California Apparel News

Venue, a new streetwear trade show, debuted June 28 at the Los Angeles Convention Center, with40 exhibitors who were enthusiastic about meeting retailers and connecting with other vendors.

There was an overall dynamic energy and positive response from exhibitors. Women’s designer Stephanie “Stef Lova” Chapman of Mstkn Clothing in Covina, Calif., said she made a lot of connections with other brands and manufacturers at the show. The clothing and accessories company has been around since 2003 but rebranded in 2008. “We have participated in Agenda and MAGIC in the past, which has been great, but this one is a lot homier,” she said. “The other brands have come together to network, and it has been successful in that route. We all want to help each other out.”

The new trade show is focused on helping brands grow, according to show organizer and President Miles Canares, who said he felt it was time to introduce a trade show that honed in on the entrepreneurial spirit of developing streetwear brands.

“I went to MAGIC and Agenda and saw how it was hard for independent brands to be recognized,” he said. “My vision was to create a leveled platform for brands to compete based on their natural talent and ability. I wanted to introduce a new marketplace for retailers that could [excel] at a steady pace and feel comfortable.”

Vendors paid $1,100 for a 10-by-10-foot trade show booth. The show also featured two seminars on marketing and branding with speakers such as Marc Antonio and Peter Lam of the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising (FIDM), who talked about their creative co-op project while encouraging the spirit of innovation.

Woodruff Apparel debuted at Venuewith only six months under its belt. The blank T-shirt brand has a factory in Peru and uses pima cotton for its collection, which includes seasonless tees and dresses that wholesale for $15. “We are like American Apparel but catering to a different demographic, a streetwear [niche], using oversized and edgy razor-back styles,” said Alexa Rabago, design director for the company.

Justin Sasada, cofounder and lead designer of East Los Angeles clothing and accessories brand Radicated and Respected, started his company roughly 2½ years ago, selling online and to retail stores such as Tradition.

R&R carries button-ups, tees, snapbacks, beanies, wooden necklaces and even wooden furniture. Sasada has a background in architecture, so he decided to expand into home design. R&R sets itself apart from like-minded streetwear companies by blending architecture and fashion together with an athletic-driven edge. “We supply a lot of our gear to basketball players and college athletes [including those from] UCLA and USC,” he said.

The tees tend to be graphic-heavy but with a focus on detailing and “materiality.” “Our windbreaker has a wood-grain material embedded into it with a fine detail you wouldn’t see from afar—but up close, it is noticeable,” Sasada said.

A bit of East LA heritage is incorporated into the products, with some of the hats embossed with traditional skeleton images and special-edition snapbacks featuring leather or floral finishing. R&R wholesale price points for tees go for $12 to $15, and sweaters are $18 to $23.

Mari Nazaryan, Arpa Sarian and Piruz Dedeyan of Los Angeles–based apparel and accessories company Marillest produce men’s lifestyle apparel. The Fall/Holiday collection includes hats, beanies, flasks, backpacks, scarves, tees, pants, and cut-and-sew pieces with an urban, outdoor camping sensibility.

Seleen Marganian, a guest photographer for Marillest, said the company started in 2009 but recently introduced their cut-and-sew line, which drew inspiration from the camping lifestyle. The collection includes accessories such as a cooler, flask, travel bags and a backpack.

“They wanted to bring something new to the industry by designing from a woman’s perspective,” Marganian said. The brand recently won Karmaloop’s “Battle of the Brands” contest, Marganian said. “That has helped the brand with international sales, so [business] is steadily growing,” she said.

With their recent glory, Marganian said, the company is spending time with self promotion. “This is their first trade show, and they thought it would be a nice way to ease into [the industry] and a good fit for them,” she said.

Altogether, 57 retailers registered for the show, Canares said. Among the companies shopping the show was Boyz New York, a Chinese manufacturer with retail stores in China. Boyz New York was at Venue looking for new brands, Canares said. “The fact that they had a meeting with me was great,” he said.

Canares said he utilized social media to promote the trade show. “It was a key tool in marketing, which has done wonders for us. We just put the word out and created partnerships with brands who work with independent brands. Partnerships with Bespoke Cut and Sew, Gearbottle and Fifth Element helped a lot. I thank all of them,” he said.

The next Venue show is planned for January.