California Apparel News

LAS VEGAS—Despite the crowded halls at the Las Vegas Convention Center, retailers at WWDMAGIC said traffic was lighter than August’s show, yet sales were still strong. 

“Traffic was definitely down from August, but if buyers like it, they’re writing orders,” said Stephanie Noel of BabyPhat.

In spite of traffic being lighter than last year, the brand landed some new clients, including a lot of specialty boutiques and international accounts, she said. Bright colors, coated denim and maxi dresses were popular, and buyers seemed to be loosening up and were not as apprehensive as before, she explained.

Olivia Verma of Angie said her traffic was also down in comparison with last year and that there was much more interest in Immediates and Spring than Fall. Maxi dresses were still strong for them, as were dresses and skirts with hi-low and V-shaped hems.

Los Angeles-based Tea n Rose, which makes casual yet trendy clothes, had been seeing success with its brightly colored chiffon blouses and tops, which wholesale for $16 on average.

“Today’s been a good day, but Sunday was our busiest,” said Tea n Rose sales manager Heather Kim on the second day of the show. “There’s been less traffic overall but the right customers.”

They had landed a lot of international buyers, Kim added.

Representatives from Freeway said traffic was about the same for them this show as it was in August and that buyers were placing big orders. Their modern vintage dresses and Spring lines were doing well, but they hadn’t sold very much Fall.

Sarah Christ, spokesperson for Jessica Simpson, said February is usually a smaller show than August, but they had seen steady traffic throughout the show because clients can rely on their brand and know what to expect. The brand was mostly showing Spring, with a little Fall, and had landed some new accounts. Their pleated vintage dress with neon contrasting was big with buyers, and dresses in their Caribbean sea-blue color were “huge.”

“Everyone is writing Immediate to June 30 because the retail customer is holding their dollars and buying closer and not as far out,” said John Meyer of Complete Clothing, which manufactures Willow and Clay and Matty M.

In general, traffic was down from August, but the company had expanded its specialty-store business this show. Color blocking was for them, as were spice tones, such as paprika, teal, jades and burnt orange.

For West Coast sleepwear and lingerie brand PJ Salvage, business was up over last year.

“We’re having a great show. It’s much busier now than in August,” sales representative Deanna Wilde Sims said. “We did our homework. We made a lot of appointments by phone before the show.”

PJ Salvage’s new Luxology luxury lifestyle loungewear collection, which the brand debuted at the show, was doing great, Sims said, as were robes, blankets, boots and anything in animal or novelty prints.

After such a long period of economic challenges, people want to be happy again, Sims said. “People want to be happy, and they look at our stuff and say, ‘This makes me happy.’”

Most designers in the Contemporary section said crowds were lighter this show compared with last year but that buyers were stopping to browse and occasionally buy. Some exhibitors wondered if the combination of Valentine’s Day and concurrent New York Fashion Week had caused less people to come.

Lizzie Parker of upcoming NBC reality show “Fashion Star” was showing her self-titled collection in the Emerging Designer Showcase and said traffic is tough as a new brand right now because of the economy.

“There’s more interest in Immediates now—I’ve realized that’s what I need to be doing,” she said. “The industry has shifted; people can’t plan anymore.”

She said many buyers had expressed interest in her line and that she has the opportunity for a lot of follow-up to turn them into orders.

Diane Kalil of Big Cat Designers was at the show with four South African designers. “There’s been lots of interest; people are curious,” Kalil said.

They had received about 30 inquiries from buyers, and two have placed orders already, she said.

Kristin Agotta, sales manager for Yala, said this show was much better for them than August’s and that August was much, much quieter. The brand was only showing Immediates and Spring/Summer, not Fall.

In the ISAM swimwear section of the show, Ryan David, founder of Bellevue, Wash.–based KeiKei’s Coconut Sandals, was having a great show with “lots of interest from everywhere—Japan, Mexico, all over the U.S.,” he said.

The sandals, which are made with colored beads made from coconut shells or mother of pearl and wholesale for $15, were popular with boutiques and surf stores.

David said he had written $4,000 in total orders over the course of the show.

Donna Gorman of resortwear brand See Design at the booth next door said she wasn’t having the same success and had only written two orders for the whole show—one from New York and one from Japan, which she usually writes on the East Coast.

“I didn’t come here for Japan; I came for the West Coast,” she said. She had successful shows in New York last month and had done well at WWDMAGIC in August, so she was surprised she hadn’t landed more accounts. “August was great for me—I wrote a bunch of Hawaiian business, and I had a lot of buyers interested in me,” she said.—Deidre Crawford