California Apparel News

Fledgling trade show focuses on print development, trend forecasting.

Print and design services trade show Preacute;lude held its second run Jan. 24–25 at the California Market Center, where designers turned out to shop for original artwork, vintage textiles and patterns, and scout out the latest trends from several forecasting services.

The show, which first bowed last August, is organized by Studio City, Calif.–based Patricia Brandt Company, which represents several print studios and trend services including London-based Whiston and Wright and Italian-based Studio 33 and Studio New Age.

This season, the show moved from the CMC’s 13th floor to the Fashion Theater. While the new location is conveniently located off the main lobby and close to registration, most exhibitors said they preferred the 13th floor with its panoramic view and more open layout.

“[The Fashion Theater] was a nice fit, but for the future, we would like to go back to the 13th floor because we can have the seminars there and be self-contained,” said Brandt.

Brandt lined up a full roster of trend seminars including seminars by Doneger Creative Services, Design Options Inc., Trudy Adler Design Services/Carlin International and Trend West, Los Angeles.

This season, the show featured 35 booths including Southern California firms LyndaWeinstein Design Resources, Garreau Designs, Periscope, European Design, Judy Rosenberg and A3 Design Solutions.

Attendance figures were not available at press time, but Brandt said traffic was considerably higher than last season.

Among the local companies that dropped by the show were Forever 21, Charlotte Tarantola, Malibu Dream Girl, David Meister, Kellwood West, Karen Kane, Vince, Knitworks/ Design Zone, Billabong, City Girl, Skechers, Pacific Sunwear, Baby Style and Poleci. The show also drew designers from Seattle-based Indigo Palms, Petaluma, Calif.–based catalog Athleta and several Northern California designers.

Returning to the show was Paul Brewster, owner of London-based print house Brewster and its newer secondary line HB. The 8- year-old company specializes in sophisticated prints for the contemporary market under the Brewster banner. Last year, the company launched HB to focus on a younger market. The HB line includes denim and denimfriendly styles with plenty of details including specialty washes and stamping, appliqueacute;s, and stenciling.

Brewster said he travels to the West Coast each month to show one of two lines to designers. (He alternates between the two collections each month.) Despite his frequent trips to California, Brewster said Preacute;lude provides opportunities to meet new designers and open new accounts.

“Last season, I met some new people and made some sales,” he said. “It’s a good platform and a good leveler—people can see you next to other companies.”

First-time exhibitor Matthew Gosline of New York–based Tom Cody Design said he had heard about Preacute;lude’s first show from several of his clients and decided to join the second run. The company already has several West Coast accounts and typically travels to California about every five weeks.

“Our look fits with the Los Angeles contemporary market,” he said. Tom Cody Design specializes in original artwork created in studios in the United States and the U.K. The company, which employs 15 artists in London and 15 in New York, releases a new collection every two weeks, he said. In addition, the company offers a small line of vintage textiles.

Early for Spring

Most exhibitors brought their Spring collections to the show. But many attendees were still working on Holiday.

“It’s a little early for Spring for the West Coast, they seem to work closer to season,” noted Brewster.

But the timing was just right for Los Angeles designer David Meister, who said he is working on his Resort/Spring ’06 collections.

This was the first time at the show for Meister, although his creative director attended last season and recommended he visit this time.

“You can breeze through and see everything under one roof,” he said. Meister spent the entire day at the show, working primarily with print houses he had worked with in the past.

The designer said prints make up about 50 percent of his dress line. Although he uses few prints for his sportswear line, they remain integral to the collection, he said.

“Each group revolves around a print, it sets the tone and mood. It’s so important for the collection.”

Robert D’Amour, vice president of Los Angeles–based Baby Style, also spent an entire day at the show with his design team. The group attended David Wolfe’s trend presentation in between shopping for prints, primarily from companies D’Amour had worked with in the past.

“We found one new company—Garreau—and they are local, which is great,” he said.

D’Amour said about 20 percent of the Baby Style collection is prints, and added, “It’s not a high percentage, but it’s what tells the story.”