Friday, November 30
Shoppingtown Bows in Woodland Hills
A year after commencement of the project, Westfield Shoppingtown Promenade in Woodland Hills, Calif., is wrapping up its $35 million redevelopment with a grand opening Nov. 30....
Skechers Opens Two stores in Southern California
Skechers opened two stores in Southern California. The Manhattan Beach-based shoe manufacturer launched its first children’s shoe concept store, Skechers Kids, on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Mo...
Developer Plans Camp Phase II
Orange County retail developer Shaheen Sadeghi has purchased a 9,000-square-foot center adjacent to his latest development, the Camp, from a private investor for around $2.5 million....
Economy is in Recession
The economy is in recession...and has been since last March, according to a panel of economists that make up the National Bureau of Economic Research. The non-profit organization looks at employment, ...
Designer Direction
Designers Rozae Nichols, Rod Beattie, Anna Kenney, Andrew Dibben and Julie Ann Silverman were a few of the design mentors on hand at Otis College...
Tarrant Apparel Group Names Board Member
Tarrant Apparel Group named two new board members: Eddy Tak Yu Yuen, newly appointed chief executive officer of Tarrant, and Milton Koffman, chairman of financial services firm New Valu Inc....
Gap Agrees to Secure Rights to Song
The Gap agreed to give a little bit to secure the rights to the Supertramp song “Give a Little Bit,” featured in the San Francisco retailer’s holiday ad. Gap Inc. and the band gave $100,000 to th...
Playboy Men's Launches at Bloomingdale's
Lifestyle enthusiast Hugh Hefner will make an appearance Dec. 6 at Bloomingdale’s in Los Angeles’ Century City Shopping Center to promote the debut of Playboy’s men’s underwear and loun...
Technology '02: Tech Firms Revamp, Reevaluate, Renew
Technology companies are reevaluating their ways of doing business since world events and a slowing economy have changed the picture for the apparel industry in recent months....
Fendi Moving to France
Fendi is moving to France—at least on paper. Milan, Italy-based Prada plans to sell its 25.5 percent stake in Rome-based Fendi to French luxury goods conglomerate LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton for n...
Consumer Confidence Fell in November
Consumer confidence fell in November, marking the fifth month of decline in a row. The index fell to 82.2 from 85.3 the previous month, according to New York-based research firm the Conference Board....
GCA Seeks Scholarship Candidates
The Garment Contractors Association of Southern California Inc. (GCA) is offering a scholarship to students 17 and older who are children or grandchildren of GCA members or their emp...
Brooks Bros. and Casual Corner Under Same Umbrella
Brooks Brothers and Casual Corner are now under the same company umbrella. Retail Brand Alliance, the parent company of retailers Casual Corner, Petite Sophisticate and August Max, is owned by Claudio...
Proposed Sales Tax Holiday Delayed, Awaiting Approval
Voting on proposed legislation for a nationwide sales tax holiday has been postponed and passage of it may not take place until early next year, according to officials with the National Retai...
Vecchiarelli Honors LATT Students
Fashion students from Los Angeles Trade-Technical College (LATT) were recently recognized for their pattern-making skills in an awards presentation on campus by apparel products supp...
POOL Show Set to Go As Alternative to MAGIC
The first edition of a small alternative trade show called POOL will take place Feb. 18–21 in Las Vegas, coinciding with the MAGIC International trade show taking place in the city th...
Mall Traffic Down
Mall traffic is not what it used to be, according to a recent survey by RCT Systems Inc. The Chicago-based research firm found that weekend mall traffic dropped 7.4 percent to 134.4 million visitors o...
Friday, November 23
Andrean Trade Passes House
The Andean Trade Act passed the U.S. House of Representatives and heads off to the Senate to be voted on there. The act would eliminate duties and quotas on apparel manufactured of woven material in t...
Levi Strauss & Co. Shed Jobs
Levi Strauss & Co. shed about 100 jobs primarily from its San Francisco headquarters. The company is reconfiguring its business by reevaluating each department and eliminating positions and changi...
Economy Struggles, Consumers Begin Spending Cautiously
In the first portion of the fourth quarter of the year, the economy has tumbled into a recession, but after reports of unemployment increasing and consumer confidence decreasing, the downturn...
Chargebacks Top Bill at CFA/CLAD Seminar
The California Fashion Association (CFA) and the Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD) held the first of four business seminars created for CLAD members and ot...
U.S. Economy Shows Improvement
The U.S. economy showed slight improvement in October, according to the Conference Board. The New York-based research firm released its index of leading economic indicators for the month, showing a 0....
FBI Panel Attempts to Demystify EDI
The fashion industry is still slow to embrace technology, and that was in evidence at the Nov. 13 EDI seminar at the New Mart sponsored by Apparel Information Manag...
Burlington Industries Files Chapter 11 After Three Years of Losses
Burlington Industries filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection following three years of reported losses. The Greensboro, N.C.-based textile giant has secured debtor-in-possession financing from J.P. Morgan Chas...
Moving From Sanctuary to Sage
Debra Polanco, designer of Los Angeles-based contemporary line Sanctuary, is introducing a new contemporary line of delicately constructed skirts and blouses called Sage. ...
VF Corp. to Eliminate 13,000 Jobs
VF Corp. plans to eliminate 13,000 jobs worldwide, according to the Greensboro, N.C. apparel manufacturer. The company also announced plans to sell off its under-performing swimwear and private-label knit bus...
Seventeen Mag Opens Retail Store, Nightclub
Eager to tap into the interests of its 2.35-million-strong subscriber base and expand its platform, Seventeen magazine is getting into the bricks-and-mortar business with the debut of two new venues ...
Workers Boycott Forever 21
Around 150 supporters attended a Nov. 17 boycott rally staged by 19 garment workers who are suing juniors retailer Forever 21....
Priciest Retail Area in the World
What is the priciest retail area in the world? New York’s East 57th Street, according to Cushman & Wakefield’s list of the most expensive shopping streets. The two-block strip between Park and Fifth Avenue is home ...
Warnaco to Sell A.B.S., Retain Swim Labels
Los Angeles-based contemporary line A.B.S. by Allen Schwartz is one of several labels set for sale by New York-based apparel giant Warnaco....
California Apparel, Textile Employment Down in October
Apparel and textile manufacturing in California lost a combined total of 1,200 jobs in October, a drop that represents a 3.7 percent decrease in the number of employees working in these sectors from the comparable fi...
Port of L.A.'s October Exports Decrease
The Port of Los Angeles in San Pedro, Calif., has yet to discern the effects of the events of Sept. 11 on imports and exports and will be unable to do so with finality until year’s end, but according ...
Consumer and Producer Price Indexes
The Consumer Price Index (CPI) declined 0.3 percent in October after increasing 0.4 percent in September on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the U.S Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Stati...
Friday, November 16
Hearing-Impaired Designer Hears the Call of Fashion
The apparel industry can be a raucous business filled with tight deadlines and fierce competition. But Los Angeles-based designer Mona Thalheimer handles it with quiet grace....
Local Retailers Easing Up Holiday Hiring
Local retailers are easing up on holiday hiring, according to a recent report in the Los Angeles Times. The article listed local outlets of several retailers, including Sears, Roebuck & Co., J.C. ...
DMC, Cal Mart Host Town Hall Meetings
As Dallas Market Center (DMC) executives inch closer to assuming the management of the California Mart, a number of Cal Mart tenants remain concerned about future show dates...
CLAD
The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD) made its impression in a club atmosphere at Los Angeles’ Racer Photography Studios on Nov. 6 for the...
Wholesale Prices Fell 1.6 Percent in October
Wholesale prices fell 1.6 percent in October, according to the Labor Department. The producer price index fell to 139.1 last month, leading analysts to point to a deepening economic malaise hastened b...
Obituary: Fashion Icon Carrie Donovan
Fashion icon Carrie Donovan died at 73 in New York. The flamboyant journalist with the distinctive oversized, dark-rimmed glasses achieved recognition in recent years as the pitchwoman for Old Navy’s televisio...
Enron and Dynegy May Be Merging
Texas energy suppliers Enron Corp. and Dynegy may be merging, as Dynegy announced plans to acquire the flailing giant for approximately $9 million in stock. Enron was under fire during last year’s ener...
The Fierce and the Fabulous: S.O.B. by Susan Bessire, Treat Me Right and Heatherette
Exotic, erotic and rock ’n’ roll. That’s how one person described the fashion event...
Holiday Online
The season’s brightest retail spot may be the Web; plus, shipping/handling strategies and windows on the fashion world ...
ASR's Overin Dies at 43
Court Overin, show director for Action Sports Retailer Trade Expo (ASR) and vice president of VNU Expositions’ sports group, died Nov. 11 surrounded by his family at...
China and Taiwan Join WTO
China and Taiwan both joined the World Trade Organization (WTO) after a vote by the members of the organization at its conference in Qatar. The WTO held the voting on the two countries’ prospective mem...
Proposed Sales Tax Holiday Aims to Spur Spending
With holiday spending likely to take another dip following the Nov. 12 airline disaster in New York, retailers are pinning their hopes on proposed congressional legislation halting sales tax in the co...
David Hayes and Lloyd Klein
Fashion and beauty biz insiders gathered at downtown Los Angeles restaurant
Grey Ant
Designer Grant Krajecki presented his fashion-forward
B. Clothing Founders Leave, Relaunch Planned
B. Clothing vice president and merchandiser Sean Knight and Steven Kail, director of sales, have left the Los Angeles-based junior contemporary label, according to the company. ...
Discounters on Hot Streak in October
Retail’s black cloud lifted in October, as sales surged 7.1 percent, erasing a 2.2 percent drop in September, the Commerce Department reported Nov. 14....
Ina Celaya
Fashiongoers at
Retailers Stress Low Prices
Retailers will stress low prices this holiday season, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal. Kmart and Sears, Roebuck & Co. are planning to run ads that highlight the prices they offer ...
Friday, November 9
Attendance Up and Business Returns at Spring
Despite the state of the economy and the national alert for more terrorist attacks, buyers were showing up at the California Mart for Spring 2002 market, held Nov. 2–6, and reps reported brisk...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: New Arrivals
Always full of surprises, the
American Red Cross Seeking Apparel Donations
The American Red Cross is seeking apparel donations to send to children in Afghanistan. The organization is seeking children’s clothing in 10,000-unit lots or greater. The clothing must be winter-weigh...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Cornell Collins
Designers often look to the exotic and the voluptuous as their muse. Not Cornell Collins. In his fourth season, Collins drew inspiration from the petulant Nellie Oleson character fro...
U.S. Textile Industry Facing Worst Economic Crisis
“The U.S. textile industry is currently facing its worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,” according to the American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI). The ATMI made the ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Michelle Mason
Michelle Mason offered more than just a new
Holiday Sales Up 2.5 to 3.0 Percent
Holiday sales will be up 2.5 to 3.0 percent this year, according to the National Retail Federation’s Holiday Outlook Survey. Consumers will be looking to take advantage of sale prices and plan to begin...
Suzi B Expands, Debuts Stores
Designer Suzanne Bjontegard, also known as Suzi B, has expanded her denim line and added full-fledged retail operations in the form of three San Diego-area mall stores to her mini-empire of j...
Armani Bows at South Coast Plaza
A crowd of nearly 300 Orange County philanthropists feted the grand opening of Giorgio Armani’s new flagship concept, Armani Collezioni,at South Coast Plaza in Costa Mesa, Calif., o...
State Stands to Lose More Than 25,000 Jobs
The state stands to lose more than 250,000 jobs by mid-year in 2002, according to a recent study by the Milken Institute, which blamed the job losses on the aftereffects of the Sept. 11 terrorist atta...
Canadian Twins Tap Into California Cool
Canadian-born twin brothers Chip and Pepper Foster are riding a current wave of success with their clothing line Golf Punk and retail stores of the same name, but this is just the latest appa...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Petro Zillia
Teenagers they’re not, but Yosi Dori and Nony Tochterman, the husband-and-wife team behind Petro Zillia, are avid rave fans....
Federal Reserve Cuts Interest Rates Again
The Federal Reserve cut interest rates again, sending rates for short-term loans back to 1960s levels. The Fed cut the federal funds rate by a half-percentage point to 2.0 percent, citing “unus...
Hollywood and Highland Set to Open
On Nov. 9, the curtain rises on TrizecHahn Corp.’s Hollywood & Highland project—a $615 million retail and entertainment complex viewed for the past five years as the linchpin to th...
Hahn Meets With Fox
James K. Hahn, mayor of Los Angeles, met with Vicente Fox, president of Mexico, on Nov. 5 to discuss ways the city and country can work together. Hahn called Los Angeles a “Mexican city,” noting Mexican...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: California Mart
The California Mart presented its...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Tree
Tree delivered a sophisticated and stunning Spring/Summer 2002 collection at Audi Presents Designer Collections of Los Angeles Fashion Week. It featured a palette of black and white—b...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Pacific Coast Travelers
Casual California living seemed to be the style of the moment at the Nov. 4 Pacific Coast Travelers Spring 2002 runway show held in the California Mart lobby....
TALA Taps Ramos for Scholarship Awards Event
Los Angeles-based contemporary designer Estevan Ramos will be the featured speaker at the Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) annual scholarship luncheon on Nov. 14 at 11:45 a....
Holiday Sales Outlook: Flat
With consumer apprehension continuing over the economy’s performance, retail sales this holiday season will remain flat, according to Deloitte & Touche LLP....
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Gen Art's Fresh Faces in Fashion
Classic silhouettes met the bold and the brazen during...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Eduardo Lucero
If there’s one thing Eduardo Lucero knows how to do well it’s make a woman look and feel like a “woman.” And no matter what source lies behind his inspiration, he always seems to ...
Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: David Cardona
David Cardona showed his darker side this season by presenting a
L.A. Lands Commerce Department Funds
California apparel exporters have received more than $1.2 million in grant monies earmarked for the promotion of exporting California apparel lines....
Friday, November 2
Red Star
Red Star is getting ready to enter the denim market with its Spring 2002 debut planned for Los Angeles market week....
Textile Executive Brownstein Passes
Veteran Los Angeles-area textile executive Steve Brownstein has passed away. He was 59. Brownstein was owner of Brownstein Textiles, a one-time partner of Double E Textiles ...
Mille Nico
Los Angeles-based designer Nico Morrison set out to create a collection that would translate vintage designs into a modern perspective. The result is Mille Nico, a contemporary sweater collec...
Los Angeles Firm Dresses Men for On-Air Success
CBS sportscaster Greg Gumbel—a cutoff blue jeans and sandals kind of guy—doesn’t want to be a fashion plate off the air. On camera, however, a well-groomed Gumbel doesn’t pull any punches....
Sirena Stockholders Receive Restitution
Sirena stockholders received more than $200,000 in restitution stemming from the swimwear company’s misstated financial reports, which led to the company’s filing for Chapter 11 protection and eventual dissolut...
Burberry Bows in Beverly Hills
Playing the consummate host, chief executive officer Rose Marie Bravo welcomed guests on Oct. 25 to Burberry’s newly opened 8,000-square-foot flagship store in Beverly Hills, Calif., a creation modele...
Consumer Confidence Plummeted in October
Consumer confidence plummeted in October, dropping from 97.0 to 85.5, according to the Conference Board, a New York-based research firm. October’s level marks the lowest point for the index since early...
They're Fabulous
The girls who put the “fabulous” into Ben-Amun’s Fabulous Eva DiShanni and Tracie May are the “fabulous” ladies behind the Ben-Amun’s Fabulous showroom and they have...
CLAD Refocuses As L.A. Fashion Week Begins
The Coalition of Los Angeles Designers (CLAD) has refocused its mission against the backdrop of an emerging fashion week in Los Angeles....
Robinsons-May Joins Irvine Spectrum Center
Robinsons-May, a division of May Dept. Stores, will open a 140,000-square-foot store at the Irvine Spectrum Center’s expansion project in Southern California, accord...
BCBG Max Azria Makes the List
BCBG Max Azria made the list of the 100 largest private companies in Los Angeles, according to the Los Angeles Business Journal, which listed the Vernon-based manufacturer as number 46. Azteca Production Int...
Retailers Rethink Strategies As Tourist Traffic Slows
Widespread layoffs, rising unemployment and mounting fear following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks have wreaked havoc on the tourism industry. Retailers, who often depend heavily on tourist dollars, a...
La Brea's Ebb and Flow of Retailers
Style mavens Courtney Love, Drew Barrymore, Jewel, Courtney Cox and Keri Russell will soon have one less favorite La Brea Avenue store to hit on mad shopping binges....
Sears, Roebuck & Co. Cuts Nearly 5,000 Jobs
Sears, Roebuck & Co. cut nearly 5,000 jobs in a restructuring move that includes simplifying store layout, upgrading clothing and centralizing checkout registers. The retailer plans to increase in...
Lawmakers Proposing Sales Tax Holiday
Lawmakers are proposing a holiday from sales tax. If passed, the Sales Tax Holiday Act of 2001, designed to stimulate the slowing economy, would halt the collection of sales tax between Nov. 23 and De...
Digifab Rolls Out quot;Outdoorquot; Fabrics
DigiFab Systems, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of digitally printable fabrics and design software, has introduced a new line of water-resistant fabrics aimed at providing better color valu...
CyberDressForms Raises Money for N.Y. Victims
Johnny H. Tan, founder and chief executive officer of
Saipan Workers Notified of Rights
Saipan apparel workers will be notified of their rights following a federal court ruling that stipulated that foreign “guest workers” from China, Thailand, Bangladesh and the Philippines who wor...
Independent Designers Strive to Build Brands, Fend Off Imitators
Imitation may be the sincerest form of flattery, but perhaps not in the fashion business, where designers strive to strike the right balance between innovation and salability, while building—and protecting...
FitMe Launches Size Genie
Silicon Valley-based FitMe is the latest tech firm to come up with a solution for sizing. The company is rolling out Size Genie, a Web-based software application aimed at providing r...
New Partners at Porn Star
Santa Barbara, Calif.-based Porn Star has entered into a partnership agreement with Jasco Apparel specifically for financial and business management services, which were originally ...
Cal Mart Adds Focus, Giveaway
The California Mart has added a new multi-line exhibition area to the Nov. 2–6 run of the Los Angeles market....
