Friday, April 25
Apparel Firms See More Choices in PDM Market
After a period of skepticism and some bad experiences along the way, the apparel industry appears to be warming up to PDM (product data management) technology. PDM is the software that manages the specs, revisions an...
SIMA Goes Green for Environmental Fund
The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association has chosen eight envi...
LATT Students Place In Alpaca Design Contest
Two Los Angeles Trade-Technical College students recently received honors in the first student design competition hosted by the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association. Students Amelia Custod...
Indie Retailer Opens in Lakewood Mall
Peanut’s Revenge, an independent retailer offering “greaser/punk” fashions, opens April 26 at the Lakewood Center Mall in Lakewood, Calif....
Ray's Apparel Expands at Irvine Spectrum
Ray’s Apparel Inc., the primary licensee for Ocean Pacific clothing, has purchased a 135,777-square-foot warehouse at the Irvine Spectrum for $8.7 million f...
More Exhibitors to Choose From at San Francisco Market
Immediate orders and staple items for autumn were on buyers’ lists at the Fashion Market– Fall I edition of Golden Gate Apparel Association’s (GGAA) Fashion ...
Ellis' Union Suit
The Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees has filed a lawsuit against Perry Ellis International charging that the apparel manufacturer is restricting its rights as a shareholder. UNITE owns a portio...
Gap Goes High Tech for Pricing Controls
San Francisco retailer Gap Inc. continues to invest in technology to enhance its profit margins. The specialty chain, which has 1,300 stores, is investing in new profit-optimization...
Donahue Schriber Names New VP of Operations
Retail-property developer Donahue Schriber of Costa Mesa, Calif., has named Michele Babcock as executive vice president of operations for the privately held real-estate investment trust (REIT...
AAFA's Burma Ban
The American Apparel and Footwear Association has called for an immediate ban on U.S. textile, apparel and footwear imports from Burma due to the “ongoing cruel and oppressive nature of the ruling regime” in th...
New at [TC]2
Textile/Clothing Technology Corporation—known as [TC]2—named several new members to its board. Peter N. Butenhoff, previously president and chief operating officer, has been named chairman and chief exe...
Expectations High for L.A. Textile Show
There’s a certain optimistic feeling among several of the textile representatives preparing for the April 28–30 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show at the Califo...
Kronfli's Niche Business
Local mill weathers difficult market with specialty fabrics ...
Kandy Kiss Moving to Sylmar, Calif.
Pacoima, Calif.–based Kandy Kiss of California Inc. is moving its headquarters to the Cascades Business Park in Sylmar, Calif. Ac...
Paul Frank to Open Store at South Coast Plaza
Designer Paul Frank is preparing to open a boutique at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., as early as summer 2003. This is Frank’s first foray into shopping malls....
Orders Up
Analysts are optimistic about the increase in new orders for durable goods in March, as reported by the Department of Commerce. Orders for big-ticket items such as machinery increased 2.0 percent to $...
Guatemalan Show Draws Local Retailers, Manufacturers
For years, Los Angeles–based Forever 21 Inc. has manufactured most of its private labels in Southern California....
Stepping Up at Lectra
Bordeaux, France–based Lectra has promoted Patrick Simon to director of marketing and Claudio Saita to director of Lectra- Japan, a position previously help by Simon. Saita was previously director of s...
Ralphs Signs Lease for Store Near L.A. Fashion District
It’s official: Downtown Los Angeles will have its first major grocery store in recent years. Ralphs Grocer y Co. has signed a lease to occupy a 50,000-square-foot space at Ninth and F...
Contemporary Line Has Vintage Menswear Roots
Designer Nikki Chu is adding a little exclusivity to T-shirts and jeans....
Apparel Leaders Concerned About Labor, Insurance Issues
The California fashion industry is in dire need of higher- skilled labor and relief from the high cost of tax and insurance regulations, said apparel industry leaders who met with ed...
Second Babystyle Location Opens
E Style Inc. is adding another brick to its clicks....
Friday, April 18
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Designers & Agents
Designers & Agents dubbed its
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Catelle
Visitors to Adele Catelle’s
Mushi Mushi Retailer Mills Bows Eclectic Jewelry Line
Retailer Moss Mills has launched a collection of castsilver and brass necklaces, earrings, rings and bracelets....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Panacea
The wilderness setting inside Panacea’s spacious downtown studio loft seemed representative of how the Los Angeles–based clothing company takes aspiring design- school graduates and throws them into the wild business ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Sterling Capricio
Two 12-feet-tall, stilted Gothic figures opened Los Angeles designer Sterling Capricio’s Got...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Prentis Bonds Atelier
Prentis Bonds Atelier’s
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Kate O'Connor
Kate O’Connor, who put herself on the fashion map with a line of handcrafted signature ponchos last season, revealed clingy, sexy looks for her...
Wilhelm Forms CBI Group
Walter Wilhelm Associates LLC, an apparel-industry consultancy firm, has formed a management team to help manufacturers in the Caribbean Basin Initiative territory transition to full-package ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: David Tupaz
Extravagant fabrics and rich embellishments were the basis for designer David Tupaz’s Fall 2003 collection...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Gen Art
Gen Art and Acura hosted an evening of fashion, fun and free drinks on April 4 at the Shrine Expo Hall. The event, called “Los An...
U.S. Commerce Dept. Chooses L.A. Firm for Textile IDs
The United States Department of Commerce has selected the DNA textile-marker solution of Los Angeles–based Applied DNA Sciences, Inc. to aid customs officials in identifying the origins of im...
Calter Named Fashion Innovator
Contemporary fashion designer Corey Lynn Calter has been selected as this year’s Moss Adams Fashion Innovator (MAFI)....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Sara Palacios
Cuban-born designer Sara Palacios was a painter for more than two decades before she transferred her work to fabric to create one-of-a-kind clothing designs....
Kmart Reorganizing
Troy, Mich.–based Kmart filed a reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois. The plan includes the results of a poll of the company’s creditors. Not all of the compa...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Brignoni
Whitey Flagg’s bull’s-eye painting in bright primary colors provided the backdrop for Michelle Brignoni’s...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Pacific Coast Travelers
Pacific Coast Travelers took buyers on a tour of the ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: James
James’ Fall 2003 swimwear and ready-to-wear collection rocked to a definite Samba rhythm on April 4 at
Bebe Names VP of Retail Ops
Bebe Stores Inc. has named Ferrell Ostrow vice president of store operations. Ostrow had been the company’s acting vice president of store operations since February and had served as vice pres...
Pending Calif. Legislation
Insurance for all, but at a steep cost to small businesses ...
Shopping for America
Teens boost sales despite wartime woes...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: John Sakalis
John Sakalis held his first solo runway presentation for his Fall/Winter collec...
Cerruti and Cardona
Italian label Cerruti has taped Los Angeles designer David Cardona to design the company’s Cerruti women’s label and the 1881 line. Cardona will continue to design his own David Cardona line and will sp...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Deseo 23
Desso 23 presented a Fall/Winter 2003 fashion show on April 7 at a space located in Los Angeles’ Korea town. Womenswear designer Daniel Gonzalez and menswear designer Esperanza Ramirez showed a mixtu...
Million-Dollar Merchandising
Key trends and “million-dollar items” were on the bill at the Barbara Fields Buying Office Fall 2003 Back-to-School Million Dollar Item seminar, held on April ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Susana Mercedes
Susana Mercedes dug deep into her Central American roots for her
Futuristic Fashion Show Planned
The Institute for Accelerating Change will host a futuristic fashion show on May 17 in Culver City, Calif., as part of a forum that will address cryonics, molecular technology and other scien...
Fur Free Party
Do right. Be right. Eat right. And don’t wear fur. That was the overall gist of the Fur Free Party on April 2 at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. The party, sponsore...
Fewer Jobless, Fewer Jobs
California’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.6 percent in March from a revised 6.7 percent the month before, but employers shed 4,100 jobs during the same period, according to the Employment Development Department. Thi...
Barneys Miami
Barneys New York is headed for Florida. The New York–based retailer will open a Barneys New York CO-OP location in the South Beach section of Miami this fall. The 9,000-squarefoot, two-story store will carry men...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Angelrox
Packed with plenty of “precirc;t-a-crochet” and featuring a dancer showing off a few grand jeteacute;s, Angelrox’s Fall 2003 runway show leaped into Lo...
Regaining Confidence
The Consumer Confidence Index appears to be rebounding this month—it has climbed from March’s 77.6 to reach 83.2, according to the University of Michigan’s preliminary April calculations. The university ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Shawn
Shawn designer Yohanna Logan should consider showing in a bigger venue next season. The fire marshal threatened to shut down her...
Fashion District BID Challenged by Santee Group
The future of how the Los Angeles Fashion District is managed is up in the air as a group of Santee Alley property owners has submitted a petition to the city to form a smaller Busi...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Nataya
Deciding to depart from the Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. marketing blitz but still stay under the same roof, Nataya designer Inga Nataya Bogomolny chose the Downtown Standard Hotel...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Frederick's of Hollywood
Smashbox Studios in Culver City was transformed into a media mosh-pit as some of Tinseltown’s most-talked-about names arrived on the red carpet April 1 for Frederick’s of Hollywood...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Coalition of Los Angeles Designers
The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD)
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Corey Lynn Calter
It’s about time Corey Lynn Calter stepped into the spotlight and did a
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Sanctuary
Sanctuary’s
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Jeremy Scott
Jeremy Scott’s public-relations firm is doing a great job of turning up the hype full-throttle for the new–to–Los Angeles designer. Scott’s April 3 show at the Palace nightclub in Hollywood drew a massiv...
Strong BTS Buying at L.A. Juniors Market
Novelty T-shirts, denim and sportswear in satin fabrications were some of the key items vendors showed during Junior & Contemporary Majors Market, held April 14–17 at the...
SARS Scare: Local Companies Putting Off Trips Overseas
John Inn, head of juniorswear company Bubblegum USA, is no stranger to Hong Kong....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Anja Flint
The 1980s and the decade’s techno-disco beat inspired Anja Flint’s Fall lines, shown April 4 at Smashbox Studios in Culver City....
TALA Sets Playday Schedule
The Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) will host its annual Bob Berg Invitational TALA Summer Playday on May 9 at the Los Robles Country Club in Thousand Oak...
Weather, War and a Delayed Holiday Deter Retail
Chilly weather, a late Easter and a desert war all put a damper on March retail sales for apparel-specialty, chain and department stores, according to company reports....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Holly Foss
Designer and Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising student Holly Foss presented her one-of-a-kind designs at Welcome to the Plastic Factory, a monthly art, music and fashio...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: David Park
Los Angeles–based designer David Park has found a way to capture timeless styles while adding a modern touch. Park presented his...
Friday, April 11
Taking Credit: Factoring in Financing
Poor consumer confidence and lackluster retail sales may have put a dent in business, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a world of opportunity out there for financial institutions catering to the Southe...
Skechers Suit
Skechers shareholders have filed seven class-action lawsuits against the Manhattan Beach, Calif.–based shoemaker, charging the company with making “false and misleading” statements about ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Rebecca Rich
Los Angeles designer Rebecca Rich looked to the future for inspiration and came away with a Fall 2003 collection...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Tree
Tree is still in its infancy. But judging fromits
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Lotta
Swedish-born Lotta Stensson lives in Los Angeles now, but the designer spent 12 years in the Big Apple before she made her way out West. Her April 2...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Frankie B.
Frankie B. designer Daniella Clark used influences from 1960s West Coast rock culture for her Fall 2...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Nikolaki
Nick Verreos and David Paul showed a solid signature look for
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Petro Zillia
The brightly dyed red hair that Nony Tochterman sports is one clue that nothing the Los Angeles designer does is understated....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Cornell Collins
As an up-and-coming designer, Cornell Collins was determined to make his
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Chang Reyes
Los Angeles–based designers Steven Chang and Miguel Reyes showed some brightly charged fashion designs for their...
Capitalizing on Close-Outs
A new biannual trade show and auction for the close-out industry is set to bow Aug. 24–27 at the Las Vegas Hilton. Close-Out Expo will include exhibitors selling first-run clearance items, budget goods...
Less Global Growth
The World Bank has revised its projection for global growth to 2.3 percent for the first half of 2003. In December, the organization projected 2.5 percent growth, and in July, the organization project...
Los Angeles Designers Online
Los Angeles fashion designers are savvy and visionary, and they proved it at the Los Angeles Fashion Week shows....
Fashion District Bid Renewal Moves Forward
The Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District (BID), which provides services for the Los Angeles Fashion District, passed the first step in renewing its contract for...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Eduardo Lucero
Los Angeles designer Eduardo Lucero was in a 1950s mood when he created his
Fashion District Dallas to Launch New Trade Show
New apparel market Fashion District Dallas has announced it will debut womenswear trade show Encore! Encore! Oct. 23–27 during the Women’s & Children’s Ap...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Sue Wong
Sue Wong is known for her exotic styling, and her
Buyers Navigate Multiple Venues, Shows at L.A. Market
Buyers had a lot of ground to cover during the April 2–8 run of Los Angeles Market Week....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Ashley Paige
Ooh-la-la, Ashley. Swimwear designer Ashley Paige showed off her babe-alicious
Sports Gear Drives Sales at Urban Suburban
Sportswear for both men and women moved briskly during the sixth installment of the Urban Suburban trade show, held April 2–4 at the California Market Center in Los Angeles....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Trina Turk
Trina Turk took her sweet time getting to the runway—but for those who saw her
Brooks Brothers Gets Rodeo Drive Address
Menswear retailer Brooks Brothers has signed a long-term, $15 million lease to take over a prime Rodeo Drive address formerly occupied by Tommy Hilfiger, according to real-e...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: martinMartin
“Edwardian Punk ” was how martinMARTIN designers Eric Martin and Diane Moss-Martin described their...
Kellwood Lounge
St. Louis-based Kellwood Co. has struck a licensing deal with Cluett, Peabody & Co. for a line of men’s and boy’s sleepwear and loungewear under the Arrow brand name. Kellwood will handle design, so...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Rami Kashou
Rami Kashou opened his
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Kevan Hall
Kevan Hall’s intention for his
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Grey Ant
Grant Krajecki knows how to entertain. The designer displayed his Grey Ant Fall 2003 collect...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Richard Tyler and Tyler
The drumbeat of war had a definite influence on Richard Tyler’s two collections, Richar...
Promoting Pink During L.A. Fashion Week
Many Los Angeles Fashion Week attendees got a glimpse of pink when a parade of women in pink followed by a film crew turned up at the Downtown Sta...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Heatherette
Heatherette designers Richie Rich and Traver Rains may be die-hard New Yorkers, but, while in town for Los Angeles Fashion Week, they put on a...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Kablan
Bias-cut halter dresses and skirts made from men’s vintage- tie fabrics gave Kablan’s Fall 2003...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Michelle Mason
Local designer Michelle Mason gave her Mason collection its runway debut alon...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Ghost
Spectators at
Moore at ATMI
The American Textile Manufacturers Institute has named Willis C. Moore chairman of the textile- industry organization. Moore is the executive vice president and chief financial officer of Unifi Inc. H...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Jenni Kayne
If you’re going to make an entrance, make it big. Twenty-year-old fashion newcomer Jenni Kayne did just that when she...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Mon Petit Oiseau
Tracy Wilkinson, an English designer who now resides in Los Angeles, wove a touch of France through the...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Rock & Republic
Rock & Republic lived up to its name by staging a high-energy, rock ’n’ roll show called “All Access Fall T...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Joey & T
Stylists-turned-designers Joey Tierney and Tanya Tamburin didn’t disappoint at their show on April 2 at the Downtown...
Friday, April 4
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: San Paredes
Designer Paul Magalad kicked off Los Angeles Fashion Week with a
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Peter Cohen
It’s pretty likely that Peter Cohen has been relaxing and enjoying himself after his April 1 fashion show. The debut of the designer’s...
Owens and Otis Go Digital
Los Angeles-based designer Rick Owens is a man of his word. And he proved it recently when he kept his commitment as a design mentor to the 2003 senior class of Otis College of Art and Design...
Tarrant Acquires Co-ownership of American Rag Apparel
Los Angeles-based Tarrant Apparel Group—a publicly held manufacturer of private-label woven and knit apparel for men, women and children—has acquired a licensing agreement with special...
Hollywood Moment
Film costume and fashion was the topic at “Hollywood & Fashion: Influences Past & Present,” a seminar hosted by the Fashion Group International and held March 31 on the campus of the Fa...
FIDM at Bloomies
The recent apparel-design graduates of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising are having a chance to showcase their designs for a consumer audience, thanks to Bloomingdale’s. The retailer ...
Attention Shanghai Shoppers
ShanghaiMart’s management team tackles marketing and re-merchandising ...
New at Bubblegum
Juniors denim maker Bubblebum USA has hired Jorge Villalpando as head designer. Villalpando was previously senior designer for Guess’ young-contemporary denim/wovens division. At Bubblegum, he will ove...
Security and Technology Top Bill at AAFA Conference in Long Beach
Apparel and footwear manufacturers at the International Sourcing, Customs, Logistics Integration Conference—held March 27–28 in Long Beach, Calif.—were assured that if the coun...
L.A. Designer Lapson Honored at Miami Fashion Week
Los Angeles-based designer Charlie Lapson won a best-ofshow award for his designs during Fashion Week of the Americas (FWA), held March 19–22 in Miami Beach, Fla....
Sears Credit for Sale
Sears Roebuck & Co. announced it is selling its credit-card division. The Hoffman Estates, Ill.-based department store will shed its $30 billion credit-card unit in order to focus on its core retail business. The...
Swim Team
New York-based Nautica Apparel signed a multi-year licensing agreement with New York-based Warnaco Group for women’s and juniors swimwear. The agreements calls for Warnaco to manufacture, distribute and market Nautica...
D&A Hosts First Fashion Show
New York-based contemporary trade show Designers & Agents will host its first fashion show at its opening-night party during Los Angeles Fashion Week....
Vix Settles Target Dispute
San Diego-based contemporary swimwear maker Vix Swimwear Inc. has reached a private settlement with Minneapolis-based Target Corp. regarding a trademark- and copyright-infringement dispute o...
Gottchalks Kids
Fresno-based department-store chain Gottchalks has launched a new private-label brand for children called GK. The line runs in newborn and toddler sizes through boys size 20 and girls size 16. The col...
Designing Futures
Diane Von Furstenberg has a lesson or two for young designers. The New Yorkbased designer visited Otis College of Art and Design in downtown Los Angeles on March 21 as par t of the school...
Skechers for Men
Manhattan Beachbased footwear company Skechers USA has signed a licensing deal with Garson International for a line of men’s outerwear bearing the Skechers brand. Garson International will design, distribute and market Skechers jackets and c...
International Designers Compete for Coveted China Cup
SHANGHAI, China—Fashion judges jetted in from all over the world—from London, Paris, New York and Los Angeles— to determine whom the winners would be in the China Cup, an...
L.A. Gift Show: Strong Turnout, Cautious Buying
Everyone muttered the same mantra at the Los Angeles Gift & Home Accessories Market: conservative, conservative, conservative....
T-Shirt Company in Legal Skirmish With MasterCard
San Francisco-based streetwear manufacturer Dirtbag Clothing Inc. is in a legal battle with MasterCard International. The credit-card giant claims one of Dirtbag’s T-shirt designs inf...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: David Cardona
Los Angeles designer David Cardona chose corsets, silk straps, ribbons and pintucks as inspiration for his...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Cynthia Vincent
Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. marked
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Magda Berliner
Designer Magda Berliner showed off her romantic side at her April 1
Natural Selection
Two years ago, Berkeley, Calif.- based jewelry aficionado Annie Decamp designed a line of refined metal accessories that mirror her reverence for nature and passion for fashion and beauty....
St. John Previews Fall 2003
St. John’s recent fashion show seemed more like a fashion convention than a preview for the company’s
New Software From Paragon
Westlake, Calif.-based Paragon Business Systems has released a new AS400-based version of G-Tex, its enterprise resource planning (ERP) software geared for the apparel and textile in...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall I 2003: Elisa Jimenez
The free spirit of the ocean was the mood that designer Elisa Jimenez tried to instill in her Fall 2003...
