French Connection

High above street level with an expansive view of downtown Los Angeles is a little slice of Lyon, France—at least, that will be the case at the California Market Center during the biannual Los Angeles International Textile Show.

The textile show, dubbed by organizers as the nation’s largest, typically hosts 350 exhibitors of fabrics, fibers, designs, trims and textile technology. The Oct. 20–22 run at the CMC will boast two international pavilions: Texitalia, a group of Italian fabric companies organized by the Italian Trade Commission, will convene in the fashion theater, and the French Pavilion, organized by Espace Textile, will assemble in part of the open-plan penthouse pavilion on the 13th floor.

Espace Textile is a Lyon-based organization that assists French textile mills, dyers and finishers, textile designers and apparel makers. The organization provides companies with directional trend information on a monthly basis, assists them in marketing and strategy development, and helps them identify and enter growing international markets in North America and Asia. Espace Textile is also a co-organizer of European Preview, the New York–based textile show co-organized by Premiegrave;re Vision.

The impetus behind the French Pavilion began three years ago, when Espace Textile International Export Manager Agneacute;s Elisabelair came to investigate the market and met with textile representatives, including several that act on behalf of French companies. At the time, there was concern about whether there was enough of a high-end local market for French textiles and whether the designers and manufacturers could meet the companies’ minimums. Encouraged by the success of Texitalia and the growing contemporary and designer market in Los Angeles, Espace Textile took the plunge and brought a small contingent of mills to the following show. The pavilion has grown steadily each year and this month will house nine exhibitors, including Goutarel, Chaine et Trame, J.B. Bernard, Deveaux, Sprintex, Henitex, Sofileta, Tissus Marey and Milag.

Recently, California Apparel News Executive Editor Alison A. Nieder met with several companies participating in the French Pavilion at the Los Angeles International Textile Show to discuss their businesses, their products and their growing interest in the Los Angeles market.

Komar & Cie Genay, FranceFabrics: jerseys, jacquards, taffetas, gauzes, georgettes, application prints, discharge prints and a small amount of pigment prints Production capacity: 20,000 meters/day for prints; 10,000 meters/day for solids Markets: France, England, Spain, the Caribbean, Mexico and the United States Description: Komar began more than 50 years ago as a converting company. Today, the company’s holdings include a knit mill in Rouen, France, a partnership with a jacquarddyeing facility in Como, Italy, and an extensive dyeing and finishing facility in Genay, outside of Lyon. The Genay location is also home to the company’s design studio, fabric library and print archive, which includes an extensive collection of antique prints.

Jersey is popular among Komar’s West Coast clients, which include Bebe Stores Inc., Tessuto Inc., A.B.S. by Alan B. Schwartz and Arden B., according to Komar’s Philippe Dumont, who said there is still room to grow the company’s business in the California market.

Sofileta S.A. Bourgoin-Jallieu, France Fabrics: high-tech and performance fabrics, warp and circular knits, and lining fabrics Production capacity: 15 million meters/ year Markets: France, Germany, Great Britain, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, Asia and the United States Price ranges: 7–8 euros average (FOB) Description: The 97-year-old company was strictly a commission dyeing facility until the 1970s, when it branched first into lining fabrics for tailored apparel, then into knits and finally into performance fabrics for the active-sports and outdoor apparel industries. The company also produces fire-retardant fabrics for specialized applications, including use by the military, firefighters and Formula One race-car drivers.

A year and a half ago, the company opened a U.S. office in Los Angeles headed by Tai Hwang. The U.S. market is still a relatively small percentage of Sofileta’s business, but it is growing.

The company’s U.S. client base includes Gap Body, St. John Knits International Inc., Bebe Sport, Carushka Inc., San Francisco City Lights, Patagonia Inc., Polo Ralph Lauren Corp., Avirex Ltd., Canary and Insport International Inc. About 70 percent of Sofileta’s U.S. business is based on the West Coast, according to Eric Firmann, export manager for the company.

Sofileta has low minimums (typically 120 meters) and carries some of its circular knit colors in stock. Some of the company’s bestselling fabrics include Supplex/Lycra and Meryl/ Lycra blends and power-stretch and performance fabrics with antibacterial, moisture- management or thermal properties.

Sofileta’s newest product is Sofly, a 40- gram ripstop fabric made from superfine yarns used in paragliding, kite surfing and sailing.

Milag S.A. Venissieux Cedex, FranceFabrics: jacquards (both stretch and rigid), warp prints, taffetas and paper prints Production capacity: 480,000 meters/ month for prints Markets: France, the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia Price range: 5 to 20 euros Description: Milag is a familyowned jacquard mill that was founded 35 years ago. The company was originally based in Paris, but moved to Lyon three years ago to be closer to the production facility. The company also produces its own heattransfer paper prints out of a facility in Lyon.

Milag has always done well in the United States, according to France-based representative Francoise Chaoui. But after Sept. 11, when business with U.S. companies dropped off, Milag owner and Managing Director Isabelle Walsh began looking for new U.S. markets.

Milag will return to the Los Angeles International Textile Show in October for the second season.

Chaoui said that while the company already did business with Los Angeles companies such as Karen Kane Inc., Jonathan Martin, Bebe and Laundry by Shelli Segal, the Los Angeles show opened the door to new contacts with apparel companies, as well as with companies manufacturing furniture and decorative arts.

Among the new developments are washable coatings for jacquards that give the fabric a stone-washed effect, warp prints and three-color taffetas.

J.B. Bernard Saint-Etienne, France Fabrics: jacquards (both stretch and rigid) Production capacity: 55,000 yards/month Markets: United States, France and Europe Price range: $8.50 to $15 (FOB stock prices) Description: J.B. Bernard is a family-owned jacquard mill that was founded in 1888. With the fifth generation of the family at the helm, the company expanded its focus 10 years ago from menswear—primarily ties—to women’s apparel. Today, about 35 percent of the company’s business is in women’s apparel, according to director Pierre Bernard. The company is based in Saint-Etienne, near Lyon, and the mill is 90 kilometers away. The company does not stock fabric and relies instead on quick-turn times for strike-offs and production yardage. Strike-offs can be delivered in days, and lead time for production yardage is three weeks.

“People think because we don’t have stock the lead times are long, [but] our customers can order only what they need—they don’t have to anticipate,” Bernard said. And there are no minimum yardage requirements for stock orders.

Among the company’s latest developments are new looms that allow for a 25-inch repeat.

J.B. Bernard also produces jacquard scarves that can be customized with customers’ names.

Goutarel Lyon, France Fabrics: jacquards, lace, embroidery, re-embroidered lace, flocking and hand-painted silks Markets: 50 percent of production is for high-end French businesses; the company also works with businesses in Japan, the Middle East, Italy and the United States.Price ranges: an average of 18 euros for jacquards, 120 euros for handmade lace tablecloths and 25 to 30 euros for hand-painted fabrics Description: Goutarel is a lace maker that was founded in 1927. The company specializes in lace, embroidery and handmade embroidery for napkins and tablecloths and also provides lace and embroidery for haute couture designers and for the bridal, cocktail and evening markets. In addition, the company produces silk and silky products for jackets and handpainted silk fabrics, as well as embroidery on tulle, flocking on net and jacquards.

Goutarel conducts embroidery and hand painting in its Lyon facilities.

For other finishes, Goutarel contracts with other companies in the surrounding area.

Goutarel will be exhibiting for the third time at the Los Angeles International Textile Show in October. The company also partici pates in Premiegrave;re Vision, Moda In in Milan, Italy, the Tokyo Fair and the European Preview.

Chaine et Trame Dardilly, FranceFabrics: printed wovens and knits Markets: France, Europe, Asia, Taiwan, South Korea, Singapore and the United States Price range: 3 to 6 euros Description: Chaine et Trame was originally created to be a quickturn print house in reaction to the established, traditional mills in Lyon. The company purchased a weaving mill and printing factory in the 1990s. Today, the company prints on its own woven fabrics and on woven and knitted goods purchased from other sources, said Delphine Andriot, production manager for the company.

Chaine et Trame specializes in prints for the fashion-forward junior and contemporary markets—although the company produces some prints for an older, “more classical” customer at a higher price point, she noted.

Andriot, who had been a textile designer for the company before she switched to production, said the current strong prints are typographic treatment patterns, tailoring stripes, engineered stripes, plaids, Chinoserie, optics, geometrics and Belle Epoch prints. But a recent Paris exhibition highlighting former first lady Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis should drive interest in ’60s-themed “Jackie O” fabrics in France next summer, she said.

Andriot said the next step for Chaine et Trame is to find a Chinese textile factory to partner with so the company can offer a range of printed fabrics at various price points.