Stories for January 2004

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Friday, January 30

Blue Cult Gets Into Tech Fashions

The marriage of fashion and technology continues to gain interest on the manufacturing front. Vernon, Calif.–based denim specialist Blue Cult Inc. recently aligned with the Hewlett-Packard C...

The Future Looks Brighter for California Apparel Industry in 2004

The worst may be over for the California apparel industry, but there are still some hurdles ahead for 2004. That’s what members of the California Fashion Association, which h...

Fashion Designer's Archives Find Home at UCLA Library

Designer Bonnie Cashin grew up working at her mother’s custom dressmaking shops in San Francisco and Los Angeles. By the time she was a young woman, she was off to New York to design costumes ...

Industry Mixed on IMG's Fashion Week Shift

Could the fashion worlds of Los Angeles and Europe be growing closer? If IMG has anything to do with it, they will....

Nicole's Golf Gear

New York–based designer Nicole Miller has struck a deal with Phoenix-based Glove It LLC for a line of golf gloves in novelty prints, coordinating accessories, pouches and visors. The collection bowed a...

QRS Rolls Out Product Data Tracker

Richmond, Calif.–based QRS Corp., best known for its EDI (electronic data interchange) catalogs for retailers, is expanding into the enterprise software arena with a new product calle...

Fashion District Turns Up Nose to Wal-Mart

A recent study released by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. said the 40 “super centers” that Wal-Mart Stores Inc. intends to build in Califor...

McQueen's L.A. Debut

Alexander McQueen made his Los Angeles debut on Jan. 21 with the presentation of his

New Invista Team

Invista, the apparel and home textiles division recently sold by DuPont to Koch Industries, named a new business team following the departure of Invista President Steven R. McCracken. William Ghitis will oversee the Invista ...

MAGIC Brand Building

Representatives from Avirex, Dollhouse, Teen People and Stuff magazines will be among the panelists at a MAGIC International seminar titled “Brand Cohesion,” hosted by the Gal...

Post 2005 on Slate at ASAP

The Las Vegas run of the ASAP Global Sourcing Show will feature a seminar titled “Global Sourcing Post 2005—A Quota-Free Era” on Feb. 23. The seminar will be given by Thomas G. Travis, ma...

TALA's Jack Stein Dies at 72

Apparel and textile transportation and warehousing executive Jack Stein died on Jan. 21 from complications resulting from cancer....

Custom Mannequins Evoke the Changing Face of Fashion

Need a barometer of society’s changing beauty ideals? Call Norman Glazer at Patina-V. Retailers around the world employ him to build mannequins their shoppers will find ravishing....

C&B Head to China

Seattlebased sportswear maker Cutter & Buck has struck a deal with Tokyobased Descente Ltd. to distribute Cutter & Buck apparel in China, Hong Kong and Macao. Descente currently holds the dist...

Long-Suffering O.C. Shopping Mall Set for Demolition, Renovation

The longtime loser in Orange County’s mall wars may finally be on its way to becoming a big winner...

Tarrant Closes Mexican Facility

After a string of layoffs and closures at other facilities, Los Angeles–based Tarrant Apparel Group is closing its plant in Ajalpan, Mexico....

Hong Kong Fashion Week

HONG KONG—Leland Smith, a Los Angeles businessman whose childrenswear company is on the move lately, was a bit of an oddity at the recent...

Menswear's New Concept: Contemporary

After years of steady sales of contemporary women’s apparel, men are getting in on the action...

Friday, January 23

Swim Seen

The California Market Center and the Cristina Angarola Showroom in Los Angeles hosted a Summer ’04 swimwear fashion show highlighting the latest styles of Susan Holmes, desig...

IMG Moves L.A. Fashion Week Dates

IMG, the New York-based producers of Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A., will host its runways shows a full week before Los Angeles Market Week when it stages its events during the F...

Top Cos. to Present at AAFA Summit

Representatives of Nike Inc., the Authentic Fitness Corp., Li & Fung USA, the J. Jill Group and American Textile wi...

Sue Wong, Cosmo Girl

Next month, fashion publication Cosmopolitan will honor Los Angeles–based designer Sue Wong with its “Fun Fearless Female” award, an annual award recognizing women who best exemplify the...

FIDM Hosts Film Costume Exhibit

The Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising will kick off its 12th annual “The Art of Motion Picture Costume Design” exhibit on Feb. 2 at the Museum Galleries in FIDM’s d...

Sun Capital Buys Anchor Blue

Anchor Blue, the Ontario, Calif.–based retail chain that focuses on teens and jeans, brought in the new year with a new owner and a new president....

Forest City Thinks Big in California

California has been called a brutal retail war zone, but Cleveland- based Forest City Enterprises Inc. has been bullish enough on the state to not only co-develop more than 3.3 million square...

Online Retail Growth

Online sales are on track to hit $65 billion in 2004 and will continue to grow at an annual rate of 17 percent through 2008, when sales are projected to reach $117 billion, according to Internet resea...

New Companies, New Lines Keep ASR Buzzing

The excitement over trucker hats has died down, but the Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, held January 17–19, delivered new excitement with new brands, innovative products and strong business...

Urban Fashion Awards

The second annual Urban Fashion Awards show will be held Feb. 25 in Las Vegas during MAGIC International. The event— which will feature music performances; mini fashion shows; and an awards ceremony for the Ur...

Cotton Talk

Trade opportunities for manufacturers, retailers and importers looking into sourcing production in Caribbean Basin Initiative, Andean and sub-Saharan countries will top the bill at the Cotton Sourcing Summit,...

Agenda Returns to San Diego

Alternative apparel trade show Agenda, which debuted in San Diego last September to coincide with the resident Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo, held its second installat...

China Changes

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements has changed some of the requirements for imported knit fabrics, dressing gowns and bras coming from China to the United States. CITA dropped ...

Rising Cotton Prices Don't Hinder Exhibitors at ISS

Despite concerns over rising cotton prices, garment and technology suppliers exhibiting at the Imprinted Sportswear Show, held Jan. 16–18 at the Long Beach Convention Center...

Dillard's to Anchor New Border Town Mall

Dillard’s is boosting its presence in California. The Little Rock, Ark.–based department store chain will be one of four anchors in the proposed Imperial Valley Mall in El Centro, Cali...

Wet Seal Settles AB633 Suit

The Wet Seal Inc. agreed to pay $90,000 this week to settle a suit four garment workers brought against the Foothill Ranch, Calif.–based retailer and Los Angeles–based DT Sewing, the W...

CIM in Deal to Buy Hollywood & Highland

Hollywood-based real estate company CIM Group Inc. has reportedly struck a deal with Hollywood & Highland developer Trizec Properties to purchase the retail and entertai...

American Apparel's Healthy Business

Los Angeles–based blank T-shirt maker American Apparel is encouraging its 1,300 employees to be healthier while they work to be wealthier....

LATV's Lopez in Chica

Los Angeles–based label Chica Inc. will feature LATV V-Jay Patricia Lopez in its Spring/Summer 2004 ad campaign. Lopez, who hosts music video show “Mex 2 the Max,” will first appear in Ch...

Grupo Aviara to License Cherokee Brand

Cherokee Inc. is heading south of the border....

Business Roars Back at January Market in L.A.

The Summer ’04 run of Los Angeles Market Week, held Jan. 16–20, exceeded expectations for many reps as retailers turned out in force to shop among downtown ...

Friday, January 16

Rocawear Juniors

Gerry Building, suite 304(213) 629-0107...

Trade Issues on the Agenda at CFA Meeting

Global trade issues and fluctuating currencies will be among the topics discussed at the California Fashion Association’s general membership meeting on Jan. 22 at The Califor...

The 411 on Industry (212)

Bright outlook at show’s January run ...

RFID Gets Top Billing at NRF Expo

With apparel industry suppliers scurrying to comply with the radio frequency identification (RFID) mandates set by Wal-Mart Stores Inc.,...

Action Girl, Resort Lines Join Surf Expo in Orlando San Francisco Market

ORLANDO, FLA.—Fresh styles and a new buyer-friendly format at the Jan. 10–12 run of Surf Expo, held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla., gave exhibitors an...

Hertz Sells Oviatt

Hertz Investments, owner of the California Market Center and a number of other Los Angeles properties, has sold the historic Oviatt Building to a Beverly Hills–based...

Mac & Jac

California Market Center B388(213) 488-3371 ...

Bizzaro

The New Mart, suite 1100 (213) 683-9904 ...

New at Sandler & Travis

Trade consulting firm Sandler & Travis Trade Advisory Services has hired Dennis Curran as vice president of global development. Curran will concentrate on the global expansion of the company’s cons...

No Sweat

First there were sexy sweats. Now there are sweatless sweats. Atlanta-based Russell Athletic is launching a line of “Sweatless Sweats,” made from a moisture-management fabric. The collection is ...

Griffith Joins CMC Leasing Staff

The California Market Center in Los Angeles has hired Megan Griffith as director of leasing, fashion. Griffith will head up leasing for the women’s contemporary category, as well as for the sw...

Jim Osterman Dies at 51

Third-generation textile industry executive Jim Osterman died on Jan. 10 after suffering a heart attack. He was 51....

Positively Third Street

Bracketed between two of the biggest retail attractions in Los Angeles, an unlikely new group of retailers has popped up on the mile of Third Street between The Grove and the Beverly Center....

On Beverly Heads to Sunset

Since 2000, Shawna Stein has brought her special touch to couture at her boutique On Beverly. Now the veteran retailer is bringing On Beverly to Sunset Boulevard....

CMC to Open quot;Street Couturequot; Section

The California Market Center in Los Angeles is opening a new section, dubbed “Street Couture,” for alternative and street clothing lines....

Hard Tail Launches Denim

Casual activewear maker Hard Tail is reentering the denim business with a new line of jeans, which bowed at the recent Intermezzo trade show in New York. The company, based in Santa Monica, ...

Kellwood's Phat Deal

St. Louis–based apparel maker Kellwood Co. has acquired New York–based Phat Fashions, makers of the Phat Farm, Baby Phat and Phat labels. Phat Fashions founder Russell Simmons and his wife, Baby Phat fo...

Imports Up

Imports of apparel grew 9.8 percent in the first 11 months of 2003, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Imports from Central American countries Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras a...

Twelfth Street by Cynthia Vincent

Cooper Design Space, suite 215 (213) 236-0555 ...

Holiday Sales: Mixed Bag

It was the strongest Holiday season since 1999, according to Michael Niemira, chief economist for the New York–based International Council of Shopping Centers. Comparable-store sales grew more than 4...

Signs of Economic Recovery Lift Spirits at San Francisco Market

SAN FRANCISCO—Northern California retailers and apparel manufacturers from around the world greeted the new year with the Golden Gate Apparel Association’s (GGAA) Fashion Market San F...

Factory 2-U Files

San Diego–based off-price retailer Factory 2-U filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, citing plans to restructure about $73.5 million in debt. The company operates more than 240 stores and plans t...

Textile Employment Down

Textile employment nationwide fell by 10 percent to 428,000 in 2003, according to the American Textile Manufacturers Institute in its recently released annual year-end trade report. “The indust...

Friday, January 9

Defining the Classic Ten

Coco Chanel may have turned the little black dress into a fashion icon, but the little black dress as a symbol of sexy defiance made its appearance earlier in Edith Wharton’s 1920 novel about 19th-century soci...

Kim to Serve as President of ACAC

Industry veteran Sam Kim has been elected the 2004 president of the Apparel Contractors Alliance of California (ACAC), the umbrella association of the Amer...

Otis and MAGIC

MAGIC International will fund a $25,000 grant for design students at Otis College of Art & Design and will spotlight several students’ designs at the February trade show in Las Vegas. The grant has...

Site-seeing in 2004

The California Apparel News’ Web site,

Mossimo Acquires Modern Amusement

Mossimo Giannulli is getting back to his Orange County roots....

Lectra Acquires Investronica in $65m Deal

Paris-based technology provider Lectra has acquired the number-three player in the CAD/CAM market, Investronica Sistemas, for $65.4 million (51.5 million euros) in cash, stock and debt. The ...

CMC's New Look for the 'New' Misses

The misses category at the California Market Center in Los Angeles is getting a new look....

SARS Doesn't Scare Away California Cos.

Despite the reappearance of a new confirmed case of severe acute respiratory syndrome, West Coast apparel companies are not curtailing their plans to travel to Asia...

Licensing the Endless Summer

“The Endless Summer,” the 1964 seminal surf film, is on its way to becoming a surf brand, thanks to the film’s director, Bruce Brown....

Isenberg, Sides to Open Street-Level Showroom

Two major showrooms are hitting the street in downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District....

2J Group Gets GirlStar

Irvine-based 2J Group, a division of Petters Group Worldwide, landed the GirlStar Swimwear license from Gotcha International LP, a limited liability partnership based in Delaware. 2J Group will produc...

What's Next: Accessories Designers Find Inspiration in New Niches

What’s the next big thing in accessories? It could be muscle car nostalgia, Far Eastern handcrafts, the rugged glamour of the Old West or Grace Kelly’s effortless chic. In fact, severa...

Chaus Picks Up Steffe

New York–based misses manufacturer Bernard Chaus Inc. acquired contemporary line Cynthia Steffe from LF Brands for an undisclosed amount. LF Brands, which makes apparel under Leslie Fay and other label...

Buchalter Dies at 66

Buchalter, Nemer, Fields & Younger counsel Stuart Buchalter died unexpectedly on Jan. 6 while traveling in New York. He was 66....

Wet Seal Puts Zutopia Up for Sale

All 31 of The Wet Seal Inc.’s Zutopia preteen specialty shops will close if the company does not find a buyer by the end of the first quarter of fiscal 2004, according to Peter D. Whitford, c...

CIT Buys HSBC's Factoring Division

Livingston, N.J.–based CIT Group Inc., a leading global source of factoring and financing for apparel businesses nationwide, has acquired all of the U.S. factoring assets and liabilities of H...

Costume Designers Guild Names Nominees

The Beverly Hills–based Costume Designers Guild has named the nominees for its annual awards event, planned for Feb. 21 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills....

Agenda and Alternative Brands Move Into CMC

Agenda—a trade show for alternative fashion, music and art—has signed on to stage shows during the April and October market weeks at the California Market Center in Los Angeles. The show will...

Bauer's California Closures

The Spiegel Group, based in Illinois, will shutter three of its Eddie Bauer stores in California as part of the company’s Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization, which will include the closure of 29 of the company’s 469 ...

AAFA's Competitive Merger

The American Apparel & Footwear Association has merged its Technical Advisory Committee and its Sewn Products Resource Council into the Enterprise Competitiveness Council, which includes more than 80 indu...

Friday, January 2

Wet Seal Invests in Web Site Analyzer

Foothill Ranch, Calif.–based retailer The Wet Seal Inc. is employing new Web analytics technology to measure the effectiveness of its online marketing efforts....

Avery Develops Pinless Shirt Packaging System

Framingham, Mass.–based Avery Dennison Corp. has rolled out a new pinless fastening system for dress shirts....

DMC to Launch Contemporary Scene

The Dallas Market Center will answer demand for contemporary show space in the Southwestern market by launching a set of juried temporary apparel shows in March at the center’s new a...

Beach Patrol Weathers Storm Damage

Carson, Calif.–based swimwear manufacturer Beach Patrol Inc.—maker of Esprit Beach, L.E.I., Baja Blue, Jag and Rebel Beach—suspended its operations...

Last-Minute Spending

Holiday spending was up this season—at least the spending that was put on plastic, according to Visa USA, which found that total spending between Nov. 28 and Dec. 28 increased 14.2 percent over the same period...

Hidden Jobless

The unemployment rate creeps up to 9.7 percent when adjusted to include the underemployed and the “discouraged,” the official term for unemployed workers who stop looking for new jobs, accordi...

Babystyle Opens Boutique in Santa Monica

About 150 guests—several expecting or with tyke in tow—attended the launch of Babystyle’s boutique in Santa Monica, Calif., on Dec. 3....

Leslie Fay Closes

New York–based misses manufacturer Leslie Fay Co. Inc. abruptly shuttered and fired all of its employees. The company emerged from bankruptcy protection in 1997 after an accounting scandal forced the manufacturer to s...

The Baby Trend

Retailers expand their offerings for stylish moms-to-be ...

T-Shirt Maker Moves West

Alternative Apparel, maker of branded and private-label blank T-shirts and headwear for men and women, is heading for a $50 million expansion out West....

Hannah.M Plans L.A. Opening

The Russian Navy clock keeping time inside and the metal mesh sculptures attached to the awning of the new Hannah.M store/showroom in Los Angeles are big clues to designer Hannah Michelson’s m...

Rosansen Boutique Bows in Los Angeles

Southern California is cluttered with golf courses, but it has only one Rosasen. The Los Angeles–based design house, which mixes streetwear and the golf lifestyle, recently opened its first flagship store, on...

Candy Gram

Web site delivers fashion news to subscribers’ e-mail boxes ...

New Hires at Beau Dawson and Tyte

Los Angeles–based better misses and juniors apparel manufacturer 4Whatitsworth Inc. has hired a new team to boost recognition of its brands Beau Dawson and Tyte, acc...

Customs Enforcement Set to Heat Up in '04

If you thought customs officials have been tough on apparel and textile imports, just wait. They’re only going to get tougher in 2004....

TJX Buys Bob's

Framingham, Mass.–based retailer The TJX Cos. Inc. has completed the acquisition of Connecticut-based Bob’s Stores, a discount retail chain with outlets in the Northeast, for about $59 million. The purchase includes Bo...

Redondo Beach Mall Draws Traffic With Wireless Technology

Attracting shoppers to stores is the oldest retail problem. The South Bay Galleria shopping center in Redondo Beach, Calif., hopes to solve this ancient problem with the latest in high techno...

L.A. Co. Buys L.V. Hilton

Los Angeles–based Colony Capital is buying the Las Vegas Hilton for $280 million and plans to renovate the 34-year-old hotel adjacent to the Las Vegas Convention Center, where MAGIC International holds its bia...

Freeborders and Marc Jacobs in Software Deal

Marc Jacobs International LLC will employ the Product Lifecycle Management suite from San Francisco–based Freeborders Inc. to increase supply-chain efficiency....

Tag-It Debuts Trim Management Solution

Woodland Hills, Calif.–based trim supplier Tag-It Pacific Inc. has rolled out a new e-sourcing software solution to facilitate the ordering and shipment of the company’s trim components through...