California Apparel News

During the Jan. 12–16 edition of L.A. Market Week, buyers visited downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District to find Summer 2020 goods with a few searching for Fall. A typically slower market, this run saw showrooms at the Cooper Design Space and its sibling show Brand Assembly, The New Mart and Designers & Agents, the California Market Center, the Gerry Building, and newcomer Preface engage with quality buyers.

Keeping up with trends at Cooper

At the Cooper Design Space’s Ginny Wong Showroom, which represents lines such as Sabina Musayev and Yumi

Kim, Wong saw interest in florals and the continuing trend in animal prints with a shift toward snakeskin patterns and shiny sparkle details. Clients visited from Dallas, Florida, New York and California searching for Immediates and Summer.

“Here, our buyers are able to find new brands, especially walking the building and Brand Assembly,” Wong said. “They tell us that they can find a lot of new brands that their neighbors aren’t buying.”

Traveling to downtown Los Angeles from her 270-square-foot swim-and-surf boutique in Montecito, Calif., Heather Fort of Coco Cabana was searching for men’s, women’s and resortwear. She carries Boys and Arrows, a personal favorite, which is found on the fourth floor of the Cooper.

“I always concentrate on environmentally friendly pieces. Everyone is doing a lot of recycled, which is fun. That is a big bonus,” she said. “I go for smaller brands because it’s important for me to have a small minimum to work with since my shop is so small.”

At Brand Assembly, on the Cooper’s top floor, show organizers reported a good start to 2020 with a nice flow of traffic during its Jan. 13–15 event.

“January can be a bit of a tossup market, but we have been pretty steady upstairs,” said Adam Eisenhut. “It was pretty consistent; we’re always growing.”

Catherine Gee, the Santa Barbara, Calif., brand from the designer of the same name, made the move for this edition from a showroom to Brand Assembly, where the prints for which she is known and a new denim line attracted buyers.

“We opened new accounts yesterday,” she said. “We’ve been seeing repeat customers, too.”

At the booth for the Emblem Showroom, Eveline Morel, chief executive officer, was representing four lines—Kindom, Little India, Pallone by Melissa Pallone and Vestopazzo. She saw buyers from different regions around the United States including Dallas and Florida, in addition to all corners of California including Laguna Beach, the San Fernando Valley, Palm Springs, and northern and central parts of the state.

“It’s been good, really great traffic. It’s always great with a relaxed atmosphere and good lines,” she said. “There are people from everywhere.”

For buyer Gayle Shea of Runaway Runway, a boutique in Malibu, Calif., one day at Brand Assembly was not enough. She visited the show twice to find goods for her female clients in their 30s through 60s.

“It’s a decent size for this time of year. I wrote two new jewelry brands—Studio Grun and Lili Claspe,” she said. “I like the fact that there are more Immediates—it’s not so far out. We’re closer to delivery. I can buy for Spring.”

New Mart showrooms find opportunity

The January market has traditionally been smaller than others because it is scheduled close to MAGIC and the other Las Vegas shows, which are in the first week of February, Jackie Bartolo, West Coast sales manager for The New Mart’s Velvet Heart showroom, said.

“We picked up a couple of new accounts,” she said. “We didn’t expect that.”

The January market also attracted Scout Burgess, who is working to open the Citrine boutique in Larkspur, Calif., in February.

“We’re looking for basics such as quality sweaters and jeans, things that are simple with price points that are affordable. The desire for basics is rooted in more than modesty. There is a caution out there,” she noted about consumers’ reaction to the world’s politics. “It is reflected in what people are buying.”

Vishaka Lama, founder of The New Mart’s Showroom Five21, which represents and distributes brands such as Lumier by Bariano, said that the show is affected by a difficult schedule. “We come back on [Jan.] 3, and we have one week to get ready,” she said of returning to work after the holidays. “Vegas is scheduled earlier this year. A lot of my customers go to Vegas. You have to prioritize.”

Buyers are looking for sustainable styles, said Catherine Strange Warren, vice president of WTS International, a Boca Raton, Fla., company that consults for health spas, spa management and boutiques in spas. She was shopping Designers & Agents, which ran Jan. 13–15 on the third floor of The New Mart.

“Sustainable clothing that is made out of recycled water bottles is huge,” she said. “Anything that has to do with hemp and bamboo is picking up.”

About 40 brands exhibited at D&A, said Barbara Kramer, a co-founder of the trade show. “No one has unrealistic expectations of the show. It is a gap market,” she said. “It is there to support the brands. They have business.”

Mattie Ilel, a co-founder of the JP & Mattie brand and a D&A veteran, agreed that the show is small but offers opportunities. “I did see everyone who came to see me,” she said.

CMC unveils new showroom wing

The first market of 2020 featured a big reveal for the California Market Center following its $170-million remodel, which was announced in November 2017.

Veteran CMC tenant Betty Bottom is scheduled to move to a 2,800-square-foot showroom at C433 next week. Ernesto Mantilla, Betty Bottom’s co-owner, said that his showroom has been doing business in a 1,400-square-foot space since September.

“We were busy every day. It was surprisingly good. I thought many buyers would go to WWIN,” he said of one of the Las Vegas trade shows, scheduled for Feb. 3–6. “But a lot of buyers are choosing to come to L.A. Market Week.”

Shopping together were Guadalupe and Paula Goler of Goler, a 36-year-old shoe, fashion and accessories store in Santa Fe, N.M. Paula said that prints and art-inspired looks have been popular with their customers, who look for unique styles.

“It should look like it is one of a kind,” said Paula, who has been working in her mother’s shop since she was a child.

Volner Bonner, owner of Lou Ann’s Boutique, was shopping for Spring styles. “I’m seeing a lot of prints and colors,” he said of the market. “It’s springtime.”

Romy Migliazzo of the Romy M Showroom thought that the January show was slow. “Ninety percent of the retailers I contacted said that they were going to go to MAGIC,” she said. “I did open some new stores. But they made small $200 to $300 orders.”

Gerry business relies on appointments

With the year’s trade-show season just beginning, the first market of 2020 started a crunch time for Julie and Stuart Marcher. The owners of the Julie and Stuart Marcher Showroom at the Gerry Building took appointments for L.A. Market Week.

“Our regulars came,” Julie Marcher said. “Business is good when you make appointments.” She said that many of her clients were looking for reorders with brands Marcher represents, including Elliott Lauren, Clara Sunwoo, Nally & Milly, the Danish outerwear brand Etage, and the Montreal–based rainwear and novelty jackets label Nikki Jones.

Retailer Nicole Schnitzlein of the Lady Jones boutiques in Denver and Vail, Colo., took in a meeting at the Marcher showroom and said that cool-weather clothing was trending. “I’m seeing a lot of oversize chunky knits and a lot of turtlenecks,” she said.

The Impulse Moda showroom focuses on red-carpet gowns, such as Olvi’s, based in Amsterdam, and one-of-a-kind styles from brands such as Harari. Ani Garibyan, a representative of the showroom, also said that the market relied on appointments. “It was quiet. There is not a lot of foot traffic,” she said. “People come here to see you.”

Preface launches during L.A. Market Week

Launching its Los Angeles edition at Astroetic Studios in downtown, the Preface trade show entered the area’s market week by affording an intimate, sustainable approach to sourcing. During a presentation by the Council of Fashion Designers of America’s Domenca Leibowitz, the focus was on trends in sustainability.

“Fast fashion has become a taboo,” she explained during the presentation. “The importance of slow fashion is emerging with long-lasting, quality garments instead of cheap, disposable ones.”

At the booth for her eponymous vintage-lace studio, Maya Miller showcased an array of pieces that spoke to the investment-quality goods on which brands are focused.

“This is a great show. I love that it is small, intimate and curated really well,” she said. “They are offering panels and workshops that are unique.”

Attending the show was Betsy Zanjani of the Famma Group, which represents different brands such as Tempted Apparel, whose owner Janet Schoenholz was also in attendance. The duo was impressed with the event and felt its presence afforded crucial attention to the Los Angeles manufacturing industry.

“This is very focused, and it’s not too much,” Schoenholz said. “It needs to grow only a little bit more.”

With the surge in interest surrounding sustainability within the last six months, Zanjani says she is seeing a lot of attention being placed on not only new ethical brands but a shift toward eco-friendly practices among established companies.

“Coming from the world of fast fashion, what are those people going to do to be different from what we used to be?” Zanjani, who formerly worked at Forever 21, asked. “There is no way of sugar coating that. There is no way of packaging it and calling it something different. We need to change it.”