CaliforniaApparelNews.net

Harajuku Lovers T-shirt

It's not often you hear about an apparel company that has been around for 50 years under the same owners.

From left, Fred DePerio of Mage Design, Alexis Sepkovic of March Lab, Jonny Hughes of Altru Apparel, and Willard Ford of 722 Figueroa Showroom. Behind them an unidentified friend.

It didn’t feel like spring outside, but the 722 Figueroa showroom in Los Angeles’ Chinatown held a big party March 29 to celebrate a season of growth and hopefully warmer weather.

We were going to bake you cupcakes to celebrate, but we didn't have the time to make enough for all 6,000 employees. That's a lot of cupcakes! 

Several California officials—including State Assemblyman Gil Cedillo and Los Angeles City Councilmember José Huizar— turned out to celebrate American Apparel’s 15^th anniversary today at the company’s factory in downtown Los Angeles.

Los Angeles vertical manufacturer American Apparel has solar panels on its factory roof, which generate 150 kilowatts of power and provide up to 15 percent of the company’s energy needs. According to the company, the solar panels need to be washed every three months for maximum efficiency.

It’s a dirty job. But someone in a swimsuit’s got to do it. Fortunately, the five girls--and one guy--seem to be having a blast.

Attention all emerging designers. Zappos is looking for you.

The online retailer of all things shoes and clothing has just launched a special program to once a month showcase an emerging designer whose collection will be prominently featured on a Zappos boutique page. That page will include a biography of the designer, a video interview, product shots and more for the line to be sold.

JCPenney has been a lot of things in its 110-year history: Western merchant, discount retailer, purveyor of trendy fashion and catchy jingles, lone department store in my Grandma’s town in Colorado (“See if they’ve got it at Penney’s,” she used to say.)

Now we can add one more: Funny.

Mobile fashion company Poshmark is hosting its first live Posh Party next Thursday, at The Crescent Hotel in Beverly Hills. The shopping event is open to the public and will feature “a young, hip mix of LA's most fashionable folks, bloggers and designers,” said Joanna Riedl, a spokesperson for Poshmark.

Outdoor Retailer named the winner of their Project Runway spin-off competition, Project OR, on Monday. Margaret Mussman, a junior at the University of Cincinnati, was one of six student designers chosen to participate in the competition. In 48 hours, the former snowboarder designed and constructed a women's backcountry ski bib, which earned her first place, a trip to Outdoor Retailer Summer Market 2012 and a profile in the publication Textile Insight.

Overheard in the aisles, Agenda is like the new ASR. The newest edition at the Long Beach Convention Center on January 5-6 showed the breadth of categories that were merchandised roughly by skate, streetwear and surf brands in the cavernous cement floored space.

Nike unveiled its new hi-tech uniforms for the University of Oregon’s football team this week, just in time for the Rose Bowl on Jan.2.

In what Nike calls “the most advanced football uniform system ever assembled,” the uniforms feature increased durability and a new Chain Maille Mesh technology to help wick away sweat and keep the body cool through engineered ventilation and thermoregulation.