California Apparel News

Traffic started strong and continued on throughout the April 16–18 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show at the California Market Center.

Indeed, the show could have continued past closing time each day, when many textile representatives frantically tried to wrap up sample orders from designers and fabric buyers even as security tried to clear the aisles.

The show drew representatives from several California companies, including Karen Kane, Jessica McClintock, Tree, Robert Rodriguez, Nikolaki, Kevan Hall, Eva Franco, Elisabetta Rogiani, Lourdes Chavez, Bebe, Marciano, Katy Rodriguez, Single, Felina and Eletra Casadei.

“As the influence of California fashion continues to grow on an international scale, so does the quality of attendees,” said Joanne Lee, director of trade shows and events for the CMC. “Overall, we heard very positive comments from both new and returning exhibitors, who were pleased with the cross section of customers at the L.A. International Textile Show. We also heard that everyone is looking forward to the October textile show, which will feature a more comprehensive International Pavilion.”

According to a CMC representative, other companies represented among the attendees included Adidas, American Apparel, C&C California, Chinese Laundry, Forever 21, Jones New York, Lane Bryant, Louis Verdad, Pacific Sunwear, Quicksilver, Rampage, Skechers, Trina Turk, Nordstrom and Citizens of Humanity.

Many stopped first in the Fashion Theater on the ground floor to view the latest looks from a small group of French textile mills showing in the European Pavilion, organized by Espace Textile. This year, the Italian Trade Commission–sponsored TexItalia show opted not to show, sending a few Italian mills up to the 13th floor to show with the rest of the exhibitors, which included fabric and trim suppliers, yarn and fiber companies, and print houses and color-forecasting services.

Beverly Klein and Theresa McAllen, designers for Los Angeles–based label Tree, came with only an hour to shop on the last day of the show.

The designers said they were on the hunt for interesting European fabrics.

“We’re looking for something that captures our attention,” said Klein, noting that French mill Albert Guegain in the European Pavilion has “great embroideries,” before heading over to look at Deveaux’s line, also in the European Pavilion. The two typically work with local representatives for European lines, Klein said.

Designer Anna Huling was at the show looking for fabrics for her new Los Angeles–based contemporary line Frani & Ling, produced in partnership with Honeydew owner Benny Zafrani. Huling, who shuttered her eponymous collection several years ago, worked for a few California companies before quietly launching Frani & Ling for Spring 2007. At the textile show, she was on the hunt for cute knits, laces and wovens for Frani & Ling, as well as “cute, young and fun, ditsy prints on voiles,” for Honeydew’s sleepwear division.

Nikolaki designers Nick Verreos and David Paul were on the hunt for red carpet–worthy fabrics, while designer Elisabetta Rogiani was looking for new activewear fabrics. Designers Samantha Robinson and Karen Kananen were looking for fabrics for their new line, Earth & Sky, an item-driven contemporary sportswear line made in the United States from organic, sustainable and recycled materials.

Kananen said she and Robinson found a few new basic fabrics at the show and are working with a few of their existing vendors on custom knit qualities.

“The novelties are harder to find—but we still keep looking!” she said.

“Since we are so small, we don’t really have the time and resources to get out of L.A. too much,” she said. “At least we have a lot of representation of many European lines here in L.A., so we can get fabrics from other places quite easily.”Global goods

The Gallery Asha booth was busy for nearly the entire three days, as buyers checked out fabrics from Africa and Peru, as well as T-shirts made from Ugandan fabric, which is dyed in Mauritania and cut, sewn and silk screened in Los Angeles, according to company owner Julie Ward.

“I guess Africa is now hot,” she joked.

Ward’s hand-dyed fabrics come in 5-yard pieces with a 20-piece minimum. Because she doesn’t have headers and won’t cut swatches from her pieces, buyers typically purchase a single piece at a time at the textile show and place production orders after the show. This season, however, buyers were ready to place larger orders, she said.

“They’re buying fabric, they’re buying T-shirts, I’m taking orders,” she said. “I’ve got orders for 20 pieces of five different fabrics—that’s never happened before.”

Bernard Jacobs—who was helping Shkendi Kaziu-Basler, a New York–based representative for Swiss mill Jakob Schlaepfer Inc.—said he saw a mix of well-known designer and contemporary labels at the booth, as well as new labels from Los Angeles, Mexico and one from Kentucky.

The Jakob Schlaepfer booth was surrounded by other European mills, but many reps said they would like to see show organizers create a separate section for high-end fabrics.

“I would prefer a separate European section,” said Kaziu-Basler. “The venue should be different so people would know it’s a different price range.”

Los Angeles–based Tessile Group nearly had its own pavilion on the 13th floor with several booths set up for its lines, including Euromaglia and BAP from Italy, Tesa IM and Juan Boluda from Spain, Tissage du Causse from France, and Silk Fashion and Pinx from India.

“It’s been very busy,” said Tessile Group’s Tracee-Renee Simmer.

“Monday was fabulous,” said April Booth, a representative for Taiwanese knit mill Eclat. Booth said she was getting requests for organic fabrics, bamboo and performance knits.

“We’ve gotten a lot of new business,” she said, estimating that about 75 percent of the people she’d seen were new to the company. “I see the regulars all the time—they don’t need to come to see me here. I try to see all my customers before the show. That’s why we do these shows—to get new business.” Timing is everything

This season the textile show’s dates were moved up by two weeks—falling immediately after the Los Angeles Majors Market. Opinions on the date change ranged widely throughout the show, with some, including Tessile Group’s Simmer, saying the scheduling worked well for many of her customers.

“People are almost done with Holiday; they are gathering Spring headers—it’s good timing,” she said.

Malibu Textiles’ John Irwin said hosting the show right after the Majors Market means designers come to the textile show armed with specific trends in mind.

“The week after market is always good because they’re fresh—I think it’s the best time to show,” he said.

But designer Eva Franco said moving the show even earlier would be better—particularly for designers who placed most of their orders at Premiegrave;re Vision in Paris in February.

“Those companies I saw in Paris have an advantage—I already have their headers,” she said, noting that currently she is checking on her fabric deliveries to make sure goods are in house before the August holidays in Europe.

Jakob Schlaepfer’s Kaziu-Basler agreed, saying, “Later is no good because of the delivery—we would lose money; they would not get deliveries on time.

But Hal Kaltman, owner of Hal Kaltman Textiles and representative for Canadian velvet and corduroy maker DeBall Inc., said traffic would be even busier if the show were held later in the month.

“Whenever we move the show to the end of the month, the attendance climbs,” he said. “Look at last April and last October—attendance was way, way up.”

Eclat’s Booth noted that timing of the show depends on the manufacturer and its own production schedule.

“We’re showing Spring ’08, and we’re also getting people who want second [delivery] Fall,” she said. Emmanuel Rorolle, export manager for French mill Deveaux, agreed.

“For our customers here it can be even a little later—they are really starting Spring now,” he said.

Sharon Mishima, also a rep for Deveaux, added, “The important thing is that it doesn’t conflict with their shows [at Los Angeles Fashion Week].”