produced in Los Angeles) and Jodi Arnold. The Tricot Showroom schedule was scant because its roster of brands is mostly European collection lines and buyers have already booked their Spring deliveries. However, key California accounts—such as Blue Bee in Santa Barbara and Maxine Boutique in Studio City—came to see Rebecca Minkoff’s new Spring clothing line of light washed denim and floral dresses.

Showrooms in the Gerry Building—which offered a mix of categories from accessories, intimate apparel and swimwear to modern clothing—drove business through appointments. In the Jennie Nielsen Showroom, lingerie was finally picking up. There was “not a whole lot of traffic, but all the appointments have come in and they’re writing orders, so much more positive,” said Nielsen, who represents Fashion Forms; EA lingerie, manufactured in Colombia; and Annette shapewear. Easy, novelty items from the skirt line Stiletto and Anac printed-mesh tops were the best sellers in The Luxe Showroom, where buyers turned out from Colorado, Oregon and New Mexico.

In the accessories category, handbags did better than jewelry. Russell Frank of the Russell & Ellie Frank showroom in the Gerry Building said, “People seemed to be focused on bags. The other accessories seem to be weak.” The magic price point was below $300 retail for contemporary leather handbags from brands such as Pietro Allessandro and Sorial bright leather handbags. Happy, vibrant hues drew attention to Mary Francis’ beaded and embellished party bags. “Overall business has gotten better, but this is nowhere near [where] it should have been,” said Frank of the Summer market.

It was business as usual at the 824 Building. “Market was pretty slow. We had our normal traffic,” said Tim Padilla, co-owner of the T&A Showroom in the 824 Building, where buyers from Metropark, Live! on Sunset and “smaller, local boutiques” turned out for market.