California Apparel News

In a move to merge music and fashion in a trade show, Urban Rocks Fashion will debut in Los Angeles Aug. 18–20 at the historic Roosevelt Hotel in Hollywood.

The event will serve both as a fashion trade show and a forum to discuss the growing trend of music icons creating fashion collections, according to show producer Michael Cohen, president of Mac N Me Productions, a Los Angeles-based marketing and production company.

“We’d like to have Outkast or Puffy [Combs] talk about why and how clothing became a big part of what they do and how the music influenced the clothing,” said Cohen. “Now that hip hop artists are going into the clothing industry—even artists like Fleetwood Mac are going, too—but there has been no forum for discussion and young designers want to know how it works.”

The show will present Spring 2003 collections from such mainstream urban designers as Rocawear Junior and such high-end designers as Evisu Genes to buyers in hotel suites.

The 9-year-old Evisu produces jeans retailing between $225 and $450. Vince Gonzales, vice president of sales and marketing for the company, noted that Evisu’s designs began to increase in popularity when rapper Jay-Z began to talk about them in his songs. Gonzales said he sees the need for an event such as Urban Rocks Fashion.

“I feel that it will attract Hollywood talent and that’s who we’re focusing our attention on to build our brand,” said Gonzales. “We have celebrities, rappers and sports figures wearing our apparel and they are going to be attending the show as well as top-notch retailers who focus on this type of apparel.”

The event will feature mainstays of urban apparel but will focus on the high end of urban apparel for men and women and the popularized lifestyle of musicians. Cohen said that such an event could only take place in Hollywood.

“We wanted to give them the glitz and the glamour and what is known as the ’bling-bling’ lifestyle,” he said. “The quality of the high end of urban fashion is prevalent today and Hollywood is the place to be.”

The show is also an alternative to MAGIC International’s biannual event in Las Vegas, which includes a well-established Streetwear section. But Urban Rocks Fashion will differ from MAGIC by combining the worlds of the music industry and the fashion industry. Cohen said it will also differ from the massive trade show by giving attendees more to do in an easier-to-navigate environment.

“Instead of being in a stuffy booth with 100,000 others, trying to find six people to buy from, the buyers can interact with our designers in plush hotel suites,” Cohen said.

Confirmed events at the show include a welcoming cocktail party and the “Bling Bling” Celebrity Music & Fashion show party. Blender magazine and Red Bull have signed on as sponsors for the show.

In addition to Evisu and Rocawear Junior, Da Vinci, Dulce De Leche and Ben Sherman have also signed on as show exhibitors.

For more information, call (310) 876-0826.