Friday, August 27
WB and Rocawear
Burbank-based Warner Bros. Consumer Products will team with New York–based urbanwear label Rocawear to produce a Rocawear-designed apparel line using imagery from the comic-book character Batman. The collectio...
True Religion's Leaders
Jeffrey and Kymberly Lubell and Mark Saltzman will continue as directors of True Religion Apparel Inc., it was decided at the publicly held company’s recent annual general meeting. Stonefield Josephson Inc. was named the comp...
New Line From 4Whatitsworth
4Whatitsworth Inc., maker of Tyte juniors denim and sportswear, will bow its first misses denim collection at New York Market Week this month. The...
Hot Topic Announces 90-Store Expansion
Hot Topic, Inc. announced the company will open 90 stores by the end of 2004 during an Aug. 18 conference call on its second quarter earnings. The announcement came on the heels of disappoint...
Topsy Turvy Goes Right Side Up
Two native Frenchmen and longtime California residents have taken a small accessories line and invigorated it with typical Gallic panache....
California Design Biennial Seeks Designers
The Pasadena Museum of California Art (PMCA) is once again looking for fashion designers to include in its California Design Biennial, set to open in May 2005....
California Vintage Bows West Coast Showroom
Los Angeles designer Carl Jones found anew home for his California couture collection, California Vintage. The casual sportswear designer is getting ready to open a 1,440-square-foot showroo...
From JLo to Nautica
Denise Seegal, former Sweetface Fashion LLC president and chief executive officer, has left the company that produces the JLo brand and has joined the VF Corp.’s Nautica division as president and chief...
Melrose Heights Parties for More Traffic
The hunt for new customers never ends for retailers. When the 11 boutique owners of the Melrose Heights Merchants’ Association pooled their resources for the first time in two years to attract...
Kwan in at Roxy
Mary Kwan was named senior vice president of merchandising and design for Roxy, the juniors division of Huntington Beach–based surf giant Quiksilver Inc. Kwan is replacing Carol Christopherson, who was promoted to president o...
Windsor Announces Midwest Expansion
Windsor, a Los Angeles–based dress-boutique chain, is finding gold in America’s heartland, according to company Vice President Ike Zekaria....
Columbia Heads Abroad
Portland, Ore.–based Columbia Sportswear Co. struck distribution agreements with South Africa–based Foschini Retail Group, a division of Foschini Ltd., and the Kenrich International Distributor Corp. of...
California Minimum-Wage Hike Measure Sent to Governor
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has until Sept. 30 to decide whether to sign or veto a bill that would raise California’s minimum wage to $7.75 an hour during the next two years....
IT Companies Strive for Total Automation
Information technology companies have found ways to automate just about every step of business that takes place within the apparel industry. The only problem is that many of these so-called “best-of-br...
Action Girl Turns Into No Action
After a dismal turnout by buyers, Action Girl, a relatively new trade show focusing on young female skateboarders and surfers, is closing...
FIDM Students Get a Fashion Primer From Sue Wong
Los Angeles designer Sue Wong gave students at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising a quick Reality 101 class during an Aug. 18 talk at the design school’s downtown Los...
Wet Seal Treads Water As Wall Street Wonders About Retailer's Future
After burning through tons of cash and reporting a huge quarterly loss, The Wet Seal Inc. may have run out of pixie dust, according to many Wall Street analysts. Its only choice for survival...
CFDA Sets Sights on Los Angeles
Just weeks before its annual designer induction ceremony, the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) said it has its sights set on the West Coast....
Big Sourcing Show Headed for Miami Beach
Frank Yuan, the organizer of the ASAP Global Sourcing Show, is heading east to organize an international sourcing show in Miami Beach next year....
Fiscal Fitness
Determining which employees qualify for overtime pay...
FedEx Event Spotlights Global Logistics
The future of Southern California and FedEx’s role in that future for apparel and textile manufacturers were on the agenda at an Aug. 24 dinner seminar hosted by the Memphis, Tenn.–bas...
Kasil to Debut Men's Line at MAGIC
Eighteen-month-old premium denim brand Kasil will debut its men’s line at MAGIC International Aug. 30–Sept. 2. The 15-piece collection will feature distinctive trimmings of plaid, cord...
Friday, August 20
Outside With Underglam
Even the girly girls don’t want to wear frilly lingerie all of the time. This was Los Angeles–based Natalie Fritz’s modus operandi when she designed underwear inspired both by sportswear and the soft, fe...
Italian Denim Company Makes West Coast Headquarters
The latest Italian premium denim manufacturer to try its luck in the American market is Romano SpA, which made $94.6 million in sales in 2003 supplying denim to high-fashion brands s...
Michael Kors' Suit Man
Casual Friday threatened to kill the men’s suit last decade, but the well-tailored vestments that Cary Grant wore have come back into vogue during the past two years. Witness the recent success of Th...
Dungarees Turns 13
Gary Friedman had a hunch that a boutique dedicated to premium jeans would be a good business idea—for a little while. On Aug. 12, his employees and friends threw him a surprise 13th anniversary party...
Is it Surf or Contemporary? RVCA Dives Into a New Look
RVCA won the Surf Industry Manufacturers Association’s coveted Breakthrough Manufacturer of the Year award in May 2004, but founder and designer Pat Tenore says his collection is anyt...
More Lofts for L.A. Fashion District
The Los Angeles Fashion District is becoming a place that people call home....
Retailers Launch 3-D Made-to-Measure Service
Searcy, Ark.–based technology provider Benchmark Clothiers Inc. hopes to give the made-to-measure business a shot in the arm with a new 3-D body scanning service....
Back-to-School Budget
Apparel and accessories will compete with school supplies and electronics for students’ Back-to-School budgets, according to The NPD Group Inc. of Port Washington, N.Y., which found that 45 percent of consumers are ea...
Judy's Founder Marcia Israel-Curley Dies at 83
Marcia Israel-Curley, retail merchandising pioneer and founder of Judy’s fashion retail chain stores, died in her sleep Aug. 17 after suffering several strokes, according to Judith Krain, her ...
Northern Calif. Malls Change Hands
A trio of prominent Northern California shopping centers was sold in the past week, indicating that real estate investments are sustaining momentum despite recent upticks in interest rates....
State to Crack Down on Illegal Contractors
Just as California apparel makers brace for increased offshore competition, the state labor department is preparing to help even the playing field at home....
Factory 2-U Sold
San Diego–based off-price retailer Factory 2-U Stores Inc. has signed a deal to sell nearly all of its assets to a company formed by a joint partnership among National Stores Inc., The Alamo Group, The Great American ...
Fashion District Confirms Ops Director
The Los Angeles Fashion District Business Improvement District has confirmed the appointment of Randall Tampa as its operations director....
SayWear Launches Personalized T-Shirt Service
San Francisco–based SayWear LLC has rolled out
Indra Signs On Penguin, Tail Brands
Penguin Sport has signed on to use the Escape suite of order-management software from San Diego–based Indra Technology Inc. ...
Simplicity's Virtues
Diane Medak has dressed such red-carpet regulars as Paris Hilton and Peneacute;lope Cruz, but when she threw a party on Aug. 11 to debut her Fall 2004 line at her namesake store on Third Street in Los...
CPI Drops
The Consumer Price Index dropped 0.1 percent in July, after increases in May and June, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, which credited a drop in gasoline prices with sparking the decrease....
Wet Seal's Special Committee
Foothill Ranch-based retailer The Wet Seal announced the creation of a special committee of its board of directors to explore options for turning around the company’s flagging sales and dwindling profits. The ...
Hot Kiss Taps Ozur
Los Angeles–based juniors sportswear manufacturer Hot Kiss Inc. has appointed Ronald Ozur as its chief financial officer, a new post reporting to President Moshe Tsabag....
G'Day, Sheila
“Sheila” is Australian outback slang for “girl” and, since Aug. 17, the name of a West Hollywood, Calif., boutique specializing in better contemporary Aussie fashions. But don...
Strong Reaction at L.A. Holiday, Resort Market
Showroom salespeople and retailers who turned out for the Aug. 13–17 run of Los Angeles Market Week reported surprisingly lively undercurrents and good business....
Cohen Opens Dallas Showroom at FIG
Los Angeles–based manufacturer representative Michael Cohen is opening a showroom at the new Fashion Industry Gallery (FIG) in Dallas....
Tarrant Loss and Sales
Los Angeles– based Tarrant Apparel Group announced a net loss of $68.6 million in the second quarter of 2004. The manufacturer said the loss was caused in part by a $78 million charge for impairment of assets ...
FBI to Present Seminar Series at MAGIC and Pool
Los Angeles–based nonprofit organization Fashion Business Inc. will present a couple of business seminars for apparel industry designers, marketers and merchandisers during the Aug. ...
X-Tremely Girly
Board Betty’s blends surf and skate with feminine ’50s ...
Q&A with Pool Founder Rhonda Walker: Expanding the Pool Party in Vegas
Q&A with Pool founder Rhonda ...
MAGIC Prepares New Layout, New Services
MAGIC International is gearing up to unveil its new floor plan, which places all its shows under one roof at the Las Vegas Convention Center, during the Aug. 31–Sept. 2 run o...
Gerber Opens Tech Center in Shanghai
Gerber Technology Inc. has opened a 27,000-square-foot technology center in Shanghai, China, which will offer product demonstrations, software testing and equipment training to the region’s ap...
Friday, August 13
City Council Passes Big-Box Law
The Los Angeles City Council approved on Aug. 11, by a vote of 12–1, the “Supercenter Ordinance,” a law demanding that some big-box retailers conduct an economic impact report forecasting their e...
Alpha Address
Designer Darren Gold and retailer Christos Garkinos found a location for their contemporar...
New at Chico's
Fort Myers, Fla.–based Chico’s FAS Inc. has hired Charles L. Nesbit Jr. as senior vice president of strategic planning and business development. In the new position, Nesbit will oversee the Chico’s strategic planning an...
Nikki & Lucy Showroom
Gerry Buildingsuite 702(213) 489-9605...
Neuburger Pink Ribbon Line Benefits Charity Research
San Rafael, Calif.–based sleepwear and loungewear maker Karen Neuburger Ltd. has launched the Pink Ribbon Signature Collection to benefit breast cancer research.The collection include...
Mercent Launches Online Retailing Hub
Seattle-based technology start-up Mercent has released a new Web vehicle that gives retailers access to a broad base of leading online marketplaces through one entry point....
Novices Learn the Ins and Outs of Sourcing
New apparel entrepreneurs who want to import from overseas got a crash course on offshore sourcing at a seminar organized by Fashion Business Inc., a nonprofit association in downtown Los Ang...
Lingerie Show Draws a Crowd
NEW YORK—Lingerie Americas, the 2-year-old lingerie and swimwear trade show held Aug. 1–3 at the Altman Building and the Metropolitan Pavillion in New York, was packed with ab...
GE Buys Dillard's Credit
Little Rock, Ark.–based department store Dillard’s Inc. announced plans to sell its credit card division, Dillard National Bank, to Stamford, Conn.–based GE Consumer Finance for about $125 billion. The deal incl...
San Francisco Fashion Week Set to Bow
San Franciscans are gearing up for the city’s first fashion week, set to run Aug. 26–29 at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, a 1,000- seat performing arts theater in the Marina District....
Rucker Leaves Joie, Azria Steps In
Joie Rucker, founder of Los Angeles–based Joie, said she has left the better contemporary sportswear company to pursue other design opportunities....
Rates Raised Again
The Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by a quarter point to 1.5 to stave off inflation. The news came on the heels of a lackluster increase of 32,000 new jobs, according to the U.S. Department of ...
Counting the Mommy Vote
Los Angeles–based maternitywear label and retail boutique Naissance on Melrose (NOM) has introduced a pair of T-shirts aimed at raising awareness about the upcoming presidential election. The T-shirts,...
Macerich Acquires Malls in Santa Barbara, Victorville
The Macerich Co. of Santa Monica, Calif., has added two regional shopping centers to its growing retail portfolio. The real estate investment trust has agreed to acquire La ...
Crayola Sisters
California Market Centersuite A279(213) 688-9692(213) 699-1540 ...
Power Shortages in China Cause Delays for Calif. Apparel Makers
China’s energy shortages this summer are adding up to big delays for California garment manufacturers waiting impatiently for Holiday and late Fall orders...
Saturday Sale to Raise Funds for Firemen
The Saturday Sale, the monthly sample sale held in the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles, will hold its fall sale on Sept. 11 and will donate 25 percent of the procee...
Adriano Goldschmied Showroom
The New Martsuite 1207(213) 683-0030...
'ZenDental' Office Opens at CMC
Longtime California Market Center tenant Dr. Roy Fogelman has retired after 32 years in the building. His practice, in suite B225, has been taken over by Dr. Jay Khorsandi, a Southern Califor...
The Great Room
Cooper Design Spacesuite 209(213) 629-0484...
Beating the Odds?
As online retail sales slow, apparel may be bucking the trend ...
Absolute Beginners, Premium Debut
Usually confident, Lukus Eichmann and Daniel Green wondered if anyone would notice Saddlelites, their new line of premium denim, at the April 2003 Designers & Agents Sho...
Gleason Joins New Nike Division
Beaverton, Ore.–based footwear and athleticwear giant Nike Inc. has named Mary Gleason president of its new subsidiary, New York–based Exeter Brands Group LLC, which was formed to develop brands including Starter, Team Starter...
Charming Vote
New York–based plus-size retailer Charming Shoppes Inc. is encouraging customers to register to vote through its Get Out and Vote campaign. The retailer will provide voter registration forms at its Lan...
Big MAC
In a larger new space, San Francisco’s Modern Appealing Clothing balances pragmatic and avant-garde fashion...
New Retail Center Planned in Commerce
Commerce, Calif., known for its abundance of manufacturing and warehousing facilities, is emerging as a retail destination....
More American Apparel
Los Angeles-based T-shirt and underwear maker American Apparel is continuing its retail expansion. The company opened a new store on Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles’ Los Feliz neighborhood ...
Alfaro Exits Wet Seal, Retailer Enters Gerry Building in L.A.
Less than one year after The Wet Seal Inc. hired New York designer Victor Alfaro to help turn the beleaguered juniors retailer into a fashion leader, the designer, who has dressed su...
Local Designer's Military Gift
Los Angeles maternity designer Rita Faith Scott gave free clothing from her Double Occupancy Maternity line to military wives as part of her efforts to help the U.S. troops serving i...
CMC Gains New Web Presence
The California Market Center has made it easier to get online information about the Los Angeles–based apparel market by improving its Web site,...
MAGIC to Host Size USA Survey
Cary, N.C.–based technology company [TC]2 Inc. will give data analysis presentations from its recent Size USA national sizing survey during the Aug. 30–Sept....
Karanina Adds Sparkle for Holiday
“Casual, feminine and flirty” is the design philosophy that extends throughout Karanina’s playful and chic tops-driven collection....
Miken Dives Into Denim
Miken Clothing, a surf-inspired juniors sportswear apparel maker in Los Angeles with net sales of $40 million, is entering denim waters by signing a licensing agreement with the Acc...
Luxury Weathers July '04 Sales
It helped to be well-heeled in July—or at least it helped to be a retailer who caters to that specialty market....
Brooks, AIU Accrediation Under Review
Two Los Angeles–area fashion colleges, Brooks College and American InterContinental University (AIU), are under review by their respective governing agencies for operational ...
Fashioning the O.C. Look
California’s Orange County has often provided the inspiration for American pop culture—just think about Disneyland and the beginnings of the surf lifestyle. But can this area of more than 2 mil...
Love and Haight: Eclectic to the Extreme
The French call it flacirc;nerie, the gentle art of strolling the urban metropolis with no particular destination. In the parlance of the marketplace, we call it window-shopping....
PacSun Announces Increased Income, Plans New Stores
The future keeps getting brighter for Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. ...
Friday, August 6
Tag-It Extends Deal With Levi's
Woodland Hills, Calif.–based trimmings supplier Tag-It Pacific Inc. has extended its exclusive deal with Levi Strauss & Co. to provide TekFit stretch waistbands for Levi...
Ben Davis Workers Stage S.F. Rally
A group of San Francisco apparel workers is lobbying to get full healthcare benefits reinstated. Ben Davis Inc. apparel workers demonstrated July 20 outside of San Francisc...
Find to Feature Art, Music and Fashion
Michelle Mason, Anja Flint and Coryn Madley are among the designers participating in Find, the pop-culture event featuring music, art and fashion that will be held on Aug. 21 at the ...
OptiTex to Open Los Angeles Office
New York–based CAD developer OptiTex USA Inc. will soon open a Los Angeles office to service its growing West Coast customer base. The company said it will release details on its West Coast fa...
IMG to Co-Sponsor Toronto Fashion Week
The Fashion Design Council of Canada (FDCC) is partnering with IMG to produce Toronto Fashion Week, set to bow Sept. 20–25....
VF Promotes Jardine
Greensboro, N.C.–based VF Corp. promoted Anne Jardine to vice president of business development for VF Intimates, which includes the Vanity Fair, Vassarette, Bestform, Curvation and Lily of France bran...
Seminar Addresses Collections and Cash Flow
About 30 designers, manufacturers and industry executives turned out to discuss collecting on past-due invoices and increasing profitability at a July 29 l...
Finance, Tech Companies Team Up for New Ventures
The finance industry has found a friend in the technology industry when it comes to drumming up new business....
David Hayes Moves West
Designer David Hayes has moved his headquarters from The New Mart in downtown Los Angeles to Robertson Boulevard in Beverly Hills....
Ontario Mills Gets New Investors
The Mills Corp., owner of the Ontario Mills shopping center in Ontario, Calif., will take on new investors in the outlet mall to the tune of $243 million....
Spent Less
Americans tightened the purse strings in June, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which found that consumer spending fell 0.7 percent. This marked the steepest drop since September 2001. A big part...
French Connection
Baliston, a French athletic and sportswear company, opened its first American flagship store last month at the Irvine Spectrum, in Irvine, Calif. Store manager Luc Leconte (pictured) said the 10-year-old com...
New at Wet Seal
Peter Whitford, chief executive officer of The Wet Seal Inc., will take on the additional role of chairman of the board for the Foothill Ranch–based retailer. Whitford is taking over for Irving Teitelb...
Judge Awards Former Seven Partners Millions in Profits
A judge tentatively decided on Aug. 5 that Peter Koral, one of three people who started the Seven for All Mankind blue jeans label, must pay his two former partners $5.5 million in profits they didn...
Warnaco Finalizes Op Acquisition
The Warnaco Group Inc. is entering the action-sportswear market....
Cover Up
Neely Shearer knows sexy often means covering up rather than baring all. That’s her explanation for why customers made Ashley Paige swimwear the top seller last week at her L...
Tarrant Realigns Executive Lineup
The Tarrant Apparel Group, one of Los Angeles’ largest apparel manufacturers, has reshuffled its executive management team and unveiled a $45 million factoring facility....
Vargas Steps Into Fashion
Boxer Fernando Vargas will launch a line of urban menswear at MAGIC International in Las Vegas later this month. The collection, called Nawshis, will include T-shirts, jerseys and denim. The company plans to ...
Ocean Pacific Recruits Executives
The Irvine, Calif.–based Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. and its apparel licensee, Ray’s Apparel Inc., have announced the addition of new executives....
Unionbay Taps Anaheim Print Shop
Melmarc Products Inc. has signed a licensing agreement with Unionbay to produce a line of screen-printed tops for the moderate-priced men’s, juniors, boys’ and girls’ apparel l...
SFN's New Hire
San Rafael–based San Francisco Network, licensee of sleepwear and loungewear company Karen Neuburger, has hired Lisa S. Briemer as senior account executive and Nancy Conner as senior sales analyst. Both will work in the compa...
Politics Before Fashion
Designers, show producers and organizers are gearing up for a difficult New York Fashion Week, which will fall immediately after the Republican National Convention in New York, accor...
Charitable Jewels
Los Angeles jewelry designer Marlene Harris has introduced the Four Leaf Clover Collection to raise awareness and funds for Alzheimer’s disease research. The collection is based on a broach given to Harris by ...
First Los Angeles Men's Fashion Week Debuts With Trio of Trade Shows
Menswear buyers had three venues to shop during the inaugural Los Angeles Men’s Fashion Week, held Aug. 1–3...
Another Legal Go-Round Erupts Over Roxy Name
Big-name apparel maker Quiksilver Inc. and small Los Angeles manufacturer Kymsta Corp. have headed to court again to discuss who has the rights to use the name “Roxy” o...
Waraire Boswell: Locally Designed, Internationally Inspired
Waraire Boswell was driven to design, in part, out of necessity....
Red Tiger Taps California Lifestyles
Los Angeles–based Red Tiger Trading Co. Ltd., a relatively new maker of contemporary sportswear and better casualwear, has added a trio of new resources to ...
Enoch Joins Rosenthal & Rosenthal
The recently opened West Coast office of New York factor Rosenthal & Rosenthal has a new account executive....
