California Apparel News

Exhibitors reported waves of traffic at the Sept. 30–Oct. 2 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show at the California Market Center, where designers and piece-goods buyers browsed among resources for domestic and international textiles, fiber, trim, trend information, and technology.

Among the companies shopping the floor were Monique Lhuillier, David Meister, Halston, Holmes & Yang, Johnny Was, Jenni Kayne, Nike, BCBGMaxAzria, J Brand, Uggs, Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent, Moods of Norway, Perry Ellis, Guess, Juicy Couture, Citizens of Humanity, Ella Moss, Splendid, Nasty Gal, Lucky Brand, Forever 21, Pacific Sunwear, Tadashi, Karen Kane, Modcloth, American Apparel, Three Dots, Rojas, Hot Topic and Dillard’s.

Special sections of the show included the European Collections Pavilion, which included Liberty Art Fabrics, Solstiss, Bel Maille and KBC; the Lenzing Innovation Pavilion, which included Buhler Quality Yarns, Design Knits, Shara-Tex, Tuscarora Yarns Inc. and Texollini; and the Korean Pavilion, sponsored by KOTRA (the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency) and the Korean Textile Trade Association, which included Dongin Textile Corp. and JH Textile Inc.

This was the first time at the LA Textile Show for Marco van Diek, sales manager for Dutch company Northern Linen.

“I was surprised by the number of customers I saw here,” van Diek said, adding that some were asking for lower quantities than Northern Linen’s 800-meter minimums, however.

“We are the biggest supplier of linen in Europe,” van Diek said. The company’s customers include Spanish giant Inditex and Italian label Max Mara.

Northern Linen’s business in South America is also growing, van Diek said.

“It’s time to conquer the U.S., too,” he added.

Terrence Chermak and Dan Sassower of Los Angeles–based Britannia Mills Ltd. were pleased with the interest in domestic resources and the company’s wool offerings. “People have discovered wool,” Sassower said.

Marty Moran, chief executive officer for Jefferson, Ga.–based spinning mill Buhler, said he was encouraged by the interest in domestic resources.

“It makes sense to come back to America,” he said. “When it comes to yarn and fabric, we can do it as cost effectively with automation and energy [savings]. It’s more about economics than patriotism. The prices are there. The patriotic pop—that gets you the last few cents to have it make sense.”

Roya Daneshgar of Los Angeles–based importer Cinergy Textiles also noted a growing interest in domestic production.

“A lot of people are unhappy with China and are coming back to the U.S.,” she said.

Designers were coming to Cinergy looking for novelties. “Prints, stripes, laces and ponte are doing well for us,” Daneshgar said.

Mt. Pleasant, N.C., spinning mill Tuscarora was at the show with several new developments, including a neon nub yarn that creates a pop of bright color in the finished fabric.

Buyers were gravitating toward anything with surface interest and effects such as slubs and nubs, said Kim Williams, Tusarora’s director of marketing.

“The hot topic is slubs—anything with a slub,” she said.

Another new development is a recycled polyester/Crailar flax blend and several mock-twist yarns.

Traffic was good at the Pine Crest Fabrics booth, according to Kelly Langlois, a salesperson with the Portland, Ore.–based converter.

“Today was quite busy,” she said on the second day of the show. Langlois said in addition to existing customers, she was seeing several new small- to mid-sized companies.

Langlois said Pine Crest’s leggings business has been strong, showing some of the company’s most-popular prints.

“Our market gravitates to brights and neons,” she said. Outer-space prints, animal patterns and circuit-board prints were doing well, she said.

Business was brisk at the City Textiles booth, as well. The Los Angeles company stocks about 2 million yards of fabrics imported from China and Korea, according to company representative Eli Khoubian.

“People are optimistic. They’re always looking for something new,” he said.

The textile show also featured a full slate of free trend and business seminars presented by Design Options, Stylesight, WGSN, Cotton Inc., Lenzing, the California Fashion Association, Fashion Business Inc. (FBI), Fox Rothschild LLP, FAB Counsel and Matte Black. Design Options also co-curated the trend forum in the lobby.

“Exhibitors and attendees alike were extremely pleased with this edition of LA Textile,” said Oscar Ben Rodriguez, senior trade show producer at the CMC. “Traffic was steady throughout, and quality resources were plentiful. It was, overall, very successful.”