Two big action-sports brands are hoping that success during these challenging times can be generated by flexing their extensive infrastructure muscles and growing a few independent, on-the-cusp streetwear brands that need to beef up their retail power. That’s what Irvine, Calif.–based La more»

The Surf Industry Manufacturers Association has announced a major venue change for its annual Image Awards, the awards ceremony that honors the top brands and retailers in the surf industry. Traditionally held each May in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, on the final day of SIMA’s yearly industry more»

Trixxi Clothing Co., the Los Angeles–based juniors dress and sportswear company, has hired Kathleen “Sweet P” Vaughn as its lead designer. Vaughn, who participated in the “Project Runway” reality show in 2008 and is an alumna of Bebe, will work with Leslie Flores, more»

Chain retailers’ sales have improved over the past few months, but small businesses are still reeling from an ongoing credit crunch that started in 2008, said Ilse Metchek, president of the California Fashion Association, a Los Angeles trade group. Metchek headed a panel of financial experts more»

Topher Gaylord, president of premium-denim brand 7 For All Mankind for nearly 18 months, is leaving the Los Angeles company to take a new position with Mountain Hardwear Inc. Gaylord’s last day at the denim company is March 12, according to Leilani Augustine, vice president of marketing and more»

Cargo container traffic on the Asia to West Coast route will see modest growth this year after seeing a 16 percent drop last year, but whether there will be enough ships to handle all that cargo in a timely fashion is another question. Major cargo container carriers, reeling from one of their worst more»

The California Market Center’s Area 4 wing of chic, contemporary fashion showrooms will debut in September, but on March 2 the CMC announced Derelicte Inc., a leading menswear showroom, will be one of the first tenants to anchor the new wing, which CMC management hopes will help reinvent the more»

A trip to South America more than 15 years ago turned Scott Leonard’s vacation into a vocation. Leonard is chief executive officer and co-founder of Santa Rosa, Calif.–based Indigenous Designs, a company that has taken its mission of eco-friendly, fair-trade design from its outdoor roots more»

Brands looking for organic, sustainable and fair-trade sourcing have a new option this month. Sustainable Global Sourcing, a new San Francisco–based social venture, has opened its first apparel factory in Liberia and is ready to take orders for organic-cotton garments. The company, which more»

The federal government is requesting input from manufacturers and designers on how best to protect intellectual-property rights so that counterfeiters can be apprehended in the United States and overseas. The Office of Management and Budget is taking public comments until March 24 to help shape and more»

The L.A. International Textile Show at the California Market Center is a one-stop resource for premier textiles, design and production resources. During the March 15–17 run, hundreds of resources from around the globe will offer inspiration in fabrics, trims, notions and accessories. more»

Agave, the premium-denim brand that takes its inspiration from California, will debut a range of men’s fine-gauge and engineered knits for Fall 2010. Produced under a licensing agreement with Vancouver, Canada–based JMAX Global Distributors, the vintage-inspired sweaters are Agave’s more»

Kellwood Co.—one of the nation’s largest apparel suppliers and owner of brands such as Vince, David Meister, Sag Harbor and Koret—made a bold move last year when it embarked on an eight-month project to “insource” its information technology. The St. Louis–based apparel more»

After eight years of battling Quiksilver Inc. in federal court, a small Los Angeles manufacturer has won the right to resume making clothes under its Roxywear label. Kymsta Corp., a women’s clothing maker located close to downtown Los Angeles, recently received a ruling from the U.S. 9th Circuit more»

New York designer Marc Jacobs is taking Ed Hardy and a licensee to court over a purse the designer says resembles his own 3-year-old handbag creation. Marc Jacobs Trademarks and Marc Jacobs International sued Ed Hardy’s parent company, Nervous Tattoo Inc., in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles on Jan. more»

Reef, the Carlsbad, Calif.–based sandal and swimwear maker, is taking its first steps into fair-trade footwear with the Ugandal, a women’s leather sandal made with paper beads handmade by displaced women in Uganda. The project, which was created in partnership with 31 Bits, an organization more»

The good news is the economy isn’t expected to get worse this year. The bad news is the economy isn’t expected to get much better. That was the message in the Los Angeles Economic Development Corp.’s 2010–2011 Economic Forecast and Industry Outlook, released Feb. 17, which more»