Friday, May 25
International: May 25, 2001
British designer Katherine Hamnett has struck a licensing deal with Italian firm Gibo Co. SpA, a subsidiary of Japanese firm Onward Kashiyama, for a line of women’s and men’s...
BCBG Halts Men's Line
Max Azria, founder, designer and president of the BCBG Max Azria label, announced last week he will shutter his menswear division before the Fall 2001 shipment. The Vernon, Calif.-based compa...
California: May 25, 2001
El Segundo, Calif.-based Mattel Inc. will release a limited edition Burberry Barbie wearing the British firm’s familiar black, tan and ...
Hertz Group Closes on Union Bank Plaza
The Hertz Investment Group, owners of the California Mart and other holdings in downtown Los Angeles, has added the 640,000-square-foot Union Bank Plaza to its portfolio, br...
Personal Branding
Can Skim.com turn fashion of the future into the future of fashion?...
California Job Growth Slowing, but Momentum Good in First Quarter
Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) reports that while the growth of the California job market is slowing down, the economy is still...
Cal Mart Sets Fall II/Holiday Market Schedule
The Fall II/Holiday market running June 1–5 at the California Mart will feature a new focus on lifestyle collections, the return of the Pacific Coast Travelers (PCT) fashion show and ...
Apparel Retailers Turn to Tech to Battle Shrinkage
Advancements in software and telecommunications technology is helping retailers and manufacturers like DKNY, Gadzooks, Ann Taylor and others to combat the age-old problem of...
CBI Sourcing Show Draws Top Crowds, West Coast Firms
GUATEMALA CITY—The 10th annual run of the CBI Apparel Sourcing Show in Guatemala City drew its highest attendance ever with more than 3,000 visitors stopping by during the May 16–18 run of the ...
Cyberspace: May 25, 2001
Alloy.com and Elle Girl, the soon-to-launch teen version of Elle magazine, have teamed up to create...
FIG Sale Nets $86,000 for Cedars-Sinai
The Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center raised $86,000 at its seventh annual Manufacturers’ Charity Sale on May 18 and 19 at the California Mart, according to Hal ...
Economy: May 25, 2001
The median net worth of retirees increased 36 percent between 1983 and 1998, according to the American Association of Retired People (AARP), which found that the net worth of people aged 50 and older increas...
TALA Relaunches Expanded Web Site
The Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) has relaunched its Web site [
National: May 25, 2001
Greensboro, N.C.-based C...
Friday, May 18
SunTrust: Focus of West Coast Office Outlined
Chris Rogers, group vice president of SunTrust Bank Receivables Capital Management, formerly known as SunTrust Bank Factoring, recently outlined the primary focus of the company’s new...
Trend Trackers
The future of fashion was glimpsed from three angles recently with a trio of trend presentations hosted by color forecaster Color By Design Options, Barbara Fields Buying Of...
Mervyn's Unveils 'Simple Style'
Kate Rice, style spokesperson for Mervyn’s, has launched an in-store series of fashion solutions for the San Francisco-based department store chain. Called “Simple Style,” the sh...
National: May 18, 2001
The American Apparel Producers’ Network (AAPNetwork) announced its endorsement of Material World Miami Beach, the recently formed textile trade show set for its sec...
Hot Kiss' Tsabags Honored by So Cal Counseling Center
Hot Kiss owner and president Moshe Tsabag and his wife, Gabrielle, were honored by the Southern California Counseling Center (SCCC) with the Wallis Annenberg Founders Award at the center...
St. John Looks to the Future
Irvine, Calif.-based St. John Knits International is looking ahead these days. The now privately owned company has hired Neiman Marcus veteran H.W. Mullins as chief executive officer, suc...
Kellwood Menswear Names Jeffrey Stein VP
New York’s Kellwood Menswear, a division of the St. Louis, Mo.-based Kellwood Company, recently named Jeffrey Stein vice president of sales and merchandising, according to Bob Skinner...
Energy Crisis Claims Anaheim Mills Corp.
The energy crisis continues to take its toll on the apparel industry as Orange County textile dyer Anaheim Mills Corp. this week joined a growing list of dye houses that have been forced to s...
Economy: May 18, 2001
In an effort to bolster the struggling economy, the Federal Reserve cut a key interest rate by a half point, the fifth reduction of the year. A decline in business investment in new equipment...
California: May 18, 2001
California unemployment rose for the second month in a row, increasing to 4.8 percent in April, following March’s rise to 4.7 percent; unemployment in Los Angeles County rose to 5.1 percent in...
Q & A with St. John CEO H.W. Mullins
What interested you in joining St. John?...
GMAC Levies $40 Million Suit Against Chorus Line, Levine Leichtman
GMAC Commercial Credit, LLC, filed suit last month against Levine Leichtman Capital Partners (LLCP), claiming that the private equity partnership defrauded GMAC on a $40 mil...
Pacific Sunwear Renews Deal with Hurley in Wake of Decline
Pacific Sunwear of California Inc., a specialty retailer of casual apparel, accessories and footwear for teens and young adults, announced this week that it was going to renew its re...
Fossil and Paul Frank Sign License Agreement for Paul Frank Watches
Richardson, Texas-based Fossil Inc. and Paul Frank Industries announced they have signed a worldwide license agreement granting Fossil the exclusive rights to manufacture, market and...
Diesel Finds New L.A. Home
Diesel U.S.A., the ultra-hip denim retailer headquartered in Italy, has moved its sales office from New Mart showroom #901 to 662 Robertson Blvd. in West Hollywood....
Femme Final Attendance, Exhibitor Figures Released
Femme, the MAGIC International womenswear and accessories show that premiered May 6–8 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York, drew approximately 15,000 attendee...
Movers: May 18, 2001
Dane O’Neal was named vice president of retail and marketing for Los Angeles-based knitwear manufacturer...
DuPont Renames Non-Woven Division
The Wilmington, Del., fiber and chemical manufacturer has renamed its recently launched apparel non-woven division Neotis Studio. The company found that the previous name, Inova, was...
Friday, May 11
Moorpark/Tujunga Village
Just over the Hollywood Hills on the southern edge of the San Fernando Valley is the Moorpark/Tujunga Village section of Studio City. This quaint and cozy street, tucked away in an upscale residential...
Tukacenter Debuts in Fashion District
Tukatech Inc. opened the doors to its first U.S.-based Tukacenter in downtown Los Angeles last week. Company executives are hoping other doors will open for Los Angeles’ apparel indus...
John Paul Richard Inc. and Indigenous Group Merge
After three months of negotiations, Calabasas, Calif.-based John Paul Richard Inc. has merged with Indigenous Group, maker of the Josephine Loka, ...
Femme Scores Points for Ambience and Attendance with West Coast Labels
NEW YORK—Femme, the MAGIC International womenswear show held May 6–8 at New York’s Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, drew high marks for both presentation and the caliber of r...
National: May 11, 2001
San Francisco-based Gap Inc. announced plans to move part of it corporate headquarters to Albuquerque, N.M. this summer; the co...
Economy: May 11, 2001
Manufacturing productivity fell to a 0.3 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2001 from a revised gain of 5.5 percent in the fourth quarter of 2000, according to the U.S. Labor Department; this marks ...
California: May 11, 2001
California energy consumers—customers of Southern California Edison, San Diego Gas & Electric and Pacific Gas & Electric, plus municipal customers in Ver...
Cal Mart Names New Marketing Exec
The California Mart has hired Trish Moreno as executive marketing director. Moreno is an industry veteran who served as a consultant for Los Angeles-based contempor...
DuPont Launches Low Heatset Lycra, Non-Woven Division
Wilmington, Del.-based fiber and chemical company DuPont has launched a new version of Lycra with a lower heatset temperature for use in blends with fibers such as cotton, wool, Tenc...
International: May 11, 2001
German designer Wolfgang Joop is selling its 5 percent stake in Joop GmbH to Hamburg-based Wuuml;nsche, which holds a 95 percent stake in the company...Paris desig...
F.I.G. to Hold Apparel Sale
The Fashion Industries Guild of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center is hoping to reach a sales goal of $100,000 at its seventh annual Manufacturers’ Charity Sale May 18–19....
Real Estate Deals a Tough Find for Apparel Companies
Apparel sources say they are hearing about a slowing economy but they aren’t seeing it reflected in real estate prices....
Azteca Taps Lubells for New Denim Line Hippie Jeans
Designers Kim and Jeffrey Lubell are getting ready to launch a new contemporary designerwear collection, Hippie Jeans, in a partnership deal with private label manufacturer Azteca Pr...
Bendel Returns to Scout for L.A. Designers
New York-based Henri Bendel will hold its second “open see” event in which the upscale women’s apparel retailer scouts for West Coast design talent. The “open see...
Friday, May 4
Tracey Ross to Chair Benefit for Women's Guild of Cedars-Sinai
Los Angeles retailer Tracey Ross has signed on to chair the Cedars-Sinai Women’s Guild Young Collectors Committee for the sixth annual Los Angeles Antiques Show at the Santa Monica A...
Fashion Industry Joins Forces for Community Job Fair
Los Angeles’ downtown apparel businesses and community associations are joining forces this month to plan a job fair at the California Mart. The group is called the Los Angeles Connec...
TALA Play Day Moves East
The Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) will host its annual Bob Berg Invitational Play Day on May 11 at the Industry Hills Golf Club in City of Industry, Calif. This year’s eve...
Alloy Strikes Gold
The trials and tribulations of building a successful fashion-focused multichannel teen portal—a project that began for CEO Matt Diamond back in Harvard Business School some years ago—h...
Tweens Take Off
The youth market is getting younger—and more demanding than ever, so say trend watchers and industry experts who note that tweens are one of the fastest-growing demographics and are also the new fashio...
International: May 4, 2001
Solstiss USA, the U.S. subsidiary of French lace manufacturer Solstiss S.A., has formed a joint venture with Bucol S.A., a silk textiles division of Hermes...Warrendale, Pe...
Former Renee Strauss Employee Demands Overtime Pay
Ana Celia Romauldo, a former employee of Renee Strauss for the Bride in Beverly Hills, Calif., held a press conference May 2 to call public attention to the celebrity bridal shop’s refusal to ...
Economy: May 4, 2001
The gross domestic product grew by 2.0 percent in the first quarter of 2001, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce; the increase is twice as fast as analysts had forecast; meanwhile consumer spending ...
National: May 4, 2001
Little Rock, Ark.-based Dillard’s Inc. announced it has acquired eight of the recently shuttered Mo...
Torrid: Hot Topic's Alternative Retail for Plus-Size Juniors
Hot Topic has tapped into a growing segment of the junior market with the recent opening of one of six mall-based specialty stores dedicated to plus-size juniors....
Cyberspace: May 4, 2001
More than half of the top 100 online advertisers are traditional bricks-and-mortar companies, according to Nielsen/NetRatings, which also found that traditional advertisers spent $123.3 milli...
California: May 4, 2001
Los Angeles-based Indigenous Corp., makers of contemporary and men’s labels Fever Jeans, Josephin...
YMLA Cancels Merger with Pacific Coast
Los Angeles-based young men’s apparel company YMLA has cancelled its plans to merge with San Francisco-based Pacific Coast Apparel Company as of May 2, 2001....
