The Limited Stores No More
Company Closed 250 Stores
The Limited announced on Jan. 8 that it was closing all of its 250 of its brick-and-mortar stores and laying off 4,000 employees. The company will continue to operate its online store.
Revel Rey: Focus on Fit, Fabric and Fun
Swim/Surf
Before launching Revel Rey at Miami Swim Week last July, designer Audrey Swanson wanted to perfect the look of her swimwear collection.
Courtney Allegra: Designed to Stand Out
Swim/Surf
Courtney Allegra’s collection includes everything from the tricot fabrications typically used for swimwear to an ultra-fine microsuede, which is quick drying and has a luxe, lightweight hand.
OAS: Swedish Roots, International Outlook
Swim/Surf
Swedish men’s swim line OAS is launching in the United States and looking to expand to women’s swim in 2017.
Mixed Bag for Retailers in December
Retail
For retail powerhouse L Brands—the Columbus, Ohio–based parent company of Victoria Secret—December was flat. But it was grim news for Kearney, Neb.–based The Buckle, which reported a 15.1 percent drop in net sales to 154.6 million in December as well as a 15.5 percent drop in same-store sales.
PVH and Tommy Hilfiger Join UN’s Global Sustainability Initiative
Manufacturing
In December, PVH Corp. and its Tommy Hilfiger brand signed on to the UN Global Compact, a massive initiative aimed at harnessing business’s role in global sustainability.
Forestry and Fashion: Apparel Brands, Retailers and Mills Looking to Combat Deforestation
Manufacturing
The impact of deforestation might initially seem like a minor concern to apparel and textile businesses, but a recent report finds a link between revenue and deforestation for nearly 200 companies, including several high-profile companies in apparel, retail and textiles.
John Malkovich's Fashionable Side
John Malkovich, the Academy Award-nominated actor for films such as “Places in the Heart” and “In the Line of Fire,” is showing off his fashionable side in a new video for online web development site Squarespace.
Nexgen Adds High-End Leather Products With KT Label Partnership
Manufacturing
Nexgen Packaging LLC, the label and branding company with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., struck a deal with KT Label, the Turkish maker of leather labels.
CFF and TALA Celebrate Christmas With Neighborhood Kids
Xmas with CFF & TALA
There were dancing, games, lunch, Christmas trees and a visit from Santa, who passed out gifts to neighborhood children at an annual party hosted by the Textile Association of Los Angeles and the California Fashion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the California Fashion Association.
Deadline Approaching for The Novus Forum, a New Independent Designer Show in NY
Trade Shows
There’s a new trade show launching in February in New York for designer collections.
2016 Retrospective: Employment Numbers Doubled With Inclusion of ‘Indirect’ Jobs
Manufacturing
Employment in apparel and textile manufacturing in California fluctuated slightly throughout the year but essentially held steady at around 105,000 employed at apparel factories and knitting mills statewide, according to the California Employment Development Department.
UBM Hosts Connect Event for Christmas Cheer in L.A.
Christmas with UBM
The UBM Fashion Group—parent company of MAGIC, Project and FN Platform—recently hosted a holiday event for retailers and brands to kick off the holidays.
Connecting the Dots Between the Creative Community and Made-in-LA Manufacturing at NJAL Event
Make It in LA
The future of the apparel industry lies in its connectivity. That’s the word from a panel of industry insiders who spoke at a recent event hosted by Not Just A Label, the international platform for emerging designers, which recently put down roots in Los Angeles.
Tobi’s Data-Driven Trends
LA-based online retailer Tobi recently looked at some of its own best-selling categories and items for its LA customers.
2016 Newsmakers: CFA Serves as the Hub of California’s Apparel Industry
Fashion
For more than 20 years, the California Fashion Association has served as a central hub of the state’s apparel and textile industry. CFA President Ilse Metchek has been with the organization since it launched in 1995 in the aftermath of the El Monte sweatshop incident, drawing on her experience—and vast network—as a designer and manufacturer in Los Angeles to provide business information to its members.
2016 Newsmakers: Rosemary Brantley Leaves Otis as Fashion Department Exits DTLA
Fashion
After 36 years as the founding fashion chair of the Otis College of Art and Design, Rosemary Brantley stepped down from the fashion program she founded in 1980. Brantley will remain the principal designer and business partner in her own women’s clothing label, Staples, which launched the same year she took over the fashion design department.
2016 Newsmakers: MAGIC Owner UBM Buys Parent Company of MRket, Stitch, ATS
Trade Shows
Just when people thought MAGIC couldn’t get any larger, UBM—the trade show giant that owns MAGIC, Project, FN Platform and Pooltradeshow—purchased Business Journals Inc., which produces the MRket, Stitch, Accessories The Show and Fame trade shows.
2016 Newsmakers: Emerald Expositions Buys Swim Collective
Swim/Surf
Emerald Expositions LLC, the San Juan Capistrano, Calif.–based owner of Surf Expo and Outdoor Retailer, expanded its foothold in the swim and active businesses with the August acquisition of Swim Collective and its sister trade show, Active Collective, the Santa Barbara, Calif.–based trade shows founded by Shannon Leggett.
Not Just a Label to Live-Stream First Event Since Moving to LA
Events
Not Just a Label (NJAL), the international platform for emerging contemporary designers, recently expanded from London to Los Angeles and will host its first LA event since the move.
Iconix names EVP and CMO
Manufacturing
Jamie Cygielman has joined New York–based Iconix Brand Group Inc. as executive vice president and chief marketing officer.
Conductive Cotton and Wearable Tech
Researchers at the Cambridge Graphene Centre (CGC) at the University of Cambridge and scientists at Jiangnan University in China have found a way to make a conductive cotton that could be used to make wearable—read flexible—electronics.
Differential Brands Hires Nordstrom Veteran as EVP for Business Development
Manufacturing
Differential Brands Group Inc.—the parent company for Hudson, Robert Graham and SWIMS—has named retail veteran Tom Nevell executive vice president of business development.
New Look Planned for Hawthorne Mall
The vacant Hawthorne Plaza shopping mall in Hawthorne, Calif., is slated to get a new look—its first makeover in 17 years—which will incorporate retail, entertainment and housing in an open-air format.
H&M Wishes You a Wes Anderson Christmas
To get people in the holiday mood, H&M enlisted Wes Anderson to create a short film filled with Anderson-esque elements mixed with a bit of Christmas cheer.
Carbon38 Pops Up on Robertson
Carbon38
Temporary store showcases diverse mix of brands including Carbon38’s own Made–in–Los Angeles collections and designer collaborations.
Lululemon Opens on Melrose
LA’s newest Lululemon store hosted its grand opening on Nov. 22 on Melrose Avenue—just in time for Black Friday (Nov. 25), when the company will debut its new limited-edition Featherlight collection.
Burlington Taps TJX Exec for Board
Manufacturing
Burlington Stores Inc., the Burlington, N.J.–based discounter, has named Ted English, former president, chief executive officer and director of The TJX Companies Inc., to its board of directors.
Avery Dennison Collaborations Take RFID to the Design Room
Avery Dennison
Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology has found a home along the apparel-industry supply chain from factory to distribution center to retail sales floor. Some designers are looking to introduce the technology at the very beginning of the chain by incorporating RFID into the design of garments and accessories.
Infor Lands $2 Billion Investment from Koch Equity
Technology
Koch Equity Development LLC, the investment and acquisition subsidiary of Koch Industries Inc., which also owns Lycra parent company Invista, will invest more than $2 billion in Infor, the New York–based provider of cloud-based, industry-specific business applications in a bid to help Infor accelerate innovation and expand distribution.
Tukatech Looks to Tap New Business With Tuka3D Enterprise Edition
Technology
Los Angeles–based apparel software and equipment maker Tukatech has introduced a new Enterprise Edition of its Tuka3D to make the 3-D computer-aided design software accessible to more apparel makers.
Fashion and Fur Friends at the CMC
Sample Sales
The CMC and with Wags & Walks dog rescue organization will host a charity sample sale and dog adoption fair on Nov. 18 at The Pavilion on 10B, the CMC’s 10th-floor event space in downtown Los Angeles.
Changes in LA for Shinola Detroit
Shinola Detroit's new boutique in the Arts District in DTLA is just one of the changes underway for the American-made accessories company.
Phillip Lim Hosting Annual LA Sale
Phillip Lim is hosting its annual sample sale Nov. 18-20 at the 3.1 Phillip Lim boutique in West Hollywood.
Bailey44 Kicks Off Holiday at Lido Marina
LA contemporary brand Bailey44 is hosting a holiday shopping event on Nov. 17 at its Lido Marina Village store in Newport Beach, Calif.
Discreetly Green: Handbags for Pot Smokers
With the passage of California’s proposition 64, which legalized the use of marijuana for recreational use, LA luxury handbag company AnnaBis is looking to take the stink out of carrying weed.
Revelation LA’s Runway Debut in Hollywood
Revelation LA
Revelation LA, the new event produced by Parker Whitaker Productions, kicked off Nov. 5–6 with a series of panel discussion, pop-up shops and runway shows at Siren Studios Orange 1 in Hollywood.
Revelation LA Adds Pop-ups, Panels to the Event Lineup
Pop-ups: Revelation LA
Coming at the tail end of Los Angeles Fashion Week, Revelation LA bowed with a concept that blended trade and consumer events.
Designer Eyewear Direct From the Printer
Italian eyewear maker Safilo—which manufacturers prescription frames and sunglasses for brands such as Dior, Hugo Boss, Max Mara and Jimmy Choo—has begun 3D printing its prototypes using a 3D printer from Stratasys.
Carbon38 Adds CMO
Manufacturing
Carbon38, the Los Angeles–based luxury activewear e-commerce retailer, has hired Lisa Kraynak as chief marketing officer.
Designer Platform Not Just a Label Expands to LA, Plans Outreach Initiative With City of LA
Fashion
Not Just a Label (NJAL), the emerging designer platform launched in London in 2008, has expanded to the United States with the opening of a Los Angeles office by NJAL founder Stefan Siegel.
Denim on the Catwalk
Global Denim Awards
Denim took another turn in the spotlight at the third annual Global Denim Awards in Amsterdam, where an international lineup of designers and denim mills collaborated on collections that highlighted the creative versatility of denim.
Patagonia Says Get Out. And Vote.
Patagonia wants people to vote—specifically for environmental issues. To encourage voter participation, the company is closing for the day. That includes Patagonia’s headquarters in Ventura, Calif., its distribution center in Reno, Nev., and all 29 retail stores around the country.
Boutique Retailers Turn Out to Order Immediates, Spring Merchandise at FMNC
Trade Shows
The weather outside was Northern California cool and gray, but the mood—and the merchandise—inside the San Mateo Event Center was sunny as retailers from across the Western U.S. turned out for Fashion Market Northern California to place orders for Spring goods.
DSTLD: Building the Wardrobe One Premium Piece at a Time
DSTLD
When DSTLD launched two years ago, the company focused on premium denim and luxury tees. After two years of design development and brand building, the company is preparing to provide consumers with an entire wardrobe of luxury basics.
FBI’s Fashionable Fund-Raiser
Los Angeles Fashion Week
For its sixth-annual All Aboard Runway Show & Fund-Raiser, Fashion Business Inc. returned to Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
Crowded Schedule at LA Market
LA Market
The Los Angeles Fashion Week runway shows continued with events hosted by Style Fashion Week, Fashion Week Los Angeles and Fashion Business Inc.
Los Angeles Fashion Week: California Collections
LAFW: California Collections
More than 100 designer lines graced the runways of Los Angeles Fashion Week, with six events spread out over a four-week span.
MAFI Award Winner Named at FBI’s All Aboard Runway Show
Events
The winner of the Moss Adams Fashion Innovator Award (MAFI) was announced at the sixth-annual Fashion Business Inc. All Aboard Runway Show at Union Station in downtown Los Angeles.
