California Apparel News

Entering its seventh year, the Webby Awards [www.webbyawards.com] are arguably the most significant vehicle for promoting Internet presence by honoring progress in all fields of endeavor. The fashion category has been among the most awarded and robust groups.

Said Tiffany Shlain, Webbys founder and fashon category director (and a frequent guest Internet expert on “Good Morning, America”), “Acknowledging quality in fashion-related Web sites helps to push the fashion industry to realize the potential of the medium.”

This year, two fashion sites received awards.

The first is ZOOZOOM.COM [www.zoozoom.com], which won the overall Webby based on its forwardthinking and forward-feeling presentation of fashion. ZOOZOOM describes fashion as “constantly changing, evolving layer by layer, molded by great creativity and the collective forces of popular culture.” This visual treat develops edgy themes (“VooDoo,” “2nd Skin,” etc.) and runs with them, using designers’ work photographed in unconventional settings.

The second winner, of the People’s Voice Award (based on the Webbys’ site polls), is STYLE.com [www.style.com], the online home of Vogue, flashing lots of celebrities and mainstream retail trends at the consumer along with a shopping portal.

The Webby Awards recognize Web sites in 30 categories. The deadline for entries in the Seventh Annual Webbys is Dec. 20. Entering your site is facilitated online at www.webbyawards.com/main/submit/index.html.

Amazon Launches Apparel Site

Books, DVDs and now apparel. Amazon.com has expanded its virtual universe with the introduction of “Ruby,” the site’s new apparel and accessories store.

The 7-year-old company recently unveiled it to its best customers at www.amazon.com/ruby. More than 400 brands have signed on to the site, ranging from major retailers Nordstrom and Gap to designers Marc Jacobs, Betsey Johnson and John Varvatos. Categories available are women’s, men’s, shoes, accessories, maternity and kids’. Some of the brands offer fuller selections than others. Dior for example, simply sells a few sunglasses and jewelry and a tank top.

Some retailers said they decided to expand their presence online based on strong results from their proprietary sites, including Los Angeles-based GUESS, which expects online sales to skyrocket 146 percent in 2002 from the year 2000. To date, it’s unclear what Amazon’s apparel differentiating point is given that most retailers have their own sites and often sell their wares at a discount. Still, analysts say the company can no longer ignore apparel’s e-commerce promise.

A recent comScore Networks report measuring nontravel- related e-commerce listed apparel and accessories as its third-largest category by revenue, behind only computer hardware and office products. Thirdquarter sales were $1.3 billion, a 22 percent jump over a year ago.

Meantime, Forrester Research predicts that online garment sales will climb from $4.2 billion in 2001 to $5.2 billion this year.

Italian B2B Migrates to America

Today, only two years after its launch, ItalianModa has over 110,000 visits per month and has been quoted by the “Financial Times” as being one of “Europe’s most influential business-to-business portals.” Italian- Moda—according to its latest press release—has successfully broken down the barrier between buyers and suppliers. Now, the same creative team of specialists announces the launch of USStyle.net, the mirror image of ItalianModa for the American fashion and textile industry. You can visit it at www.usstyle.net.

After successful launches of similar marketplaces in Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary and other European countries, the same online business tools are being brought to the United States. All the companies belonging to USStyle are paying members, making the marketplace of USStyle.net a highly reliable source for any textile or fashion need..

Some of the buying services offered by USStyle include search engines, an industry-standard directory, e-catalogs, surplus auctions, buying groups and a popular “StyleAdvisor” service, to name just a few. These tools are offered to the user at no cost.

The main goal of USStyle.net is to help professionals get in touch with the best American fashion and textile companies. For the first time ever, small retailers who struggle with competition can buy directly from the biggest American manufacturers and wholesalers. —with contributions by Nola Sarkisian-Miller