California Apparel News

Hal Kaltman, the elder statesman of the California apparel industry and a mentor to many, died peacefully in Las Vegas on
May 24.

A longtime member of the apparel and textile community in Los Angeles and a past president of the Textile Association of Los Angeles, Kaltman was known for his tireless work on behalf of many apparel-industry philanthropies, including the Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Save a Life and the Merchants Club for the City of Hope.

A familiar fixture in the industry and in the California Market Center in Los Angeles, where his company, Hal Kaltman Textiles, was based, Kaltman was known to many as the public face of TALA.

Daniella Clark, founder and designer of Frankie B., described Kaltman as the “heart of the industry.”

“What an iconic figure in our industry,” she said. “He was a lovely person. It was always great to see him and see that familiar face. One of the great things about Hal was, whether or not I was ordering [fabric] from him, he was always friendly and jovial.
“I loved running into him. It always made my day. He was the heart of the industry for me.”

The Brooklyn, N.Y.–born Kaltman moved with his family when he was 13 years old—the year before the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles, noted his daughter Amy Kaltman-Kraft. He served in the Navy before joining the apparel industry as a textile sales representative.

Kaltman-Kraft spoke about how important the apparel industry was to her father.

“It was his world,” she said. “He loved everything about it. He loved the people. It wasn’t just an industry for him. They were his family.”

Kaltman-Kraft said her father’s eye for textiles never left him.

“When he was laying in the ICU, he looked up and fell in love with the fabric on the curtains. He said, ‘That would make a perfect men’s shirt.’ He loved bragging about being part of the fashion [industry]. He used to say, ‘I’ve dressed women for more than 30 years.’”

Molly Rhodes, publisher of the California Apparel News, recalled Kaltman’s forthright nature, which made him a champion of the industry’s best interests.

“Often, when Hal would call, I’d pick up the phone with an ‘okay, what have I done now?!’” Rhodes said. “He’d laugh and say, ‘Well … and I want you to take it the right way…’ and give me his take on how I could better serve the community.”

But it was his generosity she recalled most.

“He did so much for so many in this industry,” she said. “He secured the halls of this building [the California Market Center] for years with a warm greeting for all he met—or spotted, for that matter—way down those halls. Whether you were Cedars-Sinai Medical Center or a kid in need of a Christmas toy, he engaged us all to help support those in need. Thank you, Hal.”

In addition to serving as TALA president and board member, he was instrumental in enlisting support for TALA’s philanthropic efforts, including the TALA scholarship awards and the TALA Christmas party for local boys’ and girls’ clubs, as well as the organization’s leisure activities, including the annual Play Day. He was on the board at the Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai, helping to organize its annual fund-raising gala.

“He was one of my closest friends for over 30 years,” said Maurice “Corky” Newman, a former apparel-industry executive. Newman said that when he was the chief executive officer of the CaliforniaMart (now called the California Market Center), he often turned to Kaltman for advice and insight.

“Whenever I had something going on [at the CaliforniaMart] and needed someone to talk to, there was always Hal,” he said. “He was very much one of a kind. I’m going to miss him terribly. I think a lot of people are. He was living a nice life [in Las Vegas, where he retired] and was able to relax for the first time in years.”

Lori Enzer, Newman’s daughter, worked with Kaltman at Fashion Industries Guild but met him long before when she was a public-relations executive in the fashion industry. Enzer was one of several friends who visited Kaltman in the hospital before he died.

“The day I was there, he had 42 visitors,” she said. “We know he was loved—and not just by us [in the fashion industry].”
Enzer said Kaltman’s “spirit of giving” inspired her to volunteer her time to philanthropic work.

“Hal really touched and inspired an incredible amount of people. Part of that was because of Fashion Industries Guild and TALA and his own business. He made the apparel industry a tight-knit community. He was the glue.”

Textile executive and former TALA President Ann Davis also credited Kaltman with inspiring her to perform more philanthropic work.
“There isn’t any apparel-industry charity he was not involved with,” she said. “He tagged me to become a member of TALA, and within three years I was ‘member of the year’ and then president.”

Davis was a member of the Merchants Club for City of Hope when she met Kaltman, but she soon became of supporter of other industry charities, including Fashion Industries Guild and Save a Life, as well. 

“He was my friend and mentor in many ways. I wouldn’t have been as involved as I am,” she said. “He’s loved, and I’ll miss him.”
Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association, said Kaltman “was probably the most altruistic person I’ve ever met.”

The two met in 1974 when Metchek was designing dresses and Kaltman was selling fabric. “He got more pleasure out of doing something for a philanthropy; I think his business was ancillary to his [philanthropic work],” she said. “Whatever he was [supporting], you knew Hal was going to ask for something. But it was not self-serving; it was personal. [And] that’s lost. There’s no replacement for that. He was a good guy.”

In 2009, Kaltman shuttered his business and moved to Las Vegas, where he volunteered for an auxiliary program of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.

In early May, Kaltman was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. He spent several weeks in the hospital in Las Vegas, where he was visited by a steady stream of family and friends.

“All his buddies at the Las Vegas Police Department came every day to sit with him in the hospital,” Davis said.

“He had a great heart,” said fellow TALA member and past president Dan Sassower.

“When he was diagnosed [we were told] he had hours to live. But his heart kept going.”

Sassower also visited Kaltman in the hospital during the time when more than 40 people turned out to wish Kaltman well.

“He was proud as a peacock,” Sassower said. “It was a great sendoff.”

Kaltman is survived by his two daughters, Kaltman-Kraft and Karyn Lee; sons-in-law Ken Kraft and Loren Lee; grandchildren Nicole, Melissa and David; and great-grandson Kamauri. He is also survived by two brothers, Stan and Larry, and five nieces and nephews.
Kaltman will be buried at sea in a private service for the family. Memorial services are being planned for Los Angeles and Las Vegas, although dates and details have yet to be determined.

During his illness, Kaltman-Kraft set up a website (http://halkaltman.com) to keep family and friends apprised of his condition and to relay messages to her father. The family will keep the site up to allow well-wishers to post their memories of Kaltman.