Friday, August 30
O'Toole on the Move
Foothill Ranch-based retailer Wet Seal has promoted Susan O’Toole to president of its Wet Seal division. O’Toole joined the company earlier this year as divisional president of Zutopia, Wet Seal’s tween-...
Labels Look to Stand Out in the Crowd in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS—The massive apparel trade show scene in Las Vegas is growing....
Bugle Boy's Back
Young men’s jeans label Bugle Boy has launched its first TV ads in nearly 15 years as part of a $5 million ad campaign featuring an amorous Jack Russell terrier named Pete. The 30-second spot was developed by ...
Da-Rue to Launch Hana Studio
Los Angeles-based missy manufacturer Da-Rue of California has announced the formation of a partnership with designer Hana Vanek to form a women’s golf and sportswear apparel line call...
ASR Set for Spring 2003 Show in San Diego
The Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR) is gearing up for its Spring 2003 edition, which is set to take place in San Diego at the San Diego Convention Center Sept. 5–7. T...
MAGIC's Mix
Spring 2003 had many faces at
Bigger Bellagio, More Mandalay
Hotel and casino owner MGM Mirage announced plans to add a 925-room tower to the Bellagio hotel in Las Vegas. The $375 million project is expected to be complete by the end of 2004. The move follows Mandalay ...
Tech Firms Go for Form and Function at MAGIC
LAS VEGAS—Technology companies exhibiting during MAGIC International in Las Vegas Aug. 26–29 appeared to share a common thread with their approaches toward selling technology. They stayed away from the...
Retailers Pay Quiet Tribute on 9/11 Anniversary
Retailers and shopping centers, looking to the nation’s capital and local city agencies to set the tone, will be laying low on the upcoming one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, with ...
ISAM Plans Las Vegas Show in 2003
The International Swimwear/Activewear Market (ISAM) trade show is on the move again—this time to the city of flesh and flash, Las Vegas....
Gotcha Files for Chapter 11, Dissolves Partnership
Beleaguered Gotcha International L.P. recently announced a twofold reorganization plan by filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and a motion to dissolve its partnershi...
CMC Adds New Leasing Director for Gift
The California Market Center (CMC) has hired Joan A. Woods as leasing director for the home decor category....
Karen Kane, Lucy Stores Head Up Santa Monica Development
Karen Kane Inc.’s new retail venture and activewear retailer Lucy are key anchors that have opened at a new $5 million mixed-use development on upscale Montana Avenue in Santa Monica,...
Op in Black and White
Irvinebased surfwear giant Ocean Pacific Apparel Corp. has unveiled its latest ad campaign—a black-and-white series created by award-winning photographer Colin Finlay. The documentary photographer has ...
Low Confidence
Consumer confidence fell to its lowest point in nine months, according to the Conference Board. The New York-based research firm found that its index fell to 93.5 in August from 97.4 in July. August’s level fe...
Friday, August 23
Vintage Looks Highlight Lisa Kline's Sexy Fashions
Looking sleek in her favorite line, Foley, Lisa Kline doesn’t mince words. “My show is about being sexy and looking hot,” said the 32-year-old owner of her self-named boutiques f...
Promoting the Playboy Image
Licensed products tap into the longstanding appeal—and allure—of Playboy ...
DaVinci Partners With Fender Guitar for New Line
Los Angeles-based DaVinci Clothing Co., a 50-year-old casual clothing company, has partnered with the Fender Musical Instruments Corp., a leading maker of electric guitars and am...
Patagonia Melds New Tactics with Original Ideals
In the wake of America’s corporate ethics meltdown, one outdoor apparel company tucked away in the coastal town of Ventura, Calif., could serve as the model for the new business enterprise....
Peck Rejoins Valdese Textiles
Textile executive Robert Peck has rejoined the Valdese Textiles team as national director of sales and marketing. He was previously with the Valdese, N.C.-based company as head of sales for C...
Santana to Rebuild
San Jose-based retail and housing development Santana Row will be rebuilt, according to San Jose city officials, following an Aug. 19 fire that destroyed a 6-acre section of the $500 million project. ...
Zandra Rhodes Talks Osbourne Style
Zandra Rhodes dazzled fashion lovers in the 1970s with her bright and elegant (yet flashy and outrageous) authentic hippie-chic designs. Known for her punk influences, the pink-haired de...
Tukatech Names New VPs
Los Angeles-based Tukatech has named two new vice presidents to oversee sales and service of its CAD/CAM systems on the East Coast. Doug Bombay will oversee Tukatech’s new Northeast territory,...
Juniors Makers Stay Optimistic Despite Flat Sales
Juniors manufacturers are looking forward to the Holiday season to lift spirits and sluggish sales following a lackluster Back-to-School turnout....
New Denim Line Butterfly to Launch at MAGIC
Butterfly Jeans is getting ready to debut a denim tops and bottoms collection during the Aug. 26–29 run of MAGIC International in Las Vegas, and the company is banking on the butterfl...
Slow Recovery
By all indications, economic recovery remains a slow process. The Consumer Price Index rose a slight 0.1 percent in July, according to the Labor Department. But the department said inflation remains l...
Mille Nico Takes Manhattan
Los Angeles-based Mille Nico debuted its Fall/Holiday 2002 collection last month at Pulchritudinous, a fashion show benefiting the Lesbian and Gay...
Myanmar no More
Federated Department Stores has agreed to stop selling goods produced in Myanmar, formerly known as Burma. The Cincinnati-based retailer joins 29 other retailers that have agreed to stop selling such goods, a...
Min Hu Dres
At 6 feet 7 inches, Los Angeles designer Waraire Boswell realized that he couldn’t change the smaller doorways or lower ceilings in the world, so he focused on the things he could change. Reje...
Girl Boy: Novelty Tees, Makeup, Bags
Cynthia Koco Sakai isn’t out to change the world with her novelty T-shirt and cosmetic collections, but she is out to give it a youthful makeover....
Pac Sun Techs Up Operations
Anaheim, Calif.-based retailer Pacific Sunwear of California is launching a new suite of software aimed at helping it run more efficiently by monitoring existing software systems as ...
Sculpteur Pant Co.
Ed Noble was looking to create a unique collection of pants with defining fit when he came up with the idea to launch Sculpteur Pant Co....
BTS Bust
Back-to-School sales dropped 0.8 percent from the first to the second week of August and chain-store sales in the second week of August rose a scant 1.8 percent over figures for the corresponding time last ye...
Gerber Expands in China
Gerber Technology recently opened its 14th sales and service office in China, with the latest site being in Nanjing, located about 100 miles west of Shanghai and home to numerous apparel and ...
Hang Ten Gold
San Diego-based Hang Ten USA, a 40-year-old California lifestyle brand, plans to launch the Spring 2003 line of Hang Ten Gold, a vintage reproduction collection for young men, at MA...
Rip Curl/Roxy Outerwear Sales Ignite
Interest in outerwear is heating up in beachside communities in Southern California as shoppers snap up shearling, denim and corduroy coats accessorized in cushiony fur....
Friday, August 16
California Students Dominate DuPont Hosiery Design Contest
NEW YORK—Three students from California recently took top prizes in the first-ever hosiery fashion design contest. In DuPont’s “Tomorrow’s Designs Today” contest, the fiber manufacturer as...
Boehme Filatex Acquires High Point
Reidsville, N.C.-based textile mill Boehme Filatex has announced plans to acquire textile and garment chemical manufacturer High Point Textile Auxiliaries....
FIDM Director Authors Book on Working With Americans
Lanie Denslow, international director of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), has released “Working With Americans,” a new book analyzing the differences ...
Paragon to Distribute Porini Software
Apparel industry software provider Paragon Business Systems, based in Westlake Village, Calif., has reached an exclusive agreement to distribute Porini of Italy’s suite of apparel and...
Appointments Net Good Results at L.A. Holiday/Resort Market
Appointments seemed to be the key to success at the Holiday/Resort ’02/03 market week in Los Angeles, according to several exhibitors who reported that while some buyers were hesitant to make schedulin...
Hello Kitty Goes Upscale, Gets Shoes
Sanrio wants to take its familiar feline character Hello Kitty upscale....
Galleria Owners Eye Sale
Owners of the Glendale Galleria, one of the nation’s top-performing retail properties, are planning to put it up for sale, and industry sources say the mall could fetch up to $400 mil...
Organizing Lingerie
Frederick’s of Hollywood filed a reorganization plan with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in California, intending to emerge from bankruptcy by the end of the year. The Los Angeles-based lingerie maker sough...
Rate Steady
The Federal Reserve opted against lowering interest rates, keeping short-term interest rates at 1/75 percent, but held open the option to cut rates at a later date if the economy does not show signs o...
Windsor Fashions and Forever 21 to Open in Irvine
Los Angeles-based Windsor Fashions and Forever 21 have signed leases to open at the Paseo Shops, the new 180,000- square-foot wing of th...
Not Productive
The productivity of U.S. workers slowed in the second quarter of 2002 to a 1.1 percent annual rate following an 8.6 percent annual growth rate in the first quarter, according to the Labor Department....
Port Protest
Members of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) marched in downtown Los Angeles on Aug. 12 in protest of the federal government’s possible plans to intercede if a strike is called and busines...
Material World Plans 2005 Preparation Conference, Signs On El Salvador Trade Agency
Textile trade show Material World Miami Beach is planning to host a pre-show conference to help prepare apparel and textile companies for the elimination of quotas on textiles and ap...
Beverly Hills Launches Urban Design Program
It seems that Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, Calif.—the grande dame of retail—has gotten a little dowdy along the edges and city officials are calling for a facelift....
Agave
BC Ethic co-founder Jeff Shafer has launched a new men’s venture—Agave Jeans—with an eye on the upscale men’s denim market....
XLA
XLA, an active-lifestyle collection, is the newest brand from Xlarge, the Los Angeles retailer that grew into a fullfledged apparel line. The collection focuses on the active outdoor...
Unifi, Tunex Reach Distribution Deal
Greensboro, N.C.-based fiber maker Unifi has completed agreements with Thai fiber maker Tunex regarding Tunex’s manufacture and sale of polyester filament yarns....
American Apparel Goes Green
Los Angeles-based imprintable-Tshirt manufacturer American Apparel is looking to improve the environment. The company is working with recycling company Environmental Textiles to recy...
CFA Apparel Summit: Addressing Labor, Legislation and the Underground Economy
California Labor Commissioner Art Lujan and selected members of Southern California...
More Jeans, Mom
Jeans will continue to be a hot Back-to-School item, according to a recent report by NPD Group. The research firm found that hot denim styles will be low-rise jeans for girls and baggy styles for boys...
Maple Tower Open for Showrooms
Maple Tower Fashion Center, a 12-story manufacturing building in the Los Angeles Fashion District, has finished converting portions of its interior into showroom space and has started to open...
MAGIC Executive Therese Allen Dies
Therese Allen, who served as group show director for MAGIC International, a subsidiary of Advanstar Communications Inc., died in Los Angeles at UCLA Medical Center ...
Retail Growth Booms in Palm Springs
For a desert community, Palm Springs is seeing a lot of green lately....
Rosario Promoted at Cotton Inc.
Paula Rosario has been promoted to senior executive, retail and fashion marketing, for New Yorkbased Cotton Inc. Rosario will oversee Fashion Marketing, which includes apparel and home color and tren...
Bayer Retains Dorlastan, Promotes Radermacher
Pittsburgh-based Bayer Corp. has announced plans to retain its Dorlastan spandex fiber business, after considering divesting the division from the company....
Self Esteem, Kid's Headquarters Sign Bottoms Agreement
Los Angeles-based novelty-top maker Self Esteem announced that it has signed an exclusive licensing agreement with Kid’s Headquarters New York to produce junior bottoms....
Kmart Inquiry
A grand jury in Detroit is investigating the events that led retail giant Kmart to seek bankruptcy protection earlier this year, according to a report in the Detroit News. The story said federal inve...
July '02 Sales Hit the Skids
Citing a tough comparison period and lean inventories, many retailers reported worse-than-expected results for the month of July, portending a lackluster Back-to- School season....
Nike, PCC Align With Tukatech
CAD/CAM provider Tukatech Inc. has recently locked up contracts with global powerhouse Nike Inc. and Taiwan-based Pou Chen Corp. (PCC), which is one of the world’s largest ma...
Infopro Relaunches as Roundhouse
New York-based EDI provider Infopro has changed its name to Roundhouse....
Elisabetta Rogiani Queen of Hearts
Elisabetta Rogiani is bringing a little bit of Italy into her design studio. The Los Angeles-based designer, who made a name for herself on the West Coast by creating an eponymous collection of edgy, ...
TALA Seeking Scholarship Support
The Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) is preparing for its annual scholarship awards program, which is held each fall and benefits design students from Southern California sc...
Honeysuckle
On a recent shoot for Britney Spears’ “Boy” music video at a Holmby Hills mansion next door to Playboy tycoon Hugh Hefner’s digs, Cynthia Freund, the Los Angeles-based stylist-cum...
MAGIC, Satellite Shows Set Schedule, Expand Offerings
MAGIC International is broadening its fashion focus in an effort to continue to grow as a premier fashion trade show. The show, which is made up of four separate...
Friday, August 9
Independents on Third Street Promenade
At first glance, the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, Calif., may seem like Chain Store Row, but if shoppers dig deeper, they’ll find a contingent of smaller independents holding their ...
C-TPAT Compliance: New Customs Security System for Importers
In the current climate of heightened national security, the U.S. Customs Department has created a new system requiring importers to ensure the security of the entire supply chain from point of origin ...
Payroll Flat
Employment remained relatively flat in July as nonfarm employment increased by 6,000, according to the Labor Department, and unemployment remained steady at 5.9 percent. Still, U.S. Secretary of Labor...
Appointments Key at West Coast Exclusive
Traffic was static compared to last year’s showing of the West Coast Exclusive but exhibitors who made appointments ahead of time reported good results at the Spring ’03 showing Aug. 4–...
Eyeshadow
CMC, Suite B-863,(213) 627-2782 ...
He Wore Blue Velvet
The movie: “Austin Powers in Goldmember” ...
Mill Work
Malden Mills announced that it would file reorganization plans within the month, and expects to return to solvency by the end of 2002. The Lawrence, Mass.-based operation declared Chapter 11 bankruptc...
Manufacturing Slump
Manufacturing growth in the United States stalled in July, according to the Institute for Supply Management, which found that its monthly index fell from 56.5 in June to 50.5 in July—the lowest point since January. Th...
Unconventional Classics: Mhope
With its 1950s-inspired silk wrap dresses, apron skirts and French terry wrap dresses, Mhope is giving classic styles an upscale and unconventional twist....
Financing During Recovery
The mixed messages about the state of the economy are keeping consumer confidence mercurial and retail sales fluctuating. The labor market remains weak nationwide but first-time unemployment...
A Midsummer's Dream
Apparel e-tail sites are hitting it big during the usual midseason doldrums, but will the hits turn into sales? ...
CMC Appoints Director of Retail
Cecil Strickland, the former director of retail relations for MAGIC International, has been hired as the executive director of retail relations and buyer services for the California Market C...
Poolside With Bayou
Bradley Bayou looks like a true Californian. Casually dressed in jeans and sandals and sporting a healthy tan and a laid-back attitude, the Texas native hosted an...
Tag-It Gets Two-Year Deal With Levi's
Woodland Hills, Calif.-based Tag-It Pacific Inc. has struck a $10 million deal with San Francisco-based Levi Strauss & Co. to become its principal supplier of garment co...
Kapor Honored by Medical Center
Attorney Jeffrey H. Kapor received the Chairman’s Award from the National Jewish Medical and Research Center at the Apparel Humanitarian Award luncheon on July 30 in Los Ange...
Lectra, PAD Name Appointments
Atlanta-based Lectra Systems has named new appointments within its marketing deparment. Amy Craig has joined the company as marketing communications manager, and Kim Majure, marketing events ...
Suuml;nde
Cooper BuildingSuite 321(213) 629-1520...
Port Plan
The White House is planning to take action in the event of a labor strike at West Coast ports, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. The Bush Administration formed a group ...
Cousin Johnny
CMC, Suite B-501 (213) 327-0220 ...
Jeff Hamilton Industries Settles Claim
Los Angeles-based Jeff Hamilton Industries has settled a claim involving a worker who asserted that the maker of branded sports apparel failed to pay back wages....
FGI, Tukatech to Host Tech Seminar
Fashion Group International of Los Angeles is presenting a seminar, “Presentation of New Fast-Track Technology,”at 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 13 at the Fashion Institut...
Rande Blatt-Cohen Showroom
California Market CenterSuite B-520(213) 489-3044 ...
URU
CMCSuite B-301(760) 745-1800...
California Gift Show Partners With CMC
George Little Management, manager of the California Gift Show, and the California Market Center (CMC) are teaming up to extend their gift show off...
Friday, August 2
Textile Mills Laud Passage of U.S. Dyeing and Finishing Measure
The U.S. House has approved the Conference Agreement, a pro-textile measure that requires U.S. fabrics used under the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and Andean Preferential Trade programs to be dye...
SPESA Joins the Show Fray in Miami
The Raleigh, N.C.-based Sewn Products Equipment & Suppliers of the Americas (SPESA), unable to reach an accord with other trade groups and show producers over the stagi...
Team Players
Portland, Ore.-based Columbia Sportswear Co. has been named the official apparel sponsor of the Special Olympics Team USA for the 2003 World Summer Games, which are set for June 2003 in Dublin, Ireland. The c...
Back-to-School Sales Flat
Already in a sales slump, retailers may be facing a dismal back-to-school season, or so says a recently released survey from Deloitte & Touche LLP....
From the Runway to the Web
Los Angeles-based startup FashionShowOnline.com (FSO) is banking on the notion that everybody loves a fashion show to open up a new channel of business for the California fashion tra...
Cooling Confidence
Consumer confidence dropped in July, according to the University of Michigan, which compiles the consumer sentiment index. The index fell to 88.1 at the end of the month—an increase over the mid-month ...
No Talking
Talks have been suspended for three weeks between West Coast dockworkers and shippers, and representatives of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) granted the negotiating committee the authority to ...
American Brands, If Not Buyers, Abound at Intermoda
GUADALAJARA, MEXICO—American brands showed side-by-side with Mexican labels, piece goods distributors, technology providers and a few thinly veiled knockoffs at the Intermoda show held July 1...
CMC to Honor Local Latin Designers
The California Market Center (CMC) will honor local designers Estevan Ramos, Alicia Lawhon, Alan Del Rosario, ...
Innovo Group Elects CEO, Relocates Corporate Headquarters to L.A.
Innovo Group Inc. (IGI) is looking to expand its presence in private-label business and move West, said the publicly owned apparel and accessory company, which announced on July 22 the appoin...
EBay Tops List of MAGIC Seminars
Ebay Inc., the Internet auction giant, wants to share its online apparel success with buyers at the upcoming WWDMAGIC Marketplace show in Las Vegas, which will be ...
Retail Strike
About 2,000 union workers staged a two-day strike at 46 Wal-Marts in Germany on July 26 and 27 to urge the retail giant to join Germany’s regional wage-bargaining system. Wal-Mart responded by saying it was ob...
Trying On New Sizes
All shoppers are not created equal—and that has proved to be lucrative to the companies that have carved out a niche business designing and selling apparel for women and men who don’t fall into the trad...
GE Capital Split Four Ways
GE Capital, the financial services division of General Electric, is being split into four separate entities, with the goal of streamlining management and providing direct communicati...
Myers to Receive Thalians Award
Design consultant Ida Myers has been tapped to receive the fifth annual Thalians Lifesaver Award at a Sept. 21 brunch at the Warehouse restaurant in Marina del Rey, Calif....
Retail Redevelopment
The Santa Barbara Plaza in the Crenshaw district of Los Angeles may soon get a facelift and a new name thanks to a $125 million proposal by Capital Vision Equities, a local developer, and an investmen...
West Coast Exclusive Spring 2003 Show Set to Open
The Spring 2003 installment of the West Coast Exclusive, a boutique show of upscale menswear, opens Aug. 4 at the W Hotel in Los Angeles, running through Aug. 6....
Riley Adds Shoes
Los Angeles-based contemporary and children’s manufacturer Riley is launching a fashion-forward collection of footwear for women and children. ...
Saks Scouts for New Lines
Taking a cue from New York specialty retailer Henri Bendel, competitor Saks Fifth Avenue is scouting for emerging designers....
Gerber Gets Relief From Lenders
Gerber Scientific Inc., parent company of Gerber Technology, has reached an agreement with its lenders to amend certain stipulations within its credit agreement as well as extend cre...
Style on Rodeo
Badgley and Mischka’s Rodeo Drive boutique in Beverly Hills, Calif., served as the backdrop for the recent kickoff of the “Jaguar’s Tribute to Style on Rodeo Drive 2002” ...
Moreno Launches L.A. Trend Forecasting Service
Trish Moreno, former executive director of marketing for the California Mart, has formed a new trend forecasting service with a Los Angeles slant....
Workers' Center Posts Anti-Forever 21 Billboard
Escalating its boycott campaign against Forever 21, the Garment Worker Center (GWC) in Los Angeles has posted a billboard across from the city’s Beverly Center shopping mall...
Bohbots to Receive Humanitarian Award
Marc and Michele Bohbot, owners of Los Angeles-based contemporary label Bisou Bisou, will receive the Humanitarian Award at the 29th annual Jerry Lewis Pre...
