California Apparel News

• Cooper Design Space, Suite 520
• (310) 626-7633

Ways & Means Showroom, located at Cooper Design Space, carries some of London’s most hip brands, including women’s fast-fashion line Motel Rocks and the vintage-inspired men’s brand Garbstore. The 1,500-square-foot space also houses the newly launched Lee 101 USA,a premium-denim division of Lee jeans.

Matthew Van Cabral, owner of the one-stop men’s and women’s showroom, moved to the Cooper building around 2006, sharing a co-op space with Proper Fools. It was just about seven months ago when Van Cabral decided to take over the showroom, bringing in more brands, including a New York–based men’s tee shirt line, Descendent of Thieves, wholesale priced from $30 to $50.

“Everything is hovering around $100 retail, and large department stores such as Nordstrom capture the guy that wants subtle details in his shirt,” Van Cabral said.

Van Cabral sees his showroom like a boutique, where brands blend well regardless of their price point. Lee 101 products are all produced in Los Angeles and feature two divisions. The stretch denim wholesale price points range from $85 to $92. The higher-tier division uses Cone Mill denim and blue selvedge denim and wholesales for $90 to $123.

Motel Rocks sells to retailers such as ASOS, Modcloth and Nastygal. Wholesale prices range from $16 for bandeau top up to $50 for a jacket. The “sweet spot” for dresses is between $28 and $32, Van Cabral said.

“Our products do really well because we are able to deliver at a faster time than a lot of U.S. brands are able to. Sometimes we produce a collection every single month, so I am constantly selling and putting out new products. We are [often] ahead of the trend, instead of falling behind—which is a good thing,” he said.

The showroom’s latest launch includes Mr. Black’s garment essentials, an add-on item for the denim buyer. The nicely scented spray acts as an antibacterial agent for selvedge denim consumers who don’t wash their jeans to keep the raw, indigo look without fading. “We even have a shoe refresher happening,” Van Cabral said, adding that it’s perfect for traveling.