Hollywood Fashion Biz Ponders Return to Work After WGA Strike

It’s been a winter of discontent for costume designers, boutiques and other fashion businesses that provide wardrobes for television shows. The 3-month-old Writers Guild of America strike put many of their livelihoods on hold and cost Los Angeles County $1.4 billion in lost business, said Jack Kyser, chief economist for the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. But the costume designers and other Hollywood fashion businesses may be going back to work soon.

A breakthrough in strike negotiations on Feb. 1 may signal an end to the labor conflict, possibly in the next couple of weeks, according to reports in The New York Times and other national news outlets.

However, costume designers and other fashion companies doing entertainment business might not get back to work for a month, said retailer Danny Marsh, even if the strike is resolved before the broadcast of the 80th Academy Awards ceremony on Feb. 24.

“Everyone is excited that the strike might be over,” said Marsh, owner of boutique Sy Devore, located in Los Angeles’ Studio City neighborhood. More than 25 percent of the store’s income comes from “studio services,” selling clothes to costume designers for television shows such as “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Ugly Betty” and “CSI: Miami.”

“It will take 30 days to get back to normal,” Marsh said. “And I don’t believe the strike is over until it’s over.”

Other costume designers familiar with scheduling for television projects said the call back to work might come earlier or later than 30 days. It all depends on when scripts for the upcoming pilot season are approved.

Costume designers need scripts to get an idea of what a show’s characters would wear, said Mary Rose, president of the 740-member Costume Designers Guild. “If you don’t have a script, you can’t do anything,” she said.

The strike has impacted anyone with a connection to the suffering entertainment industry, from restaurants to car valets. Business for the Los Angeles fashion designers who produce gowns for the awards-show season has also been hit.

Many celebrities refused to cross WGA picket lines at awards shows, and gala celebrations for the Jan. 13 Golden Globe Awards were cancelled in lieu of a low-key press conference. A representative for the Academy Awards said the event will go on, strike or no strike. But designer Kevan Hall said the Golden Globes cancellation put a damper on the awards season, which also includes the Grammy Awards, scheduled for Feb. 10.

“We only lost the Golden Globes, but it felt like we lost more,” Hall said. His red-carpet fashions have been worn by celebrities such as Katherine Heigl, Drew Barrymore and Felicity Huffman.

Los Angeles–based designer Octavio Carlin said the weak awards season might cost him more than 50 percent of his business this year. “One year ago, we were so busy. This year, nothing is happening. No one is going out,” Carlin said.

Some of Hall’s clients have dropped by his studios for fittings for their Academy Awards dresses despite rumors of some festivities being cancelled. Otherwise, the designer said his business was going on as usual. He continues to sell gowns, with retail price points ranging from $2,000 to $4,500, at high-profile boutiques such as Stanley Korshak in Dallas.

Yet, if awards shows cancel their festivities, Hall said he might miss out on the extra business generated from the awards-show publicity. When Felicity Huffman wore his gown to accept an Emmy Award in 2005, retailers and women from around the world contacted him to buy the dress. He said he received more than 15 inquiries from Dubai alone after the awards show.

With awards-show celebrations losing some of their sizzle, fashion houses have found other ways of making money. Los Angeles–based Lloyd Klein did the wardrobe for the video of Paula Abdul’s song “Dance Like There Is No Tomorrow.” The design house also has hosted private fashion shows at its headquarters to increase sales interest.

The lackluster awards season has not affected the marketing business of producing gifting suites. Although not associated with awards shows, gifting suites are scheduled for the days leading up to the events. The suites offer companies a chance to distribute their products to celebrities who are in town for awards shows.

Kari Feinstein has produced several gifting suites over the past five years. This year was not expected to be different, she said. “No one thought the Golden Globes were going to be cancelled. They thought it was going to be worked out. So we went forward with it,” she said. Feinstein is the owner of Feinstein/McGuiness PR.

More than 35 companies contracted with her company to be represented at her Golden Globes lounge, which took place Jan. 10–11 at the Social Hollywood nightclub in Hollywood.

A few companies dropped out of the lounge because of the labor struggle. Because Golden Globes festivities were cancelled, she renamed her event “Winter Style Lounge.” More than 400 people visited, and Feinstein opened up the guest list to include some hairstylists, makeup artists and craftspeople who were unemployed because of the strike.

Television costume designers suffered heavily during this strike, said Rose, president of the Costume Designers Guild. More than 400 of the 740 members of her union have been out of work. Other businesses have been hurt. Los Angeles–based Kato Sewing Machine Co. makes 75 percent of its income from renting sewing machines and dress forms to costume designers. The business plummeted during the strike, said owner Alvin M. Kato.

Fashion boutiques serving neighborhoods with a high population of TV-industry professionals have cut back on their inventory. Studio City–based Sy Devore cut its Spring orders by 50 percent. They made the reductions in October because they knew the strike was coming. “If business stays the way it is, I’ll have to cancel some more goods,” Marsh said. “But if business changes, I can fill up the store again.”