California Apparel News

The New Mart, Suite 809

(213) 327-0010

For several years, Tina Fleming and her partner Shanon Martin shared a showroom with another group on the sixth floor of The New Mart.

But when they needed more space, they branched out to their own 1,200-square-foot showroom on the eighth floor of the building.

“We felt it was time to move on because we had so much stuff,” said Fleming, who is a 14-year veteran of the apparel industry. “Even though we moved in December, we haven’t skipped a beat.”

Soon after, they were up and running in January for Los Angeles Fashion Market, exhibiting at a host of trade shows, and now are preparing for the upcoming Los Angeles Fashion Market for the Fall/Winter season.

Most of their business is generated by Chaser, a contemporary line based in Gardena, Calif., that started out as a licensed graphics T-shirt business for bands and has evolved over the years into a casual but sophisticated collection of trendy goods that wholesale for $26 to $72.

Particularly popular for the Fall season has been an oversized jungle-knit kimono that looks like a roomy cardigan wholesaling for $65. Another top seller has been a beaded and indigo tie-dye maxi dress whose wholesale price is $68. Striped linen sweaters that have dolman sleeves or a scoop neckline are new in the Fall lineup.

Other lines carried by the showroom include Private Arts, a cute lingerie line out of Orange County, Calif., that creates and incorporates its own colorful prints into its collection of bras, panties and some swimwear.

Also in the showroom is Black Hearts Brigade, a menswear line headquartered in downtown Los Angeles that has branched out into creative women’s bottoms with leopard-skin prints and a bright palette of colors. Wholesale prices range from $23 to $36.

The sales reps just began representing Winston & Hart, a bottoms line recently launched by Peter Koral, one of the founders of 7 For All Mankind, and Tadd Zarubica.