Fashion Market Northern California Keeps Growing

SAN MATEO, Calif.—Inside the cavernous San Mateo County Event Center, which has been the home of Fashion Market Northern California since 2008, there was a certain hum in the air.

A constant buzz of conversation came from buyers who hunched over order sheets, pen in hand, as salespeople enthusiastically pulled out apparel from their clothing lines and pointed out new colors and silhouettes designed for the Spring/Summer season.

“It has been a very good show,” said Rosanne Tritica of Los Angeles’ Betty Bottom Showroom, a California Market Center tenant.

“The first day we didn’t stop all day long, even for lunch, and there were four of us working,” she said.

Most agreed that the Jan. 29–31 apparel and accessories trade show was headed for positive territory, with exhibitor attendance up. Suzanne De Groot, the show’s executive director, said 186 exhibitors attended this season, up from 159 the same time last year. “It feels like a busy show,” she said. “Most of the feedback has been good.”

Tritica felt positive feedback inside the large booth she occupied with the 10 to 12 lines she represents. The lines range from moderates with wholesale prices that start at $15 for tops to slightly higher-end goods that wholesale for $70 for more novelty items.

“I think our product mix helped for a busy market,” Tritica said. This was the first season the showroom owner was representing Boo Radley, an Australian line venturing into U.S. territory. The company already has five stores in Australia and sells to boutiques in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

Now it wants to sell to specialty stores in the United States. The collection is populated with casualwear that includes equestrian-like pants, whimsical dresses, cropped jackets and vests. Leggings wholesale for $24.50, and a nylon trench coat wholesales for $80.50.

Filling the closet

Sales reps have noticed that in recent years buyers have been making their merchandise decisions closer to season. The beginning of this year has been no different, particularly in San Francisco, where the almost perennial overcast gray and foggy skies chase thoughts of spring away.

But the holiday season was robust for many small stores and buyers in the area, and they were hunting to restock their boutiques. “I had a really good last three months of the year,” said Nan Winters, who owns a 1,000-square-foot, self-named store in Petaluma, Calif. The Nan Winters store offers a mix of nontraditional bridalwear and mother-of-the-bride dresses in the back of the boutique and regular clothing, accessories and jewelry in the front. “I think people are feeling a little bit better. They still need beautiful things,” Winters said.

She was looking for Spring dresses that would appeal to a woman who wants some artsy designs in her apparel. Her customers are being cautious when it comes to prices. But she still felt they would pay more for an item they love.

That feeling was echoed by Susan Trefethen, who has owned two Molly B. stores in Berkeley, Calif., for years. Her first store opened in 1987 on Vine Street in the artisan district of north Berkeley. Fourteen years later she opened a second boutique, on Fourth Street, in the “gourmet ghetto” section of the college town, where Chez Panisse is located.

She is known for her art-driven merchandise and love for designer wear from the United States, Japan and Europe. She is also renowned for her cinematic window displays, created for years by artist Nina Taylor. Trefethen, with her long white hair and long gypsy-like outfit, was perusing the various lines sold at Arlene Henry Sales, a Los Angeles showroom housed at the Gerry Building.

Trefethen is an avid shopper of all the shows in San Francisco, Los Angeles, New York and Las Vegas. In San Mateo, she was searching for something she could fall in love with—something artsy, creative and bohemian that didn’t cost a week’s salary. Her customers have demonstrated some price resistance on some of her more expensive designer merchandise. “I mix in moderates with high end, but I am not going to have a lot of the real high end,” she said, noting that sales at one of her Berkeley stores haven’t surpassed their 2008 level while the other store is doing better.

New and old lines


This season, 28 new exhibitors signed up for the three-day show. One of those was Tura Kovara, owner of a 2-year-old line called Modesce by Cendana.

Kovara, based in Seattle, said he had five good orders by the second day. People liked the $29 to $45 wholesale price points for the womenswear made of rayon jersey and manufactured in Indonesia. They also liked the fact they could custom order various styles in 27 colors.

Making her second appearance at the show was Maureen Dougherty, owner of a new line called Quiet Clothing. The eco collection of organic cotton or Tencel is cut and sewn in San Francisco. It was appealing to the environmental crowd as well as the “Made in USA” enthusiasts. “I haven’t gotten any orders yet, but I do have appointments to show my collection for Fall,” said the University of California, Davis graduate, who studied textiles. “It has definitely been positive.”

One of the regulars at the show was Joyce Christensen, a sales representative for Karen Kane of Los Angeles. Being well-versed at deciphering the minds of buyers, she observed that retailers had a reasonable holiday season and were now ready to commit to Spring and Summer orders. She also saw that Northern California retailers are shopping at local trade shows and spending less time at Los Angeles fashion markets. “There is less ability for them to leave their shops,” she said. “They have either pared their overhead or pared down their staff.”

Adjusting the atmosphere

Before 2008, the five-times-a-year show, now in San Mateo, was held in the heart of San Francisco at The Concourse event center in the artsy South of Market district.

But the trade show’s organizers decided to move south to a more suburban area that has more parking and easy highway access for buyers and exhibitors.

“I think people have finally settled into this location,” De Groot said.

The show’s organizers this year are limiting the shows to only three days, always starting on Sundays, instead of the three- or four-day format that started on either Saturday or Sunday in previous years.

They also have tried to make the event as comfortable as possible. At 3 p.m., a large cart of cookies was rolled out and pushed up and down the aisles as buyers and exhibitors eagerly snatched up huge chocolate chip, oatmeal and sugar cookies. Free lemonade, ice tea and coffee were served in the back.

“I want this to be a place where people spend their time,” De Groot said.