California Apparel News

SAN FRANCISCO—Immediate deliveries for spring and all things fashion were at the top of buyers’ must-do lists for the Summer 2003 edition of Golden Gate Apparel Association’s (GGAA) Fashion Market of San Francisco, held Jan. 25–28 at the Concourse Exhibition Center.

About 1,400 buyers came to the show to view roughly 600 lines by more than 280 womenswear, shoes and accessories exhibitors, according to GGAA president Craig Hinds.

The number of exhibitors was slightly down from last year’s Summer market, said Hinds.

Even though the apparel show, which is currently held at the center five times a year, got off to a slow start, the number of buyers at the show nearly doubled the day after Super Bowl Sunday.

Buyers from specialty stores and better boutiques in and around the Bay Area showed strong interest in the women’s better and updated missy category, with contemporary styles trailing close behind, said Hinds.

Byer California, Jessica McClintock, WestonWear, Isda & Co. and Eileen Fisher were among the show’s exhibitors. Also featured were collections by Joseph Ribkoff, Jones NY, City Girl, Amy Riggs, Johnny Was, Lacey J. and Riley.

Robbie Wargo of Steven Levinson Sales in Los Angeles—which reps updated missy lines including Galas, Citron, Rico, Saga, Sand Creek and Mermaids—said orders were up about 10 percent compared with last year’s show.

Wargo said he planned to meet with 35 appointments during the four-day run of the show, writing orders for about seven walkins by the third day. Wargo said most of his Bay Area accounts were optimistic, despite poor weather and sluggish business during the holiday months.

“If the weather is good, Bay Area retailers will catch up on business during the summer,” he said.

The weather notwithstanding, buyers remained enthusiastic for new items and key trends.

Rep Tina Bernardi said buyers from Damsel in a Dress of Half Moon Bay, Calif., went wild over Johnny Was army-green cargo-style embroidered skirts ($109) and Lycra tanks with mesh trimming ($22).

New York-based contemporary designer An Wren, who last counted 100 accounts on the West Cost, said buyers from Ambiance in San Francisco and Bridges in Oakland placed orders for retro-style trench coats with large buttons ($85), as well as ivoryand- mango-colored silk swing jackets ($75).

As road rep Rob Gaon put it, “We’re not breaking any sales records here, but we’re not totally in doldrums either—buyers are leaving a paper trail.

“Buyers are aware that business is still a little challenging and consumers are looking for necessity items for their wardrobe,” he added.

Indeed, most buyers at the show said they were planning cautiously for summer, although others came prepared with a list of immediate items.

Janice Glazier, owner of Forget Me Not contemporary clothing and gifts in Danville, Calif., said she placed immediate orders for novelty T-shirts and blouses by contemporary designer Ann Ferriday.

Susan Powning, owner of By Hand boutique in Berkeley, Calif., said she placed orders for Citron’s Asian-inspired printed silk shirts and blouses, and cashmere jackets by Amore San Francisco for late-summer deliveries.

“This really is my market,” she explained. “I only go to Los Angeles if my lines are not showing here.”

Linda Jones-Mixon, owner of Waddle and Swaddle children’s boutique in Berkeley, said she was disappointed that there were only a couple of children’s lines at the show. Jones-Mixon decided to try her luck across the street, at San Francisco’s Gift and Apparel Mart, which has just a handful of apparel showrooms.

Just a few blocks from the show are large empty warehouses that used to be occupied by apparel companies. Even though signs of the dot-com era are beginning to fade into history, the Bay Area’s apparel industry is not immune to a weak economy, explained Hinds.

A large number of local apparel companies that previously attended the show— such as Fritzi California, Esprit de Corps and Eber—have either shuttered their operations or moved their businesses outside the Bay Area.

The Bay Area’s apparel industry has had some serious hard times, said Hinds.

One of GGAA’s goals is to recruit a number of established apparel companies in the Bay Area, including CP Shades, Babette, Fox Racing and Sweet Potato, said Hinds.

“It would be great to have all of San Francisco’s apparel companies involved in fashion market,” he said.