California Apparel News

The apparel industry can be a raucous business filled with tight deadlines and fierce competition. But Los Angeles-based designer Mona Thalheimer handles it with quiet grace.

The hearing-impaired designer has carved a place for herself in the Los Angeles industry for the past 20 years, and she first launched her own label, Mona & Co., 14 years ago. She recently relaunched the line with a new focus and a more contemporary look.

Thalheimer says her hearing loss has never hindered her career, and she credits many in the apparel community for supporting her work.

“People in the fashion world were always accepting of me and many of them helped to nurture my career in the business,” she says.

Bruce Johnston serves as Thalheimer’s business partner and sometimes as her translator. Johnston, who has only worked with the designer for a year, says people in the fashion industry tend to be open, encouraging and easy to do business with overall and that the Los Angeles fashion community has a hometown atmosphere.

“Everyone knows how hard this industry can be, and it can be very competitive, but there still is a real sense of family,” he adds.

Thalheimer, who took nearly a decade off to work as a costume designer in the entertainment industry, returned to the fashion business last year, relaunching her label with the help of Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization Fashion Business Incubator.

“This is a specialized area and I needed to know the terminology,” says Johnston. “Of course, Mona is an old pro, so I started with an experienced designer.”

The current Mona & Co. collection specializes in casual, multifunctional separates with a contemporary California edge for sophisticated women from ages 25 to 45.

The collection has a unique look, according to manufacturer Gordon Morikawa, a longtime friend of Thalheimer who shares showroom space in the California Mart with the designer. Morikawa, the owner of California Image Wear and partner in Los Angeles-based contemporary boutique Xin, notes the designer’s use of luxurious fabrics and great textures.

“The styling is young and contemporary,” he says. “Mona is extremely talented, with a vision for her collection.”

Johnston says the collection’s look also comes from Thalheimer’s extensive training with her visual sense, heightened by her handicap. As a result of this sharpened sense, she gives more attention to details and fabrications, he says.

When Thalheimer decided to relaunch the line for Fall 2001, she retooled and refocused the collection, which she calls “Elegance Pour la Vie.”

“I love designing and know a lot about the business, but new things have happened since I left [the business nine years ago],” she says. “It really is no longer about categories, but what age the line is geared for.”

The key is to find a niche—particularly for small designers looking to compete with the larger players, Johnston says. Mona & Co. uses that niche mentality—and Los Angeles’ strong boutique base—to test new ideas.nbsp;

“The great thing about being here, in terms of marketing, [is] we can test in [boutiques in] different areas like Montana Avenue and Sunset Plaza for the feedback we need to help us move forward,” Johnston explains.

Emphasis, located in Sunset Plaza in West Hollywood, is one of those boutiques.

Thalheimer’s collection fits perfectly into the store’s mix, according to owner D’vora Attia, who described the boutique’s lines as “timeless clothing for timeless women.”

“Mona’s designs are for women who want classic and elegant clothing that doesn’t go out of style at the end of the month,” she says.

Attia saw an image of a Mona & Co. item in a newspaper article and “tracked her down” to see the full line. She currently carries Mona & Co.’s silk chiffon skirts and matching tops.

“My customers love the pieces because they can be worn different ways, casual or elegant,” Attia says. Moreover, she says she especially appreciates how the company conducts business.

“They are honest and caring,” she says. “It is nice to be with someone who is willing to take care of a problem when it occurs.”

L.A. Fashion Roots

Thalheimer is a Los Angeles native and a second-generation Los Angeles designer. Her German-born parents were in the Los Angeles apparel industry—her mother, Leisel, was a designer for Royal of California and her father, Max, owned Labeling and Dye Company.

Thalheimer was born with normal hearing but developed a fever just before her first birthday. The medicine she was given was not strong enough to cure the infection that resulted in her deafness.

Although her parents never wanted their daughter’s hearing loss to make a difference, they knew she would encounter obstacles in the hearing world. So, Thalheimer attended the House Ear Institute and the John Tracy Clinic for the hearing impaired and enrolled in an oral program. “My first word was ballhellip;for ball gown,” she says.

The designer says her mother dressed her in elegant clothing even as a young girl. And she loved it. Thalheimer recalls that by the age of four, she had made an apron, and it became clear to her parents that she had a flair for designing.

Through her parents, Thalheimer met leading Los Angeles-based designers and learned the business. She attended Chouinard Art College, graduating with honors and garnering job offers from Givenchy and Valentino. But Thalheimer decided to stay in Los Angeles after the sudden death of her father.

Although Thalheimer only learned sign language at the age of 30—after other deaf people chided her—it didn’t hinder her progress in the apparel business. She designed for several Los Angeles labels, including Fred Rothschild, Lanz Original and Bernie Ruda.

In l981, she joined a new Los Angeles-based startup called Abrizzi Inc. A three-month temporary design job soon turned into a partnership as Thalheimer handled the design, marketing, fabric selection and merchandising for the company’s missy dresses.

Thalheimer went solo in l987 with her Mona & Co. label, a sportswear collection inspired by European classics. Retailers including Bloomingdale’s, Bergdorf Goodman and Saks Fifth Avenue carried the line.

The designer later shuttered her line to take on Hollywood, working as a costume designer for TV and film projects, including “Phat Beach,” “Terror in the Night,” “Misguided Angel” and “The Yellow Badge of Mustard.” However, Thalheimer says the entertainment industry was less accepting of her handicap.

“It was difficult with people in the industry since so much is done on the phone—that’s how Hollywood works—and not everyone had the patience to deal with a deaf person,” she says.

Return to Fashion

So Thalheimer returned to the more welcoming fashion business to relaunch her label with the help of Johnston.

The immediate objectives for Mona & Co. are to go on testing the line, putting its network of suppliers in place and fine-tuning the designs and sizing.

“A small company needs to provide an extremely high-quality product to succeed,” Johnston explains.

Thalheimer says she also feels strongly that a company needs a set of corporate values. So, a portion of all their future profits will go to organizations that aid families with deaf children. The designer notes that she understands the struggle of parents trying to help their children adapt to their handicap, and the obstacles they overcome when raising a physically challenged child.

“My career is a direct result of my parents’ efforts to make available to me all the options that a child who is deaf could have. I was lucky to have parents who could give me what I needed to succeed,” she continues, adding that she hopes her efforts will help other parents encourage their children.

“My mother and father gave me the opportunity to do anything I wanted,” she says. “I owe it to myself, but what is more important, I owe it to them to continue to challenge myself so I can enjoy all the possibilities life offers.”nbsp;