California Apparel News

BLDWN, a premium-denim and contemporary brand, announced that it would shutter due to the Coronavirus pandemic’s economic freeze, according to Jessica Debreceni, the brand’s director of public relations. “We worked so extremely hard to make this brand successful, and I do believe we had a lot of wins. Unfortunately, the investors decided it was time to shut it down,” she wrote in a March 25 email. The company was scheduled to file Chapter 7 bankruptcy and liquidate its assets, according to media reports. BLDWN had a 2009 debut with the brand name Baldwin, the namesake of founders Matt and Emily Baldwin in the couple’s hometown of Kansas City, Mo. It later opened company offices in Los Angeles, changed the spelling of its name and expanded into designing contemporary styles. In 2013, GQ magazine named Matt Baldwin among that year’s class of best new menswear designers. In 2015, the brand was a finalist in the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund competition. BLDWN also ran a string of flagships including a location in the designer district Melrose Place in West Hollywood, Calif.

Capri Holdings, the parent brand of Versace, Jimmy Choo and Michael Kors, announced April 1 that Capri’s brands and their founders would donate some $3 million to support COVID-19 relief efforts. Versace is donating $500,00 to support relief efforts in Milan. The brand had also donated 1 million euros to support the Chinese Red Cross Foundation in February. John Idol, Capri’s chairman and chief executive officer, and Michael Kors, founder of his namesake brand, will donate an additional $1 million, according to a Capri statement.

Tencel manufactures sustainably produced lyocell and Modal fibers. The Austria-headquartered company recently announced a 2020 Earth Month campaign in which it joined with more than 20 brand partners to produce a social-media initiative on environmental responsibility. Each day during the upcoming month, Tencel will spotlight one brand in the campaign and what it is doing to support environmental sustainability. Brands participating in this campaign include Patagonia, West Elm, Eileen Fisher, Lucky Brand, Mara Hoffman and MeUndies.

Coyuchi, the apparel and home-goods brand headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area, announced that it plans to release its first blanket made from a blend of new and recycled organic cotton for the 2020 holiday season. In 2017, Coyuchi became the first homewares brand to partner with the Renewal Workshop, headquartered in Cascade Locks, Ore., which advises brands on making their operations sustainable and also repairs and resells brand-name clothing. Since then, Coyuchi has introduced two programs to return its used products for recycling and hopes to eventually expand its recycled manufacturing into its apparel.

International Market Centers, the parent company of the AmericasMart, based in Atlanta, as well as the High Point Market, based in North Carolina, and the Las Vegas Market, recently announced Toni Parsons as its key account manager. Parsons will focus on Atlanta Apparel’s key accounts and co-op marketing. Parsons is scheduled to work her first Atlanta Apparel in her new role at the June 10–13 market at the AmericasMart.