California Apparel News

There were mixed messages coming from the reps at the Oct. 20–22 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show at the California Market Center.

Traffic reports varied. CMC executives said they saw increases in the number of attendees and the number of companies in attendance. The building, which organizes the biannual show, does not release hard attendance figures, but executives said attendees came from further away than in years past, including many new international exhibitors.

Still, several reps said traffic seemed slow, although they said many designers and piece goods buyers were optimistically placing strong orders for sample yardage. Among the companies that turned out for the show were Juicy Couture, Nancy Bolen for City Girl, Casadei, Rampage, Stony Apparel, Self Esteem, John Paul Richard, Joseph Ribkoff, Elisabetta Rogiani, Linda Loudermilk, Anna Huling, Bebe, Poleci, Body Waves, Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit, Forever 21 and True Religion.

The textile show was sandwiched between the Los Angeles Junior & Contemporary Majors Market, held Oct. 13–16, and Los Angeles Fashion Week, set for Oct. 23–Nov. 4. Some reps reported increased requests for in-stock goods for last-minute additions to Spring collections. Many designers limited their time at the show this season or sent assistants to scout out new fabrics. Still, designers for Delphine, Petro Zillia, Alicia Lawhon, Atousa and Mon Petit Oiseau were spotted at the show.

“I’m scampering,” said designer Anna Huling, who walked the show with her infant son.

Petro Zillia designer Nony Tochterman gave herself two hours at the show to search for new wool fabrics before heading back to her headquarters to prepare for her fashion show at Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. (MBSLA) at the Downtown Standard Hotel.

And local designer Atousa was on the hunt for fabrics that had a European look but were stocked domestically and ready to ship.

“Because if the stores want to reorder, if you can’t get it in a month, you can forget it,” she said.

Atousa, who designs under the Atousa and A Liquid Affair labels, took time to walk the show before returning to her preparations for Sew Down, an all-day fashion, art, music and technology event scheduled for Nov. 2 at Qtopia in Hollywood. “I’m trying to get everything done before next week,” she said.

Designer Delphine was surprisingly calm for someone having her debut fashion show the following week at MBSLA. But the former tennis pro–turned–designer explained that she had finished work on her luxury line in June.

“I’m used to high pressure,” she said. “As an athlete, I was playing tennis in front of 5,000 people.”

More to see

The textile show—dubbed by organizers as the biggest in the nation— featured more than 350 exhibitors from the fabric, fiber, trim and design-related services sectors. The show had an international contingent with the Texitalia show featuring Italian mills in the fashion theater, the French Pavilion showcasing French mills in the penthouse pavilion on the 13th floor, and a range of international textile suppliers exhibiting.

The show featured a group of home fabrics exhibitors, who had previously participated in the Showtime West home deacute;cor show.

There was also Technology By Design, a joint effort between the CMC and the California Fashion Association, in which a group of technology companies exhibited their offerings (see related story on page 1).

Show organizers also moved the trendforecasting services to booths in the atrium lobby and posted trend boards featuring upcoming colors, patterns and prints from companies participating in the show.

A brisk opening day dropped off to a slower-than-usual show for Eric Firmann of French technical fabric line Sofileta. But he was nonetheless pleased with the show overall.

“We always see four or five new accounts that are interesting for us,” he said. “If this works out, I’m happy with the show.”

Domestic knit converter Naturally Knits drew a consistent crowd at its booth in the penthouse pavilion. At times, reps had to bring sample headers out to buyers waiting to get in, said Ann Davis, who reps the line.

“We had a wonderful, wonderful show,” she said. “My important customers have all been here.”

Davis said she saw interest in fabrics for garment dyeing, as well as in organic and recycled fabrics. Designers and fabric buyers were also on the lookout for velours, knit ribs, jerseys, sherpa and fleece, she said.

A handful of exhibitors were moved from the exhibition hall to the 13th floor to make room for the Technology By Design show.

“So far, so good,” said Freddy Enbom, president of Montreal- based lining supplier S. Zinman Textiles, one of the companies that moved upstairs.

Enbom said he was pleased to see a local manufacturing base in Los Angeles.

“It’s nice and positive to see people are looking to create here,” he said. “I think a big part of North American manufacturing is going to stay here.”

Still, the company has made some changes to accommodate overseas customers and production. S. Zinman recently opened a warehouse in Shanghai to expedite shipping to Eastern Europe and Asia, Enbom said. So far, the warehouse is only stocking coat linings but will carry a wider range of the line soon.

New home for home deacute;cor

The new home deacute;cor exhibitors were loosely grouped near the C entrance of the penthouse pavilion, although there were some other home deacute;cor fabric suppliers scattered throughout the show. Exhibitors reported strong crossover traffic from both interior designers and apparel and accessories designers.

“We are pleased as punch,” said Jim Hixon, West Coast sales manager for Covington Industries, a home-furnishings fabrics converter based in New York and Los Angeles.

Showtime West was previously held separate from the Los Angeles textile show. The original plan had been to have the Showtime West exhibitors set up in temporary space on the seventh floor during the textile show. But, because renovations were not yet complete on the seventh floor, organizers moved the home deacute;cor exhibitors upstairs—a move Hixon said worked out well for him.

“I think attendance is better [at the textile show],” he said. “In the past, people came to one show and not the other. I think that the fact that we were given the opportunity to move from the seventh floor to the 13th floor has made a difference.”

New at Market

bull; Richard Karz of Tarzana, Calif.–based Karz Textiles International brought a new Italian print line called Pasarlea, which generated interest from buyers at his booth in Texitalia. Karz’s other lines included contemporary cotton stretch line Gallas and knit line Silanco. Stretch bottoms line Al Modo did particularly well in Los Angeles, Karz said.

bull; QST Industries bowed a new fiber-optic fabric called Luminex, which garnered attention from costume designers for “Star Trek” and Disneyland. The company had samples in black and white that were sprinkled with illuminated blue specks of light. The technology does not come cheap, however; prices range from $150 to $350 per yard. The battery-operated fabric can be made in stretch fabrications and has applications for costume design and safety apparel, said Shane Rabineau, product manager for Rotofil, another technical fabric under the QST banner.

bull; John Marshall, a rep for Solstiss, a high-end lace line out of France, bowed a new line of hand-painted and burnout velvet called Bouton-Renaud. Other lines, including knits from Bucol and highly embellished fabrics from Embellis, also got good reactions, he said. Among the designer lines that stopped by were Baracci and Tyler, he said.