California Apparel News

More than 100 booths filled with all sorts of clothing filled the vast 13th-floor penthouse at the California Market Center, marking the very first Los Angeles Apparel Show.

Known by its acronym, LAAS, the new show was filled almost completely with exhibitors who are Korean-American manufacturers and designers based in Los Angeles.

The Sept. 9–11 event was organized by the Korean-American Apparel Manufacturers Association, which wanted to hold an event where local manufacturers and designers could exhibit on their home turf. KAAMA, which used to be called the Korean Apparel Manufacturers Association, has 1,500 members.

“We are all from downtown Los Angeles, and as manufacturers we have been here for 30 years. We have walked the shows in Dallas, Atlanta and Las Vegas. We were going everywhere to meet buyers, and we thought, ‘Why not here?’” said Jeanie Yang, KAAMA’s executive director.

The first show was strong with vendors but short on buyers. Most exhibitors, however, were realistic that this is a new event just gaining momentum. “It is pretty slow, and we’re pretty disappointed with the results,” said Phillip Hazelton, with Chocolate USA,a 15-year-old juniors line based in Los Angeles. “Maybe because MAGIC was fairly recent or there was New York Fashion Week, there are fewer buyers. … But we will try again.”

But several buyers representing big-name retailers, such as Ross Dress for Less and Dillard’s, which have buying offices in the CMC, and TJ Maxx, walked the show.

Also, several specialty-store owners and buyers attended the show, which was organized in only three months. By Wednesday morning, there had been more than 500 buyers who passed through the show’s doors, Yang said.

One of those was Mario Hernandez, who has three stores, called Mario’s of Palm Springs, in Palm Springs, Calif. He and his entourage of buyers were busy eyeing the tops, sweaters, jackets, bottoms and dresses wholesaling for $10 and $45 at the Cecico booth. “I think this show is great,” Hernandez said while flipping through racks of clothing and pulling a piece here and there. “We have found a lot of new vendors here.”

Francesca Helena, founder and chief executive of a new Seattle-based shopping website called Live the Look (www.livethelook.com), happened to be in the building checking out showrooms and saw the signs for the event. “We have been looking for vendors that are a little bit unique and different,” she said, noting the show was good for that. She was interested in Immediates that would be available for her new site, which launches in October.

Cecico’s sales manager, Eric Kim, said the show was okay, but buyer attendance was still lackluster. “This show isn’t busy like the MAGIC shows, but this is the first time for the show,” he said. “We are participating because we want the [garment] community to grow, and the downtown Los Angeles area is a mecca for the clothing industry. We want to see more customers here.”

The three-day event also included a job fair on Wednesday where candidates could drop off their resumes at each booth and talk about employment. On Wednesday afternoon, there was a sample sale followed by a party.

Organizers said the next Los Angeles Apparel Show will be held March 16–19, in the same spot, during Los Angeles Market Week.