From high-profile bankruptcies in manufacturing, shipping and e-commerce to million-dollar development projects across the Southland, 2016 was a year of stark contrasts for the apparel industry. This year saw several mergers within the trade-show sector, including the acquisition of Business Journals Inc. by UBM and Swim Collective by Emerald Expositions as well as the acquisition of several well-known contemporary brands by an Israel-based powerhouse. The year marked the demise of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in the weeks following the presidential election and, in an end of an era, Otis College of Art and Design’s Fashion Department moved out of the LA Fashion District just as its founding chair stepped down after 36 years with the university.

American Apparel Could be Sold Off in Pieces

Mall Development Returns

Capsule and Axis Launch in Los Angeles

Nasty Gal Files Chapter 11, Amoruso Steps Down

Israeli Manufacturing Giant Buys Three LA Contemporary Labels

Hanjin Bankruptcy Sinks a Lot of Importer’s Revenue Goals

It’s Taps for the TPP Free-Trade Agreement

Emerald Expositions Buys Swim Collective

MAGIC Owner UBM Buys Parent Company of MRket, Stitch, ATS

Rosemarie Brantley Leaves Otis as Fashion Department Exits DTLA

CFA Serves at the Hub of California’s Apparel Industry

FBI Helps Businesses Start—and Grow