Finding Inspiration at L.A. Textile Show

Designers and piece-goods buyers faced high temperatures and high prices on European goods at the April 26–28 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show. But with the show dates falling at a relatively quiet time on the trade show calendar, attendees had plenty of time to browse the offerings at the show, which covered multiple floors at the California Market Center.

CMC executives said it was the highest-attended textile show in seven years.

Many designers spent several days at the show on the lookout for new items and something inspirational. The show covered the entire 13th floor of the CMC, as well as the fashion theater, the exhibit hall, and permanent showrooms on the sixth and seventh floors.

The European mills exhibiting in the French Pavilion on the 13th floor and TexItalia in the fashion theater were once again a big draw for designers looking for luxury laces, jacquards and prints, as well as technical fabrics and sophisticated knits. This year, several lines from Turkey joined the mix. The weak U.S. dollar has kept prices high for many imported textiles, particularly for European goods. Attendees and exhibitors said high prices were a concern but not a deterrent to placing sample orders.

“This is a good show for us,” said Agnegrave;s Elisabelar, international export manager for Espace Textile, which organizes the French Pavilion. “Even if the euro is high, there is still the demand for good quality and original fabrics.”

Sales rep Frank Jansen agreed. Jansen’s company, Los Angeles–based Noveltex Linen, imports and converts linen from Europe.

“Everything works out,” he said. “If people want something, they’ll pay for it.”

The mood at the show was upbeat and optimistic, Jansen said.

“It seems to be better than last year,” he said. “People seem to be a little up. They are stepping up and asking the right questions and sampling and ordering.”

Most of the attendees came from California companies, according to CMC executives. Among the California companies at the show were Guess? Inc., Fred Segal, Macy’s West, Laundry by Shelli Segal, Bebe Stores Inc., The Walt Disney Co., Richard Tyler, Kevan Hall, Frederick’s of Hollywood, The Wet Seal Inc., Corey Lynn Calter, Eisbar, Blue Cult, Louis Verdad, Petro Zillia, Trina Turk, St. John Knits, Maggie Barry and Barrymore, deb-el-yuuml;, Tom K. Nguyen, Naqada, Nikolaki, Bruno Duluc, City Girl, Johnny Was, Lip Service, Grass, Edward An and Byer California.

Overseas attendees included buyers from Canada, Mexico and Vietnam, show organizers said. And New Albany, Ohio–based retail chain Abercrombie & Fitch Inc. and Plano, Texas–based J.C. Penney Co. Inc. both sent buyers to shop the show.

“This has been a spectacular show for us, attended by more than 25 countries and 36 states,” said Cecil Strickland, the CMC’s executive director of retail relations. “This year, we’ve given even more emphasis to our European pavilions and to our design-driven environment. The show has arrived as a key destination for the world’s leading buyers and sellers of textiles.”

On the show floor, most exhibitors said they were pleased with the show.

The 13th floor included both an open-booth area and a wing of enclosed showrooms. Generally, the open area appeared busier, and some reps in enclosed showrooms said traffic seemed slow.

But others, including Ascher Studio’s Dan Sassower, were pleased with the turnout.

“We were busy from the getgo,” he said, noting that buyers from Notice, Juicy Couture and Lucy Love stopped by.

Malibu Textiles’ Mitch Naidrich was equally pleased with the interest in his company’s fringed ponchos. The New York–based lace manufacturer offered the ponchos in acetate, polyester and acrylic lace. The ponchos are hand-cut in Malibu’s New Jersey warehouse and piece-dyed to any color the customer wants.

“I have the best problem in the world right now—I can’t make enough,” Naidrich said.

Trend scouting

Several designers took advantage of the free trend presentations held during the show. Among the companies hosting trend forecasting seminars were TexItalia and the Italian Trade Commission, International Textiles’ Cinzia Black, Cotton Inc., Design Options, Carlin International Paris and Peclers Paris. Fashion Business Inc. also presented its “Fashion for Profit” seminar, and French CAD/CAM company Lectra presented a seminar titled “From Concept to Manufacturing: New Approaches to Improve Communications.”

Other designers took their trend cues from the show floor.

“I visit the show more as a means to be inspired and to stay current with the upcoming trends,” said Nikolaki designer Nick Verreos, who placed sample orders in the French Pavilion with codesigner David Paul.

Verreos said he and Paul have a stable of Italian and French resources that they typically source from but are always on the lookout for interesting new resources that do not require high-minimum orders. “I look at what is out there for the upcoming seasons and try to find similar fabrics, colors and prints from companies that are more willing to work with smaller companies.”

Maggie Barry and Lee Moore looked for fabrics for their new men’s line, Barrymore. Barry also hunted for novelty fabrics for her women’s lines, Maggie Barry and the Maggie Barry Collection. The designer stopped by the show with Moore on opening day, returned on the second day and considered a third trip back before the show ended. “I found a lot of great things at the show— I can’t wait to start designing,” she said.

Los Angeles designer Bruno Duluc stopped by to find fabrics and trim with a bit of shimmer to add a rock ’n’ roll edge to his romantic, sexy dresses. “I’m looking for anything with satin, either as a trim or as a fabric— something with sheen,” he said.

Euro preview

The French Pavilion introduced a new look with curved-front booths, and lace mill Sophie Hallette joined returning resources Deveaux, Goutarel, Henitex International, Sprintex, Sofileta, JB Bernard, Chaine et Trame and Carreman.

French Foreign Trade Minister Francois Loos stopped by the show with an entourage of French journalists to meet with exhibitors and show organizers and to look at the latest offerings from the French mills.

Across the aisle from the French Pavilion, John Marshall, the Los Angeles rep for the French fabric line Solstiss, was extremely pleased with the show.

The company––which sells its high-end laces and hand-painted and hand-trimmed silks to upscale lines such as Richard Tyler, Susana Mercedes, David Cardona and Delphine––has expanded its client roster to include more contemporary and young designer lines.

“The customer knows we’re here—they know our product. But we also got a lot of new people, new bridal customers,” said Marshall, noting that although his prices are high, new customers are willing to try his products. “They start out with trim and a little to experiment. Then they come back.”

In the fashion theater, TexItalia’s lineup of Italian mills included Cuomo, C.M.T., Cotonificio Veneto, Duemilagori, ITS Artea, Gruppo Fedora, Gallus, Efilan, Romi, Seterie Argenti, Ritmotex, Pacini Nello, Taiana Virgilio, Teseo and Vasino.

Gruppo Fedora sales representatives Tommaso Rulli and Tiffany Adams met with buyers from Guess, Laundry, BCBG Max Azria and ABS by Allen Schwartz, according to Rulli, who said his company’s business has increased 50 percent overall this year.

Designers looked for novelties, Rulli said.

“There is more creativity [in Los Angeles] than on the East Coast,” he said. “The East Coast is more numbers. Here, there are a lot of new designers.”

TexItalia newcomer Romi offered swim fabrics, yarn dyes and prints.

“We are starting to deal with the American market. We are already on the East. Now we want to get into the West,” said Federico Bianchi, who manned the Romi booth with brother Mattia.

Among a handful of Turkish fabric resources at the show was Istanbul-based Ugurteks, which showed its collection of cotton, linen, denim and polyester/viscose for the contemporary and designer market.

“We had a good reaction from the people here,” said sales rep Mert Beraze, who said the company plans to open an office in Los Angeles.

“We thought this would be a good place to get feedback on the market,” he said. “When we attend the shows in New York, we know 90 percent of the people. It’s a different experience here.”

Going home

The textile show also featured the Showtime West Salon, a group of home-interior textiles.

This was the second time at the show for Vernon, Calif.–based fabric company Chris Stone. Account executive Loren Stone said he saw some crossover buying for his mediumweight fabrics and custom prints.

“We do crossover to apparel,” he said, adding that at the last show, the company found a few new customers, including “some that were pretty meaningful.”

In addition to Showtime West, there were other interior resources scattered throughout the show, including Los Angeles–based Villa Nova, the interior fabrics division of Emday.

Next season, there may be even more, according to Espace Textile’s Elisabelar, who said she was thinking about adding interior fabrics collections to the French Pavilion.

“For us, this is a good show because it’s the best textile show in California,” she said. “We have to be here and bring more Exhibitors.quot;