Updated Designer Has Roots in Los Angeles and China

When China began emerging as a dominant manufacturing source for apparel companies in the early 1990s, Los Angeles designer Vera Devletian seized the moment. Twelve years later, Devletian lives and works in Shenzhen, where she produces her misses/contemporary lines Vera Cristina and Arev. “You have to be there to get the quality you want to attain,” said Devletian, speaking at the recent MAGIC Marketplace in Las Vegas, where she showed embellished and washed denim as well as combat looks from Arev and more feminine “geisha” silhouettes in her Vera Cristina collection.

Devletian’s misses/contemporary lines feature a tremendous amount of detail work, including hand beading, embroidery and lacing, which have become her signature.

Her lines feature 50 styles wholesale priced from $40–$198.

“It’s for the woman who has self-confidence and wants to look younger,” said the designer. “The beauty of it is that we can sell to the missy or contemporary customer.”

“Stores love to put them in their windows to dress it up,” added Sharon Koshet, who sells the line out of her California Market Center showroom.

“The fit is perfect and the details exactly what you are looking for with ready-to-wear,” added buyer Katherine Wire of Marshall Russo in Las Vegas.

Devletian likens the work to near haute-couture quality. Attaining such a level can only be done with a hands-on approach, she said. Moving to China was the only way she thought she could obtain her objective. She still spends about three months of the year in Los Angeles and occasional time in Europe. She explored alternatives before moving overseas.

Agents often work for multiple clients, and Devletian’s smaller operation doesn’t afford her the luxury of building satellite facilities like a lot of the larger companies do. Instead, the designer has grown into her role, learning to speak Chinese and managing a staff of about 12.

She’s seen lots of changes over the years. One is that the evolution of global sourcing has led different regions to develop certain talents, be it denim in Los Angeles or silk in India. But she believes China has it all.

“There’s no sourcing in China. It’s so huge. You have to do it on your own,” she said.

Devletian first went to China in the mid-1990s at a time when factories were wary of foreigners. “I went factory-to-factory. There were lots of horror stories back then, but it’s gotten better,” she said. Devletian estimated that she has worked with more than 100 factories over the years. There was lots of trial and error, but Devletian thinks she has helped pave the way for plenty of other American designers.