California Apparel News

This summer, buyers walking Barcelona’s Bread & Butter—a leading international trade show produced by German show producer B&B for progressive, contemporary clothing—will find no lack of American brands.

In fact, nearly 200 of the show’s 950 exhibitors in the upcoming summer show come from the United States, with a growing chunk of those calling California home.

Bread & Butter—the biannual event that focuses on premium denim, sportswear, streetwear, “Urban Superior” and designer apparel—attracted nearly 100,000 buyers to its January 2008 edition. And California brands are hoping to tap into the show again July 2–4.

The stagnant domestic economy is a big reason California brands—especially homegrown staples such as premium denim, streetwear and surf/skate—are Europe-bound.

California brands set to show include Rock & Republic, Etnies, Matix, Vans, Hudson Jeans, City of Others, Tarina Tarantino, AG Adriano Goldschmied, Famous Stars & Straps, J&Company, Levi’s, LRG, Juicy Couture, Paul Frank Industries and True Religion.

“Europe is turning into a big focus for our business,” said Alex Vaz, founder and co-owner of True Love & False Idols, the Compton, Calif.–based streetwear brand that has shown at Bread & Butter for two years. “We’ve lost sales to boutiques that are going under or owe us money because of the current economy. Business is bad, and Europe can help pick up the slack.” True Love, which works with a European distributor, does 20 percent of its business overseas and is looking to continue its international growth into markets such as Dubai and Saudi Arabia.

Bread & Butter represents an untapped market for Crooks & Castles, the Los Angeles–based streetwear brand. “It is the show to be at for the European market,” said Chris Natalio, the brand’s marketing director. “We’ve reached our limit here; we can’t really grow too much more. Europe and Asia are the next markets.”

Crooks & Castles, which works with a Swedish distributor and recently signed a Spanish distributor, does approximately 20 percent of its business in Europe and wants to see that figure grow. Right now the brand’s international distribution extends to New Zealand, Australia, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Germany and France.

Michelle Kim, a Los Angeles–based designer who is taking her contemporary MK2K brand and young contemporarybrand 213 Industry to Bread & Butter, also has Europe in her sights. “The [domestic] market is very tough, and sales are down for all of us. California is especially scary. The only way to increase our sales is to leave the U.S.,” she said. Kim, who has a distributor in Europe, said her international focus also extends to Canada and Japan.

While Bread & Butter represents a growth opportunity for her brands, there are obstacles to doing international business. “International sales has its pros and cons. With international sales, once it’s done, it’s done. There are no returns and none of the problems we can have with domestic boutiques, which is great,” she said. “But while Bread & Butter is a great show and a big market, there are so many brands. It isn’t really a ’working’ show. It’s a big party. It’s more about being seen, and it is expensive.”

One boon for Kim is the spate of phone calls she has been fielding from international distributors who saw her last season at Bread & Butter. “We’ve gotten interest from distributors around the world, even Russia. If we pick up good distributors, it will make the show worth it.”

Crooks & Castles’ Natalio said another difficulty is educating European buyers on his brand. “In Europe, we’re still new. We find ourselves having to really educate the buyers there as to who we are. It has taken a while for them to catch onto streetwear. Trend-wise, they are on a totally different page,” he said.

The effort is worth it when Crooks finds a good retail partner. “In Europe they don’t have the type of boutiques we’re used to doing business with. It is a different setup and a totally different experience. So while they’re an untapped market, sometimes we have to compromise with the sort of retailers we work with.”

Another sobering point is news that the European market may be beginning to slow down. “My distributor—who also represents brands like Juicy Couture, Rock & Republic and 7 For All Mankind—is saying Europe is tough, too. Buyers are starting to be more conservative. So that is also a concern,” Kim said.

Jessica Rush, international sales director for Irvine, Calif.–based surf/skate brand Ezekiel, echoed Kim’s concern. “Europe is strong, but it is also taking a step back at retail. Our weak economy is also affecting them. Our European distributor said it isn’t super-slow, but they are definitely seeing a dip in Europe. A lot of [Europeans] are traveling to the States, and they can come here and shop for great deals,” she said. Ezekiel, which works with European distributors and licensees who make Europe-specific apparel for the brand, sees Bread & Butter as a must for its business. “It is a really good show. It is the European version of MAGIC [Marketplace],” Rush said. Europe accounts for 30 percent of Ezekiel’s business.

It isn’t just fledgling brands that look to Bread & Butter for an injection of new life. Vans, a division of the giant VFCorp., also pins high hopes on the show. “I can tell you that Bread & Butter has been an important show for us for five to six years now, and we look at it as one of the more important 'street' fashion shows in the world,” said Vans Marketing and Public Relations Director Chris Overholser. “It is a great opportunity for us to showcase the more ’lifestyle’ portions of our product line versus true performance footwear.”

California look

While California brands are hungry for Europe’s untapped markets, European buyers are equally bullish on brands that capture California’s cool. That would explain the show’s increasing popularity among the state’s most notable fashion segments: premium denim, surf/skate and streetwear.

“There is definitely a demand for California lifestyle brands in Europe. They’ve got fashion covered, but surf and skate brands are from California, and they look to us for those,” Ezekiel’s Rush said. Surf and skate are strong trends across Europe, she said, especially in the three countries that are best represented by buyers: Spain, Italy and France.

“It does matter that we’re from California,” Natalio said. “Everyone is keen on the L.A. lifestyle, and we represent that.”