Friday, October 31
Montana Avenue, Mecca for Indie Retailers
It’s a classic Los Angeles showdown: the small number of native Angelenos versus the endless throng of transplants....
State of Independence
Indie designers thrive outside the scope of L.A.’s traditional apparel industry. ...
Tukatech Web Venture Showing Fast Growth
Los Angeles–based Tukatech Inc. is trying to help the local apparel industry become a workplace that never sleeps....
Agenda Heads to CMC
Agenda is revving up its fashion focus and bringing its progressive street brands to the California Market Center during the Oct. 31–Nov. 4 run of Los Angeles Fashio...
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: John Sakalis
John Sakalis’ formula for
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Corey Lynn Calter
Corey Lynn Calter had showcased her Fall 2003 line at Smashbox Studios in Culver City by going stark-raving Mod, with models referred to as “secret agents.” For Calter’s...
Wal-Mart Review
Bentonville, Ark.–based retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announced plans to review the payroll records of its 1.1 million U.S. employees and terminate anyone who is not legally employed. The announcement come...
Fire Funds
Tenants in the Gerry Building in the Los Angeles Fashion District are collecting funds to be given to the Red Cross to benefit the victims of the Southern California fires. ...
GQ Hero
American Apparel owner Dov Charney has been named one of GQ’s “Local Heroes” in the magazine’s November “Men of the Year” issue. The publication cites Charney’s effor...
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Bao Tranchi
Bao Tranchi debuted her self-named line on Oct. 27 during Smashbox Fashion Week with a Goth-laden “Exiled Royalty” collection that was a superbly executed exercise in m...
It's Who You're Not
Beaverton, Ore.–based shoe giant Nike Inc. has set out to prove there’s life after Michael for its Jordan brand of footwear, named for the now-retired basketball star. The company has launched an ad campaign for the Jordan brand calle...
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Jeremy Scott
Jeremy Scott’s
Long Beach Company Takes Different Approach to Software Business
Add Long Beach, Calif.–based Apriso Corp. to the growing list of software companies offering supply-chain management solutions for production-heavy industries such as apparel and textiles....
H. Lorenzo Adds Sportswear Store
Lorenzo Hadar continues to expand his miniature retail empire and after 20 years has finally ventured beyond Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood, Calif....
American Apparel Opens Three Retail Stores
Los Angeles–based blank T-shirt maker American Apparel has jumped into the retail pool with a big ripple....
Hot Tempered and Novelty-Driven
Commerce, Calif.–based apparel maker Tantrum Apparel, makers of the 1-year-old Hot Tempered juniors label, launched a second line...
Blue Tattoo Gets Dressed Up
Denim label Blue Tattoo is adding dresses to the mix....
Gap Makes Key Appointments
San Francisco–based Gap Inc. has hired two technology executives to manage its supply chain and management systems. The retailer named Nick J. Cullen as its new executive vice president and ch...
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Alvin Valley
Alvin Valley, one of several New York–based designers to show in Los Angeles this season, didn’t disappoint the local audience. The Cuban-American designer known as “the king of...
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Daly Bain
Los Angeles–based design team Pauline Daly and Daniel Bain quietly created Daly Bain, their minimalist and at times avant-garde line, for five years before hosting their...
Russ Moves
The California Market Center has landed a long-term lease with Russ Berrie and Co. Inc., the makers of plush toys, gifts and home accessories for children. Russ will open a 14,000-square-foot showroom...
Gerber Expands Reach in China
Gerber Technology Inc. is expanding its CAD/CAM development in China....
Tawny Be Good
Tawny Kitaen had just finished shopping at Flair For Women, one of her favorite boutiques in Costa Mesa, Calif. It was her birthday, and when she sat in her car she opened the birthday card from store owner ...
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: 2 B Free
Yves and Cedric Benaroch’s 2 B Free, a mere tank-top line a couple of seasons ago, has blossomed into a collection of whimsical sportswear with a growing number of A-list re...
Going Into Overdrive With New Juniors Line
Global Clothing Network Inc. launched Overdrive, a branded juniors division, in November 2002. Global Clothing, an 18-year-old domestic wovens importer and private-label manufacturer based i...
Dallas Center Appoints New VP
Former AmericasMart Atlanta executive Peg Canter has joined the Dallas Market Center as its new vice president of trade events. She will oversee temporary leasing f...
Ann Kohl Meyers Remembered
Ann Kohl Meyers, former vice president of Allied Stores, died recently after an eight-year battle with cancer. She was 74....
Old Is New Again
West Bank Clothing showroom is relaunching two Los Angeles–based lines, Melanie Apple and Mo & Su, during Los Angeles Market Week....
Prima Yana
Yana Khromova took one small step up Melrose—and one giant leap up market....
L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Shawn
Designer Yohanna Logan’s latest
Local Company Named in Apparel Smuggling Case
A well-known Los Angeles apparel executive has been accused of smuggling apparel from China in a scheme that had goods allegedly headed for Mexico ending up in U.S. stores including ...
So Low
The Federal Reserve held shortterm interest rates at the 45-year-low of 1 percent in an effort to continue to bolster the economy. The Fed issued a statement indicating interest rates could be kept lo...
Sunset Strip Set for a Retail Makeover
The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, Calif., is preparing to get a $60 million retail makeover that could breathe some new energy into the west end of the busy boulevard, which is currently populated b...
Show Down at Sew Down
You can dance, drink, see a fashion show and buy clothing at Sew Down, a music and fashion event conceived by Los Angeles designer Atousa and youth culture marketing company Green Ga...
Fire Fight
Wildfires raged across Southern California, causing considerable damage to homes and forcing thousands of residents to seek temporary shelter. The fires temporarily shut down air traffic at area airpo...
New Look for Market
The Intersection just got more connected. The crosswalks that link the four corners of the California Market Center, the Gerry Building, ...
Kick-Off Party
Mayor Hahn, council members Jan Perry and Antonio Villaraigosa, Fashion District Business Improvement District Director Kent Smith and a throng of Halloween-costumed Otis College of ...
Friday, October 24
Save Your Energy
Californians could be looking at another energy shortage, according to a recent report by the California Independent System Operator (Cal-ISO), which operates the state’s power grid. The state appears to have ...
Swim Textiles Show in L.A.
A small group of swim textile representatives will be in town in November to meet with swimwear makers who will not be attending the Mare di Moda trade show in Cannes, France, this year, beca...
Pure Previews Fashion
Pure Consulting will preview several apparel, accessories, shoes and cosmetics lines at the Downtown Standard Hotel during Los Angeles Fashion Week....
Smashbox Lounge Lineup
Accessories and apparel designers will also be part of the lineup at Smashbox Fashion Week in the Smashbox Lounge....
Partnership Streamlines Color
Color-systems provider Pantone Inc., based in Carlstadt, N.J., and Malaysian-based online color-collaboration company eWarna Ltd. have formed a partnership. Pantone will supply eWar...
Departure Lounge at the Downtown Standard
A trio of designers will exhibit as part of the Departure Lounge at the Downtown Standard Hotel during Los Angeles Fashion Week....
Bad Signs
Six of 10 leading indicators fell in September, after six months of gains, according to the Conference Board. The New York–based research organization found that the leading indicators index fell 0.2 p...
Global Employment Down
Factory jobs are decreasing worldwide, according to a recent report by New York–based Alliance Capital Management LP. The report found that factory jobs dropped more than 11 percent globally between 19...
Wet Seal Trial Postponed
The Wet Seal Inc. got a short reprieve in its legal dispute regarding back wages owed to four garment workers....
Sacred Blue Adds European Flair to Denim
Frank Mechaly is learning a thing or two about the jeans business from his designer dad, David Mechaly, a longtime denim maker who founded Blue Cult denim four years ago in Los Angeles....
Adriano Goldschmied
The New Mart, Suite 813(213) 683-0030 ...
EB Only
Cooper Design Space, Suite 222 (213) 895-6880 ...
Searching Gets Serious
For retailers and manufacturers with serious investments in their Web sites, being found by the major Internet search engines can make the difference between success and failure....
Pool to Move Vegas Show
Alternative trade show Pool announced it will move to a new venue for its Summer/Fall event. The trade show, previously held at the Alexis Park Resort in Las Vegas, will be held Fe...
L.A. Textile Show: So Little Time, So Much to See
There were mixed messages coming from the reps at the Oct. 20–22 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show at the California Market Center...
Westfield Malls to Develop Own Energy Source
Two Southern California shopping malls will be among the first in the nation to get their own power sources....
More Holiday
Shoppers are planning to spend up to 7 percent more during the holiday season this year than they did last year, according to a recent report by tax and consulting company Deloitte Consulting and the National Retail ...
Garment Worker Center Celebrates 2nd Anniversary
On Oct. 18, the Garment Worker Center in Los Angeles celebrated its second anniversary with a dinner honoring Assemblywoman Judy Chu, television actress Mimi Kennedy and the workers ...
Technology Event Draws Crowds at L.A. Textile Show
The latest advancements in technology lured a steady audience during the Oct. 20–22 Technology By Design show, which officially debuted as a new element of ...
Smashbox Adds Parking, Shuttle Service
Smashbox Fashion Week organizers have secured self-parking and shuttle service at a Culver City lot near Smashbox Studios for attendees of fashion week events....
Organic American
Los Angeles–based T-shirt maker American Apparel Inc. has launched an organic cotton line called Sustainable Edition....
Status
California Market Center, C531 (213) 622-7760 ...
Tag Rag
Gerry Building, Suite 403 (213) 623-8810 ...
Friday, October 17
L.A. Looks Set Tone for Fashion Week
Directives West, a retail consulting company, kicked off the Los Angeles Junior & Contemporary Majors Market on Oct. 13 in the California Market Center fashion theater ...
Hot Kiss' HK
Los Angeles–based junior apparel maker Hot Kiss Inc. earlier this year quietly launched a moderately priced denim collection to appeal to a slightly older sophisticated customer....
Seminars Set for L.A. Textile, Tech Shows
FedEx Corp. consultant John Wilkins will lead a seminar during Technology by Design, the technology trade show running concurrent with the Los Angeles Int...
Printing With Tradition
Hermes-owned print facility Siegl isn’t exhibiting at the Los Angeles International Textile Show, but the company is planning a trip to California in Novemb...
Retail Sales Surge in September
September was the strongest month for retail sales in a year and a half. But was this a harbinger of good times to come or merely a fluke?...
Urban/Suburban Bows With New Date, Runway Show
Urban/Suburban, the young men’s and junior urban apparel and footwear show held at the California Market Center in Los Angeles, opened to scant traffic, but focused buyers we...
Wet Seal Departure
Walter Parks of The Wet Seal Inc. has resigned from his position as executive vice president and chief administrative officer. The Foothill Ranch–based teen retailer announced that Parks, who has been ...
Levi's Revised
San Francisco–based denim giant Levi Strauss & Co. announced it had overstated its newincome results in 2001 by $26 million and its third-quarter 2003 results by $4.9 million. The announcement came on the heels of the rec...
Urban/Suburban on the Runway
Street and urban fashions ruled the runway at the first annual
ENK to Debut Brighte Companies During Los Angeles Fashion Week
New York–based ENK Productions, which puts on the Fashion Coterie and Intermezzo Collections shows in New York, will try to recreate the ...
French Connection
High above street level with an expansive view of downtown Los Angeles is a little slice of Lyon, France—at least, that will be the case at the California Market Center durin...
Third Quarter Report: California Economy Likely to Lag Despite Some Positive Indicators
Even muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger may not be able to strong-arm California’s economy back into fighting shape until the middle of next year....
Fields' Forecast: Hot Pink, Mod Styles and Jagged-Edged Skirts
Sexy, casual chic and preppy looks and intimate apparel are designers’ inspirations for Spring 2004, according to Barbara Fields, whose buying office presented a trend seminar on Oct. 13 at th...
Morgane Le Fay Hits Brighton Way
Morgane Le Fay celebrated the launch of its second West Coast boutique with a cocktail reception on Oct. 8 at the new Beverly Hills, Calif., location....
FCUK Dispute
Mississippi-based conservative consumer advocacy group American Family Association is targeting retailers carrying British label French Connection and its FCUK label, which stands for French Connection U.K. AFA has been pres...
Recovery on the Way?
The U.S. Department of Commerce and Department of Labor recently released a pair of reports that indicate signs of recovery for the flagging U.S. economy. Wholesale prices rose by 0.3 percent in Septe...
Spring Style Drives Traffic at CMC's Majors Market
The buyers who came to the California Market Center Oct. 13–16 for the Los Angeles Junior & Contemporary Majors Market were on a roll and ready to place orders, according to sale...
TALA Seeks Scholarship Aid
The Textile Association of Los Angeles (TALA) is asking its members and colleagues in the industry for assistance with its scholarship program....
More Caesars
Real estate developer Simon Properties Group Inc. announced plans to expand The Forum Shops at Caesars in Las Vegas. The developer will add 175,000 square feet to the existing 500,000- square-foot ups...
Gaylord Named President of CFCC
Fred Gaylord, senior vice president for Capital Factors, has been named president of the Commercial Finance Conference of California, effective January 2004....
Friday, October 10
Technology Event Will Debut at L.A. Textile Show
The latest advancements in CAD/CAM products, textile design, illustration tools and supply-chain management software will be demonstrated during Technology By Desi...
Zigzag Sweaters?
United Media and Charles M. Schultz Creative Associates, which hold the trademark for Schultz’s “Peanuts” characters, have signed a licensing deal with e-commerce company FanBuzz, which w...
Customs Misses Deadline for New Rules
The government has delayed issuing new customs regulations for shipping cargo by train, planes and trucks. The rules were supposed to have been issued by Oct. 1....
Industry 212 Draws International Crowd
Immediate orders and staple items for Spring were on buyers’ lists at Industry 212’s Holiday/Resort/Spring ’04 trade show, held Sept. 29–Oct. 1 at the Jacob Javits Conv...
Connell Finds Bliss
Bay Bliss Inc., a moderate resortwear maker in Sausalito, Calif., has hired Mary Margaret Connell as national sales and marketing manager. In the new position, Connell will report to Natalia ...
Auto Couture
Portland, Ore.–based outdoor and active apparel maker Columbia Sportswear Co. has teamed with Chrysler Corp., which will roll out a series of Columbia Edition Jeeps this fall. The specialedition Jeep Grand Cherokee, L...
Eleanor Lambert, 100
Centenarian fashion publicist Eleanor Lambert died on Oct. 7 in her Manhattan home. Lambert was influential in shaping New York’s fashion industry as the founder of the International Best-Dressed List. She als...
Ashworth's Resort
Carlsbad-based golf apparel maker Ashworth Inc. will open The Resort Shop, a new golf concept shop, in the Parisian store at the Riverchase Galleria in Birmingham, Ala. The store, set to open in mid-October, will feature the...
Glendale Marketplace Sells for $43m
Investor Max Webb of Beverly Hills, Calif., has bought the Glendale Marketplace for $43 million. The 160,000-square-foot shopping center, located at Brand Boulevard and Broadway in Glendale, ...
New Tommy Bahama Division to Open at Fashion Island
Indigo Palms, the new denim division of New York– and Seattle-based Tommy Bahama, will open its first store at Fashion Island on Nov. 1 in Newport Beach, Ca...
Workers' Comp Hikes Taking Toll on Payroll, Benefits
Recent reforms in California’s workers’ compensation insurance program will do little to help people like Jimmy Macias, a longtime Los Angeles apparel contractor with 41 employees....
Fashion District Gets Award, New Marketing Executive
The Los Angeles Fashion District has named Katherine Schmidt as its new marketing coordinator. Schmidt replaces April Elgas, who left the organization recently to pursue graduate stu...
Carole Little Rolls Out New Lines, New Direction
Carole Little is getting back into the brand game with the launch of a new apparel company. Her reemergence in the fashion industry comes after a detour that separated the designer from her eponymous ...
Hurley Expanding Into Irvine
Costa Mesa, Calif.–based Hurley International LLC just keeps growing. The surfwear company is moving its warehousing operations to a new 85,000-square-foot facility ...
Western Shuffle
Timing was everything for the International Western and English Lifestyle Market, which moved the dates of its third Las Vegas show to coincide with MAGIC International in August. Show organizers also made it...
Chip & Pepper: L.A. Style With Canadian Flavor
Canadian-born identical twin brothers Chip and Pepper Foster recently added a new denim line, Chip & Pepper, to their long list of endeavors, which includes hosting...
Former 'JAG' Actress Bows New Line on HSN
Actress Cindy Ambuehl launched her eponymous clothing line on Sept. 27 for the TV Shopping Network, HSN. Ambuehl played Rene Petersen on the CBS series “JAG” for three ...
L.A. in N.Y.: California Cool
There is more than a little hippie chic in Los Angeles designer Yael Aflalo’s
Sri Lanka Apparel Group Comes to L.A.
Sri Lanka makes clothes for some of the biggest U.S. apparel labels....
Friday, October 3
Services Set for Dreamgirl Founder Patricia Fischer
A memorial service will be held at 10 a.m. on Oct. 4 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif., for Patricia Fischer, president and founder of Culver City, Calif.–based lingerie make...
New Categories at CMC's Urban/Suburban
The seventh edition of the California Market Center’s Urban/Suburban show will run Oct. 13–15 during the Los Angeles Junior & Contemporary Majors Market ...
Dennis to Liz
Former Calvin Klein executive Sara Dennis has been named vice president of product development at New York–based Liz Claiborne Inc. She will oversee product development for the company’s knitwear, jeans, durabl...
Rosenthal & Rosenthal Opens Los Angeles Office
New York–based factoring and assetbased lending company Rosenthal & Rosenthal has opened an office in the Warner Center, at 21700 Oxnard St. in Woodland Hills, C...
Moves at Zinc
Junior contemporary line Zinc is expanding....
Apparel Makers Prepare for Post-2005 Sourcing
MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—Make no bones about it: China is the sleeping giant that will likely be filling most of the orders placed by American clothing makers and retailers when import quotas for textiles and...
Zipper King Robert Eisenberg Dies at Age 105
Robert “Robbie” Eisenberg, sometimes referred to as the “dean” of the zipper business, passed away from a heart attack on Sept. 30. He was 105. Eisenberg ...
LAEDC Report Targets quot;At Riskquot; Companies in County's Apparel Sector
Despite considerable challenges such as the workers’ compensation crisis, minimum-wage hikes and rising property taxes, the majority of Los Angeles businesses are remaining in the area, and some are ev...
New Store for Stella
London-based designer Stella McCartney has opened a boutique at 8823 Beverly Blvd. in West Hollywood, Calif....
Central, South American Trade, Sourcing Key at Material World Show
MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—Miami is at the crossroads of the Americas—a fact not lost on the organizers of 3-year-old sourcing and fabric trade show Material World....
Tokyo Workshop
First Paris, then New York and now Tokyo. Workshop Salons, producers of trade show Workshop NY, has partnered with Japanese trade show International Fashion Fair to bring international designers to the biannual IFF shows in Tokyo. The IFF shows, in...
Personal Spending Up
U.S. personal spending rose 0.8 percent in August, following a revised 0.9 percent gain the month before, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, which credited lower tax withholding rates and tax credi...
Industry Focus: Buying Offices
Fueled by frequent-flyer miles and information gleaned from trend reconnaissance, buying offices are at once fashion psychics, publishing houses and devout capitalists poised to exploit the latest tre...
Self Esteem Goes Vintage, Doubles Showroom Space
Los Angeles–based junior apparel maker Self Esteem has signed several licensing deals to use the vintage toy and candy brands Du...
McQueen Honored
Alexander McQueen was recognized as Designer of the Year at the Lycra British Styles Awards 2003 event, held Sept. 25 in London. Other designers honored included Sophia Kokosalaki, Manolo Blahnik, Jul...
