The Kingpins Denim Show Comes to L.A.

Specialty denim trade show The Kingpins holds its first Los Angeles edition Oct. 11–12 in downtown Los Angeles.

The highly focused, invitation-only trade show features about a dozen exhibitors, each representing a different part of the jeans supply chain. Exhibitors include denim, twill and corduroy suppliers, hardware manufacturers, offshore jeans manufacturers and wash houses.

“This is the spirit of the show—it’s all about the components of what makes up the jean world,” said show organizer Andrew Olah, owner of New York–based Olah Inc., which provides research and development and production assistance for denim and sportswear makers.

Olah and his team have been hosting The Kingpins in New York for the past three years. The show has drawn representatives from such companies as The Gap, Jones Apparel Group, Liz Claiborne, J. Crew, Rogan, Loomstate, Paper Denim and Cloth, Target, Marc Jacobs, Anthropologie and Earnest Sewn.

Olah Inc. has a five-person staff, each with a specific textile background. For example, Olah is a textile instructor at the Fashion Institute of Technology. Two years ago, Olah Inc. opened a Los Angeles office under the direction of Brad Mowry, whose background is with wash houses in Los Angeles and New York. A Los Angeles native, Mowry relocated from New York, where he built, designed and staffed a state-of-the-art laundry for Jones Apparel Group.

In Los Angeles, Mowry handles Olah Inc.’s West Coast business, including large, established manufacturers as well as small, up-and-coming labels.

“One of my efforts is to get in touch with the more-boutique, higher-end brands out in California,” he said. “There’s a wonderful market out here for the type of business we do.”

The Los Angeles show has the same look of the New York shows, according to Olah, who said they found a loft-like space in downtown Los Angeles, although the location does have an outdoor patio to give it a little L.A. vibe.

“It’s important for the customer to understand the breadth of our offering and it’s difficult to see unless it’s all in one place,” said Olah.

For more information about The Kingpins, visit www.kingpins.info. For more information about Olah Inc., visit www.olah.com. —Alison A. Nieder

Lazzari Launches Textile Competition

MILAN—Italo Lazzari is a bit of a renaissance man.

Lazzari was a retailer for nearly 30 years before he decided to enter the textile business, and when he did, he brought along the sensibilities of a trend-savvy boutique owner.

The owner of three Lazzari stores, all in Treviso, Italy, bought an ownership stake in a textile firm in 2000 and changed its name to MTVV. With the name change came a new philosophy, one that reflected the fast pace of retail. Instead of producing collections for two seasons, MTVV would produce four collections per year and work directly with the designers to offer small groups tailored to their needs.

The strategy has earned MTVV customers such as Dries Van Noten, Paul Smith, Giorgio Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna and Hugo Boss. Currently, 40 percent of MTVV’s customers are Italian and 80 percent of them are in the menswear business.

Lazzari was among the exhibitors at Milano Unica in Milan and at Premiegrave;re Vision in Paris last month. His trade show schedule also takes him to Premiegrave;re Vision Preview in New York, and his lines’ agents show the collection at Premiegrave;re Vision Shanghai and in Tokyo.

Despite a whirlwind schedule that has him traveling 200 days out of the year, Lazzari still oversees his stores, which carry up-andcoming designer apparel as well as shoes, books, art, home deacute;cor and gifts.

The store carries well-known designer labels such as John Galliano, Comme des Garccedil;ons and Yohji Yamamoto, as well as international labels such as Akira, Aesop, Aurelio Costarella, and Los Angeles brands such as Chrome Hearts and GoldSign.

Lazzari also is in the publishing business with Mug magazine, which is distributed in 10 boutiques in Italy (including Lazzari’s stores) and one in Argentina. The magazine features up-and-coming designers, artists, products and destinations for travel and shopping.

The retailer’s latest endeavor is an effort to bridge Lazzari stores with MTVV’s focus. The “Textile Design Contest” is a collaboration of Lazzari and the Venice region, Treviso province and Venice University, with endorsements from the Ascom Chamber of Commerce and Italy’s fashion association, the Camera Nazionale della Moda Italiana.

The competition will winnow applicants down to 10 winners: five for design and five for technical feasibility and structure. Each of the contest’s sponsors will select two of the winners for a paid internship with the sponsor company. For more information about the Lazzari stores or the Textile Design Contest, visit www.lazzariweb.it. —A.A.N.

Russell Dresses Cougars in Xtreme

At the Sept. 30 game against rival University of Southern California, the Washington State Cougars recently unveiled their latest defensive tactic.

The game marked the debut of the Pack 10 team’s new uniforms made with Atlanta-based athletic apparel maker Russell Athletic’s new Xtreme Compression jersey. The fabric features a compression fit that makes the uniform difficult to grab, according to the company. Other features of the XC jersey include ventilator technology, designed to speed up the body-cooling process, Dri-Power technology, a moisture-management property and antimicrobial properties to keep the fabric fresh.

Russell has a track record with Washington State. The sportswear maker’s team sports merchandising division introduced its Stretch Mesh Jersey in 2003 at a Washington State game at the Rose Bowl.

“Washington State has a great relationship with Russell Athletic,” said Milton Neal, Washington state director of equipment operations, in a statement. “I have been at WSU for 16 years, and we have had Russell the entire time I have been here. It has been great to see how Russell’s innovations and changes have made our uniforms better.”

For more information about XC jersey or Russell’s team sports merchandising division, visit www.russellathletic.com. —A.A.N.