California Apparel News

Buyers looking for upscale menswear, womenswear and accessories turned out for the Feb. 17–19 run of MRket, Stitch and Accessories The Show at the Sands Expo & Convention Center.

This was the second season the three shows, all organized by Business Journals Inc., exhibited under the Modern Assembly umbrella. But the three shows maintained a separate entrance from the other Modern Assembly shows—Liberty, Agenda and Capsule—and had their own refined atmosphere.

Two seasons ago, Business Journals rebranded its ModaLV show to become Stitch, a move that Shawn Hazan, director of business development for Stitch, described as the last step in an evolution of the show to become a mix of “classic contemporary women’s to lifestyle to luxury outerwear, all blending together from a pricing perspective.”

This was the second season at Stitch for Sarah Pacini, a Canadian-based collection of made-in-Italy apparel.

“It’s a good show,” said company representative Pierre Denis, who said he met with retailers “from everywhere—New York, Denver, Houston.”

The collection is retail priced between $295 and $475. “It’s the right price for the right product,” Denis said. The company operates 50 flagship stores around the world, including two in the United States, in New York and Beverly Hills.

Sarah Kirakossian with the Arlene Henry Sales showroom said she was also seeing retailers from across the country—including the Midwest, South and “a lot of locals, too”—at Stitch.

Kirakossian was showing two collections at the show: Lauren Vidal and Art & Heart. (The showroom also had collections exhibiting at WWIN and WWDMAGIC.)

She said most retailers were looking for new lines. That was the case with Ann Rubin, owner of the Specialties boutique in Lafayette, Calif. The large store carries a wide range of merchandise from brands such as Diane Von Furstenberg, Nanette Lapore, AG Jeans and Vince. When asked which trade shows she shops in Las Vegas, she said, “All of them!”

“To be a good buyer, you have to be exposed to a lot of wonderful designs,” Rubin said. “To be noticed, you have to be unique.”

On opening day of the show, buyers from 40 different countries and 49 U.S. states stopped by Accessories The Show, said show director Stacy Samet.

This was the second time at ATS for Bartlett, Ill.–based Pink Pewter, which produces hair accessories, belts and handbags.

Designer Mireya Villarreal described the show as “insanely amazing.” She said, “Customers are buying, and there are really good buyers walking the show.”

Villarreal said the company landed several new accounts, including Japanese retailers and department stores.

Sara Kazmi was at ATS with her Los Angeles collection, Leo Bella, which includes crystal-embellished handbags featuring flags of the world and the corresponding country map. Dubbed the Unity Collection, 10 percent of proceeds from the sale of the bags are given to Kazmi’s charity, the World Orphanage Foundation. Customers can select which country they want to benefit. The collection has sold at Kitson and currently is sold at Mayfair House in Beverly Hills.

In addition to the well-established brands of MRket—Tommy Bahama, True Grit, Bill’s Khakis, Ben Sherman, Bill Blass, Ike Behar Clothing, Haupt, Remy Leather and Tulliano—show organizers highlighted new and emerging men’s lines in its Vanguard section, which was curated by Michael Macko, stylist and consultant, whose résumé includes serving as fashion director at Details and vice president of fashion at Saks Fifth Avenue.

“We do special marketing for [these lines],” Macko said. “And I’ll walk retailers through.”

The section featured a mix of merchandise from priced-right, made-in-Italy sweaters by St. Moritz to the new made-in-LA T-shirt line EDIAO, made from a slub cotton and featuring a longer fit, to upscale tailored menswear with technical details at Salence.

“We call it luxeformance,” said Salence’s Andy Gathings.

This was the first time at MRket for Los Angeles–based menswear brand Krammer & Stout although the company also showed at MRket in New York, said Courtenay Nearburg, managing director for the made-in-America collection.

Nearburg said the line garnered a lot of interest from California buyers, surf shops and Japanese buyers, as well as retailers from Atlanta, St. Louis, Virginia, Seattle, Miami and Korea.

“We had a mass influx at 9 a.m. [opening day],” she said.