L.A.’s Matrushka Construction Unveils Limited Line of Bowie-Inspired Pajamas
MANUFACTURING
David Bowie has long been a cultural touchstone and obsession, and Los Angeles' Matrushka Construction wants fans to cozy up with its pajamas that feature a sketch of the rock star's face.
Dockers Unveils New Store at Citadel Outlets
RETAIL
Levi Strauss & Co’s Dockers brand opened a 1,801 square-foot shop at the Citadel Outlets retail center on Nov. 13.
Epson Unveils Printer for Direct-to-Consumer Biz
TECHNOLOGY
The direct-to-consumer business has skyrocketed in the past few years, and, in response to this boom, the Los Alamitos, Calif.–headquartered Epson has sought to support this segment of the apparel market with new technology.
Shop Collaboré Makes A Debut
SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability has been a buzzword in the fashion industry for the past few years, but its news still needs to be spread into the mainstream.
NRF, AAFA, RILA Trade Groups Issue Statements About the Election
Retail
National trade groups representing retailers and apparel manufacturers sent congratulations and pledges to work with the incoming Biden-Harris administration shortly after last week’s election in the United States.
3DLook Pumps Up Digital Body Measuring Technology
Technology
After winning a fashion-technology prize in 2019 from the luxury conglomerate LVMH, the parent company of Louis Vuitton, 3DLook, headquartered in San Mateo, Calif., intends to take its digital body-measuring technology a step further.
Broadway Trade Center, a Major DTLA Project, for Sale
Retail
The Broadway Trade Center was one of the most ambitious projects for revitalizing downtown Los Angeles and bringing high-end retail to a once-blighted urban center. But after COVID-19 and civil unrest, the project has been put up for sale.
Solid Holiday Sales Forecasted by NRF and Deloitte
Retail
2020 has been a year like none other in recent memory, but despite the big issues of a divisive election and an economic slowdown driven by a pandemic, economic forecasters working with the National Retail Federation and Deloitte are predicting solid business during the 2020 holiday season.
Outerknown Finds a Natural Stretch Fabric For Its Iconoclast Jean
Outerknown’s Natural Stretch
The Outerknown brand was started by surf champion Kelly Slater and creative director John Moore in 2015 to introduce a new surfwear line to a market that had been dominated by a group of major brands for years by creating a brand that was devoted to sustainability.
Michael Tomson’s Life to be Celebrated with a Paddle Out
EVENTS
Michael Tomson, a pioneer in the competitive sport of surfing and the surfwear business died last month at age 66 from throat cancer.
Beverly Center to Unveil Pop-Ups from Black-Owned Brands
RETAIL
During 2020, as calls to action were made regarding promoting equity in the United States, part of these messages included challenging major brands to become more serious about diversity and supporting Black-owned businesses.
Forever 21 Unveils Holiday Hub to Benefit Boys & Girls Clubs of America
RETAIL
Forever 21 is planning on a holiday season focused on raising funds for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Zendesk Takes Customer Relations to Social Media
TECHNOLOGY
As digital commerce has skyrocketed during the COVID-19 pandemic, analysts have forecasted that doing business online will become even more important during the 2020 holiday season.
Psycho Bunny to Roll Out California Bricks-and-Mortar
RETAIL
In 2005, menswear mavens Robert Godley and Robert Goldman started Psycho Bunny, a menswear company focused on the irreverent graphic of a rabbit’s head and crossbones. They made T-shirts, ties, polo shirts, golf apparel, socks and other items bearing a bunny Jolly Roger logo. Years later, the brand is still on the move.
Holiday 2020 at Citadel Outlets to Start With Christmas-Tree Lighting Nov. 14
RETAIL
Every winter holiday season, Citadel Outlets, just south of downtown Los Angeles, aims to go big with holiday decorations.
Guess Tries Cute Culture With Little Cloud Line
FASHION
Over the years, Guess? cultivated its reputation as a go-to brand for editorial with sex appeal and star models such as Anna Nicole Smith and Kate Upton. With a new limited-edition capsule collection, it is going for cute.
DC Swim Week Makes a Miami Beach Debut
FASHION
After a few months’ worth of scheduling delays because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the DC Swim Week produced its Miami Swim Week debut.
Ace Rivington Unveils New Santa Barbara Flagship
RETAIL
The Ace Rivington brand is taking its flagship to a bigger stage.
Surf Expo to Produce In-Person Show in January
TRADE SHOWS
The Surf Expo coastal-lifestyle and water-sports trade show announced Nov. 2 that it is planning to produce an in-person event in Orlando, Fla., scheduled to run Jan. 6–8.
Retailers Board Up Shops to Guard Against Potential Riots
RETAIL
Police chiefs, merchant groups and business improvement districts have urged retailers to cover store windows with plywood for protection against possible rioting during this week's presidential election.
Ortery Unveils StylePad to Support Fashion E-Commerce
TECHNOLOGY
Photography is an important part of selling any product in digital commerce and Ortery Technologies, which runs offices in Irvine, Calif., and Taiwan, has focused on developing automated-photography tools such as desktop photo booths, camera-control software and other items that allow digital-commerce entrepreneurs to take pictures of their inventory.
Shopify Announces Advertising Partnership With TikTok
SOCIAL COMMERCE
Shopify, a global digital-commerce platform that includes a focus on small businesses, recently announced it was going to take a deeper dive into social media.
Innovator Keith Hufnagel Eulogized With a Memorial Gallery Show
EVENTS
The skateboarding and action-sports world grieved at the untimely death of Keith Hufnagel at age 46 from brain cancer last month.
Levi’s and Star Stylist Karla Welch Continue Collaboration
FASHION
Levi’s continued its collaboration with Karla Welch, a star stylist who has dressed performers ranging from Justin Bieber to Tracee Ellis Ross.
Sustainable Fashion Forum’s Frank Talk on Diversity and Environment
Manufacturing
Fashiondex, a New York–headquartered source-book publisher and consulting company, recently produced a series of Sustainable Fashion Forum panel discussions at the Oct. 7–9 virtual edition of the LA Textile trade show called CMC Uploaded.
SML Group To Put Trims on a 3D Spotlight
Trim in 3D
Virtual showrooms have been increasingly popular since the COVID-19 pandemic put in-person meetings and events on hiatus. The SML Group has developed another way to virtually browse a garment’s details with its recently released Digitiz3D platform; however, its service will specifically focus on trims, labels, tags, buckles, buttons and packaging.
Spirit Jersey Aims To Write a New Chapter in Love Letter to Los Angeles
L.A. Love Letters
After making signature tops for partners such as Disney, various top tourist destinations, as well as college sororities for more than two decades, the Los Angeles–based Spirit Jersey opted to make a solo project inspired by its hometown.
High & Mighty Plans to Elevate Big-And-Tall
Manufacturing
In the past few years, advocates of women’s plus-size fashions have demanded respect for their fashion category. Swet Tailor, a Los Angeles–based knits brand, has similarly demanded equal time for the men’s big-and-tall category.
Basketball Player Alex Stepheson Aims For Slam Dunk With El Crew PE
Manufacturing
Alex Stepheson has shot hoops for the Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies National Basketball Association teams as well as several overseas sports leagues. He has also started a clothing brand, El Crew PE, a label that doesn’t venture too far from his life on and off the court.
California Proposition 15 Roils Retailers
Legal
Gabrielle Zuccaro has guided her contemporary boutique Bleu through times of harsh economic downturns and, in May, a time of civic unrest. However, the veteran boutique owner has been particularly wary of the ballot measure Proposition 15, on which Californians will cast their vote Nov. 3.
Nordstrom To Open Two More Nordstrom Local Shops In Southern California
RETAIL
Nordstrom Inc’s omnichannel concept Nordstrom Local is on a roll.
IMC Unveils a Slate of In-Person Trade Shows
TRADE SHOWS
Showroom-space operator International Market Centers, announced a slate of in-person trade shows for 2021.
Some DTLA Stores Vandalized Following Dodgers Victory
RETAIL
A number of stores in downtown Los Angeles were vandalized the night of Oct. 27 following the Los Angeles Dodgers World Series victory in Arlington, Texas.
Vans To Roll Out 2nd Annual Vans Checkerboard Day
EVENTS
In 2019, Vans, the Costa Mesa, Calif.-based brand that pioneered skateboarding’s sartorial style, introduced Vans Checkerboard Day. It was intended to be a special day devoted to creativity and for service to creative projects. Get ready for a sequel.
IMC Rolls Out Immediate-Delivery Markets
Trade Shows
International Market Centers, which runs 20 million square feet of exhibition space for furniture, gift, home décor, rug and apparel markets in Las Vegas, Atlanta and High Point N.C., has raised the curtain for last-minute buying for the holidays, said Bob Maricich, IMC’s chief executive officer.
Susan Merrill Named President of NPD’s U.S. Apparel Division
RETAIL
Susan Merrill, a vice president of business and client development for prominent market-research company The NPD Group, was named president of the group’s United States apparel practice, according to Joanne Sackett, president of The NPD Group’s soft-lines sector in an Oct. 27 announcement.
Gerber Releases Atria Digital Cutter, 'Its Smartest Machine'
TECHNOLOGY
Gerber Technology has been developing automated cutting systems since the 1960s, and in November it will write a new chapter in its history of cutting systems when it releases the Gerber Atria Digital Cutter, which it calls the smartest machine to be manufactured in the company’s history.
Loonar Brand Starts As a Social-Media Sensation
FASHION
Los Angeles-area high-school students and Loonar founders Jack Schwartz and Mateo Santamaria got their brand’s face masks to influencers and celebs such as Post Malone.
Italian Brand Iceberg Works With Kailand Morris On T-shirt for Watts Empowerment Center
FASHION
Italian high-end sportswear company Iceberg made an Oct. 21 donation to the Watts Empowerment Center, a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization serving children, youth and families at the Watts Housing Project in South Los Angeles.
Unkosher Market: Yiddish, T-shirts, Nail Polish and…Laughs!
FASHION AND BEAUTY
This year, apparel-and-lifestyle brand Unkosher Market released nail polish inspired by the colors of a bagel and lox. For the 2020 election, the brand will release a tote bag with the slogan, “If you don’t vote, you can’t kvetch.” Oy! The Chutzpah!
True Religion Out of Bankruptcy
RETAIL
The True Religion brand emerged from a Chapter 11 bankruptcy on October 19, according to a statement from Michael Buckley, the company's chief executive officer.
Gap Unveils Dream The Future
RETAIL
The holidays are approaching and specialty-retail giant Gap typically releases a holiday commercial that pundits call heartwarming.
Los Angeles Retail Real Estate Shows Slight Recovery
RETAIL
Omni-channel retail tossed a lifeline to commercial real estate in Los Angeles and other U.S. cities during the second and third quarters of 2020, according to a recently released report from CBRE, a commercial-real-estate and advisory firm.
Z Supply Unveils Digital Wholesale Platform
TECHNOLOGY
Z Supply, the Costa Mesa, Calif., manufacturer of contemporary women’s styles, is getting into the technology game.
Informa Markets Fashion Promotes Helfman, Peskin and Rudow
TRADE SHOWS
More than a month after Informa Markets Fashion unveiled digital trade shows for its MAGIC anchor and sibling shows such as Project, the trade-show producer announced the promotions of executives who helped direct the digital trade shows.
JustFab Introduces Kelly Rowland for JustFab
FASHION
Kelly Rowland released a music single and a fashion line.
For LA Textile, CMC Experiments With Talk Show Style Presentations
LA Textile Uploaded
Following its debut during the August edition of L.A. Market Week, the CMC Uploaded virtual platform was used again by the management of the California Market Center to host the CMC’s popular biannual textile-and-fabrics show, LA Textile.
Thom Browne Produces Science Fiction Fashion Film at L.A Coliseum
Spring Victory
For his Spring 2021 ready-to-wear presentation, New York designer Thom Browne hosted a global event for Paris Fashion Week by producing a show filmed at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.
FMNC Wraps Up Last Show of 2020
Trade Shows
While many trade shows reacted to the COVID-19 rules against in-person gatherings by producing virtual shows, the regional Fashion Market Northern California took a different path. It reacted against COVID by producing its first open-air show, which ran Oct. 4–6 in San Mateo, Calif.
After Building Brand in Taiwan, Vast Hopes To Bring Back Business to USA
Manufacturing
Growing up in Los Angeles, Sam Yang surfed and aspired to design his own surf-and-lifestyle brand that would be sold in California’s core shops in the category. He started a brand called Vast, which was inspired by the vastness of the oceans and exotic vistas where he hoped his travels would take him.
