California Apparel News

Urban/Suburban, the young men’s and junior urban apparel and footwear show held at the California Market Center in Los Angeles, opened to scant traffic, but focused buyers were on the hunt for innovative new products.

The biannual show, which ran Oct. 13–15 on the CMC’s fourth floor, featured new and top-selling urban streetwear lines. This year’s show grew to include junior and children’s labels such as Lady Royalty, Chica, Apple Bottoms and EckoKids.

The show’s junior offerings have grown by 30 percent this year, according to CMC Director of Merchandise Karen Mamont.

“We’re excited about the growth in urban junior lines,” she said. “When the junior urban category first developed, the styles were baggy, but the category has developed into sexy, fitted and more bodyconscious styles.”

Specialty retailers such as Berninis, D.E.M.O., Metropolis, Mr. Rags, Mensland, Focus and AQ were among those who came to the show. Several exhibitors said the show was mostly appointmentoriented, with most buyers placing orders for immediate and early-Spring deliveries.

This season, organizers moved the show to coincide with the Los Angeles Junior & Contemporary Majors Market at the CMC to capitalize on the majors market’s department store and specialty chain traffic.

This run of the show also featured the first Urban/Suburban runway event. The well-attended show, held on opening night in the CMC’s fashion theater, featured a range of styles from young men’s and junior labels (see related story on page here).

Still, foot traffic in the halls was sparse despite the large selection of new lines. Some exhibitors expressed their disappointment in the lack of excitement at the show. Noticeably absent was a deejay, who at previous shows had helped keep buyers enthused about the urban products, which are heavily influenced by hip-hop music, exhibitors said.

“We’re paying close attention to this vibrant new urban exhibitor base,” said Kelly Whitlow, director of trade shows at the CMC. “For this market, we put our efforts into a highly successful runway show, which shined a spotlight on the key urban resources. Going forward, we’ll continue a dialog with our permanent and visiting exhibitors, and you can watch for great things to happen.”

The show was chock-full of new product, noted specialty store owner Michael Ash of Private Collection in Los Angeles. Ash’s shopping list included fleece, outerwear and denim styles by Mecca, Phat Farmand Marithe + Francois Girbaud.

Indeed, there was plenty of flashy street style represented at the show, which occupied the CMC’s fourth-floor C wing. Urban streetwear exhibitors such as Meoshe Clothing, Pepe Jeans London, Snoop Dog, Fila, Headgear and Ecko Unltd. served up a plethora of edgy streetwear looks, while young women’s urban resources such as EckoRed, Fila, Chica, J.Lo and Mecca Femme offered cute, funky styles with pure streetwear attitude.

Spring was in the air at Ecko Unltd.’s showroom, where buyers placed orders for Spring ’04 and Summer ’04 collections. Based in New York, the 10-year-old streetwear label is projecting a sales increase of more than 10 percent this year, said West Coast sales rep Rob Goshen. “This year, the company offered several interpretations of the athletic jersey, which took off at retail,” he said.

Ecko’s focus goes beyond streetwear with styles that appeal to crossover customers in surf, skate and motocross categories, Goshen said. Short-sleeved striped velour polo shirts ($48 retail), five-pocket denim pants with dry-blast treatments ($64 retail), and quilted and fleece athletic suits with embroidered patchwork ($149 retail for each set) are just a few looks the collection offers.

EckoRed’s two-pocket denim pants with sandblast treatments and satin-trim details ($79 retail), short-sleeved V-neck button-up V-neck shirts with satin karate belts and matching capri pants ($140 retail for the set), and a denim vest with a jersey- and-fleece hood and caviar-bead embellishments ($89 retail) caught the attention of buyers from Gottschalks and D.E.M.O.

Several buyers were spotted in Apple Bottoms’ showroom checking out the new young women’s streetwear line by hiphop artist Nelly, who is among several musicians—including Eve, Eminem and Jay-Z—crossing over into the fashion industry with edgy apparel collections. The line, which debuted at MAGIC International in August, has more than 100 accounts with specialty retailers, including Moneys and Up Against the Wall on the East Coast, said sales rep Billy Windham.

The line offers crosshatch denim styles with sandblast treatments and embroidered apple patches on the back pockets ($36 wholesale), velour tops with cabbage-ruffle sleeves and stud details ($28 wholesale), and extended-hem skirts with jagged edges ($25 wholesale) for Jan. 1 deliveries.