Monday, April 30
Apparel News Daily Reader
Gap Creates Gap Utopia at the Grove (The Cut)Fashion Week’s Plight in Australia (Wall Street Journal)Queen Mary to host exhibit of Princess Diana memorabilia...
Atwood Goes All Medieval With HSN
Colleen Atwood was won well-deserved accolades for the costumes she created for “Chicago,” “Memoirs of a Geisha” and “Alice in Wonderland.” Not to mention some of the inspired costumes she has created for gems such as “Married to the Mob” (I’m not kidding. I freakin' love that movie.)Her latest work will hit...
Friday, April 27
Retail Resource Guide
Buhler Quality Yarns Corp. ensures the highest-quality products backed by environmental sensitivity and around-the-clock support throughout your supply chain. Our distinctive portfol...
Tracking Retail Shopping Trends in 2012 and Beyond
Amazon.com will outpace Wal-Mart, free shipping will become the online norm, and mobile commerce will take a larger role in retail sales. ...
Levi’s Names Starbucks’ Alstead to Board
San Francisco–based Levi Strauss & Co. named Troy Alstead to its board of directors. ...
California Cities Among Top 10 for E-commerce Crime
Los Angeles and San Francisco are among the top 10 cities in the United States where online and e-commerce fraud starts, according to a survey by ThreatMetrix, a San Jose, Calif.–based company that ma...
Behind the Muzak: Mood Media Makes Retailers’ Soundtracks
Years after the Internet cut much of the music industry’s clout, sales for one music company are rising....
How to Protect Yourself from the Brand Pirates
How do you protect your brand if hundreds of Chinese websites are selling knockoffs of your premium-denim jeans? ...
FGI-LA Talks Fashion and Red-Carpet Style
The conversation was lively, and the quips were fast and furious at
So You Think They're Knocking Off Your Line
That look is so...familiar.It’s every new designer’s nightmare.Hours after opening a store in a new town, buyers from competing lines purchase thousands of dollars’ worth of your brand’s clothes. You fear that your new customers, umm, your competitors,...
Apparel News Daily Reader
What Happens When Heidi Klum Loses Her Luggage? Michael Kors Comes to the Rescue (Racked)Simon Doonan is on a one man campaign to rid the world of man boobs...
Galleria Renovation Starts
The Glendale Galleria in Glendale, Calif., started the most extensive renovation project in its more than 36-year history on April 25....
Dyrdek Buys DNA From Burton
Skateboard star and TV host Rob Dyrdek bought DNA Distribution—owners of skate brands Alien Workshop, Habitat and Reflex—from Burton. Terms of the deal were ...
Thursday, April 26
Apparel News Daily Reader
“How About those Assless Chaps?” - Channing Tatum and Joe Manganiello (The Cut)Kate Middleton rocks a peplum: Is this her most fashion-forward frock to...
SwimShow to Celebrate Milestone Anniversary
SwimShow on the runway, photo by John EckmierThe swim world is preparing for its annual trek to Miami Beach, and this July there will be a landmark occasion to celebrate. SwimShow, the swimwear industry’s longest running trade show, turns 30 this year. The Swimwear...
Look at You, Ditto!
Online eyewear retailer Ditto launched today with technology that lets you try on sunglasses and ophthalmic frames virtually using a webcam. Visitors can quickly create a “Ditto”—essential a video avatar of you. The...
Wednesday, April 25
Pitney Bowes’ E-commerce Solution Helps Lock In Landed Price at Checkout
Frenchluxury company PPR has a broad mixof international brands, ranging from high-end—Gucci, Bottega Veneta, ...
Jumping Out of an Airplane? Wear This.
Photo by Jeff NewtonActually, this is the super-high-tech suit Felix Baumgartner will wear when he jumps from a helium balloon from 23 miles above earth. Commercial planes fly 6 miles to not quite 8 miles up. Chump change...
This Week's Sample Sale Rundown..
Diesel Sample Sale, April 25 26, 3 to 6 pm, 662 N. Robertson Blvd.The fashion lines are buzzing this week with sample sale news in LA. From Diesel's sale which kicked off today and tomorrow on Robertson Blvd. to Cynthia Vincent's sale...
Meet Cleobella
Cleobella's Angela O'Brien at the brand's flagship store.Sunset Beach is a beautiful stretch of Orange County coastline best known to fashion people for being the address for the venerable shop for classic surf brand Katin. Recently, another fashion brand moved into...
Tuesday, April 24
New CMO at Stage Stores
Houston-based Stage Stores Inc. named Steven Lawrence chief merchandising officer, overseeing merchandising, planning and allocation functions of the retail chain, including the Houston-based souther...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Kardashian's Dash Boutique on Melrose is a Blank Slate (LA.Racked)Shopping: Vera Wang's all-red bridal collection comes to L.A. (All the Rage)Molly Ringwald Joins Twitter,...
Google Zips It Up
Today’s Google doodle is all zipped up. The interactive doodle honors Gideom Sundback, who is known for perfecting the zipper. My favorite headline about the doodle is from the LA Times: “Gideon Sundback, who did not invent the zipper, gets a Google...
Ready for the Fashion Blog Conference?
The Annenberg Community Beach HouseSounds like the perfect way to spend a Monday by the beach talking about fashion.Lucky Magazine is hosting its very first West Coast-oriented Fashion and Beauty Blog conference...
Martin-Vachon Joins HSN
HSN hired Anne Martin-Vachon as chief merchandising officer of the St. Petersburg, Fla.–based interactive multi-channel retailer.
Monday, April 23
Copious Bases Online Shopping on Social, Not Storefront
One of the big challenges with buying goodsonline is not knowing who the seller is, according to Jim Rose, founder andchief executive officer of the San Francisco startup Copious. ...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Bravo Has a New Male Model Reality Show in the Works (The Cut)Victoria Beckham turns designer hand to cars (Reuters)Vanity Fair Tribeca Film Festival party...
Monkie Boutique Shutters
Monkie closing saleFor those shopping Main Street in Santa Monica, Calif., the Monkie boutique seemed like it always would be around. The contemporary women’s boutique had been selling fashion on the popular thoroughfare since 2000. But on April...
Friday, April 20
Texprocess Supply Chain & Tech Resource Guide
Technology
Apparel Works (AWI) is a Chicago-area company specializing in Western Hemisphere–based private-label design, sourcing, and manufacturing. Key items include premium-denim jeans, shorts, jacke...
When to Make the Switch to PLM
With the increase of fast fashion, apparel companies are under increasing pressure to provide more lines, more quickly, which can mean chaos for a company that isn’t prepared to deal with the increased...
New L.A. Website Offers Only American-Made Apparel
For years, Noelle Nguyen took most of her production for private-label blue jeans to far-flung factories overseas, where prices were lower than in the United States....
New Marketing Execs at Quiksilver
Quiksilver Inc. has created two new marketing positions that havebeen filled by former surfers....
Lectra Names Manufacturing Director
Paris-based technology solutions provider Lectra named Bertrand Crönert as its manufacturing marketing director. Crönert has been tasked with reinforcing Lectra’s position in...
Sold-Out Fashion Market Northern California Includes Room for New Exhibitors
SAN MATEO, CALIF.—Organizers of Fashion Market Northern California kicked off the show’s recent sold-out run at the San Mateo County Event Center with the debut of its newly r...
Colombian Swim and Lingerie Reign at Lencería Boutique
Juliana Correa’s underwear and swimsuit drawer is almost purely full of brands designed and made in Latin America. ...
Chaser T-Shirts Evolve to Women’s Collection
“Almost no one buys our T-shirts because they are a Grateful Dead fan,” said Hadi Salem, chief executive officer of Chaser. The Los Angeles–based brand has mo...
American Giant: Made In San Francisco, Retailed Online
Debut a fashion line at a trade show, wholesale the new brand to retailers, and, down the line, open a branded boutique and an e-commerce store devoted to the label. That’s the conventional model of s...
Free-Trade Agreement With Colombia Goes into Effect Next Month
After years of negotiations and months of ironing out the fine details, the United States–Colombia Free Trade Agreement will go into effect May 15....
Anymatic Expands Its Made-to-Order Printing Technology
Technology
Anymatic founder William Cawley knew it was possible to simply transfer an image onto a piece of fabric through sublimation printing and then cut that fabric to make a pair of boardshorts. The trick ...
Jack O’Neill Collection: Surf Threads for 30-Somethings
Though a core target demographic for O'Neill clothing is teenagers and young 20-something-year-olds, the majority of the employees working at the brand probably do not fall into the ...
Jill Powers Joins Gerber Technology
Tolland, Conn.–based Gerber Technology has hired Jill M. Powers as its new senior account executive for sewn products for the West Coast region of the United States, including California, Oreg...
Burgeoning Teen Retail Chain Shutting Doors After Tragic Accident
German entrepreneur Rainer Schulz was an old hand at setting up fast-fashion stores across Europe under such nameplates as Forever 18 and Colloseum....
Fashion Valley in San Diego Unveils $20 Million New Look
On the weekend of April 27, the Fashion Valley retail center in San Diego is celebrating a $20 million renovation with a series of fashion shows featuring looks from its ten...
Buxbaum Steps Down as Haggar CEO
Two new executives have been named to take over the top positions at Haggar Clothing Co., a menswear maker since 1926....
Texprocess Americas Seminar Calendar
After a launch earlier this year in Frankfurt, trade show producer Messe Frankfurt is bring its Texprocess show to the United States for an April 24–26 run at the Georgia Wor...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Fashion News: Lady Gaga to wear an Armani piano on her head (All the Rage)10 Eco-Friendly Fashion Brands We Can Get Behind (Fashionista)Elite Models Launches Fragrances, Eliminates Need for...
Element Emerald Collection And Making A Difference
Element founder Johnny Schillereff at Ron Robinson.With Earth Day coming up April 22, Orange County brand Element introduced the Fall/Holiday looks from its eco-line Element Emerald Collection at the Ron Robinson boutique at the Los Angeles Fred Segal...
On Trend Down to Her Shoes
Spotted! Sandy Richman high atop these bad boys. The always fashionable president of the Directives West buying office and retail consultacy told me her shoes are vintage Isabella Fiore which she bought a few years ago at the brand's...
California Supreme Court Rules in Meal-Break Case
The Supreme Court of California reached a decision in the Brinker Restaurant Corp. case regarding employers’ obligations regarding provided meal breaks for employees. ...
D&A Man to Bow in July
Barbara Kramer and Ed Mandelbaum, founders of New York–based boutique trade show Designers and Agents, will add menswear to the mix in July with the launch of D&A Man July 22–...
Forever 21 Designs to Dig Wells in Kenya
The colorful, intricate designs of Kenya’s Samburu people were celebrated April 18, when retailer Forever 21 debuted a 19-piece capsule collection inspired by the Samburu style. The Los Angeles𠀓...
Thursday, April 19
Oscar de la Renta Returns to The Colleagues’ Fund-Raiser
Who: The Colleagues...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Ralph Lauren Reveals U.S. Olympic Closing Ceremony Outfits (The Cut)Alternative Fashion Week (Seattle Post-Intelligencer)Photo of Two Girls Kissing in...
LACMA's Costume Council's Luxury Preview
Heritage Auctions' Spring Luxury Auction, photos: Alex J. Berliner/AB ImagesThe“Constance” bag in metallic silver, a Chanel bike and a Fontana Frenchart deco diamond platinum bracelet. These are just a few of thecovetable items in Heritage Auctions' Spring Luxury Auction.And it'salso the...
Wednesday, April 18
Karmaloop: E-Commerce...Entertainment Moguls
KarmaloopTV's home pageWatch your back MTV!Leading streetwear e-commerce site Karmaloop unveiled the new, souped up version of its entertainment site KarmaloopTV.com on April 18.The Boston-based Karmaloop will produce its own content chronicling the music,...
Apparel News Daily Reader
NZ designers ditch Australian Fashion Week (New Zealand Herald)First Looks:See the Altuzarra for JCrew Capsule Collection (The Cut)Bar Rafaeli Got Groped by...
Joe’s Jeans Sees 1st-Quarter Sales Rise 23 Percent
Los Angeles–based premium-denim lifestyle brand Joe’s Jeans is on a tear. ...
Tuesday, April 17
Apparel News Daily Reader
Tupac Coachella hologram: Behind the technology (CBS)Spring 2012: The New Classic Couture (Elle) Coachella Problems (Buzzfeed)Pinterest drives the need for...
Mannequins Don't Talk
Executive Editor Alison Nieder might be channeling Thing from The Addams FamilySo, many of our readers probably wonder what we do when we're off...
Monday, April 16
Apparel News Daily Reader
Faces of Coachella 2012 (Los Angeles Times) Converse + Missoni Combine For The Coolest Summer Sneaks(Refinery29)What 13 Celebrities and Musicians Wore...
The World According to Gaultier
"One of the first things that struck me about the Jean Paul Gaultier retrospective exhibition at the de Young Museum in San Francisco is the chatter. On my recent visit, the chatter came not from the shoulder-to-shoulder crowd, but from the mannequins.In a clever display, video...
Friday, April 13
Clothing Business a Major Player in Los Angeles Manufacturing
Apparel and textile manufacturing in Los Angeles contributed $40.3 billion to the economy in 2010, up from $22.8 billion in 1997....
Buyers Tour the San Pedro Mart
Recently, a group of retailers and designers—coming from as near as Fullerton, Calif., and as far as Bangkok—met in the Los Angeles Fashion District for a tour of the area, led by Mercedes R. ...
’The Other by Cheryl Koo’ Bows
Designer Cheryl Koo produced the first fashion show for The Other by Cheryl Koo, her art-inspired line, March 21 at Kesspro Studios in downtown Los Angeles. The runway show...
New Execs at Dickies Girl
Apparel Limited, which makes clothes under the Dickies Girl label, has brought on two new top executives....
Mischa Barton: From Style Inspiration to Fashion Designer
Mischa Barton’s fashion style has been an obsession with celebrity magazines, and she has critiqued other people’s clothing choices as a guest on E! Entertainment’s “Fashion Pol...
Finance Resource Guide
Bibby Financial Services
Uniqlo To Open in San Francisco, Scouting Locations in Los Angeles
Fast Retailing announced April 10 that its popular Uniqlo brand will open its first West Coast flagship store in San Francisco. By fall, the highly anticipated Uniqlo store will be located at a 29,0...
San Francisco’s Elizabeth Charles Opens in Newport Beach, Calif.
Times have not been kind to many independent, multi-line retailers, but San Francisco–headquartered Elizabeth Charles is bucking that trend and expanding. The independent, multi-line boutique is openin...
Facebook’s New Timeline Gives Businesses New Tools for Engagement
Brands were given a sink-or-swim opportunity to redesign their conversation with consumers, along with their Facebook profile page, when the social-networking giant imposed a mandatory March...
Eurovet Acquires CurveExpo Lingerie Show
Eurovet, a leading French organizer of lingerie and fabric shows, has acquired 100 percent of CurveExpo, the New York company that puts on four lingerie shows a year in the United St...
Putting a Little Heart & Soul Into a Good Cause
A look for the recent HeartSoul collectionFashion has many uses. For the people who make the HeartSoul juniors label, it's a way to raise money for a worthy endeavor.I bumped into Paula Schneider, the new...
They Called Him Dragonpants
Did you hear the one about the guy with the Dragon Pants at the Mitt Romney event in Wisconsin? The eye-catching pants caught the eye of Romney staffer Garrett Jackson, who captured the moment and then immortalized it on Twitter. The L.A. Times’ Maeve Reston tweeted...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Fashion News: Dressing for Coachella (Los Angeles Times All The Rage blog)Fashion Television: Jeanne Beker looks back on 27 years of iconic show (The Toronto...
T&A Knows How To Party
From left Jonathan Narcisso, designer of headwear label "Brims With Confidence," Aja Gibbs and Jamie Ann Avanceňa.Different fashions go in and out of style, but fashion knows how to party.One of the best parties at the Downtown Los...
Versace Collection Tests Beverly Center Store
The Versace fashion house is testing a new concept: a branded store for its Versace Collection line. The first one in North America opened with little fanfare at the Beverly...
Apparel-Industry Accountant Gary M. Fineman, 64
Gary M. Fineman, one of the Los Angeles garment industry’s leading accountants, died April 8 of brain cancer. He was 64....
Thursday, April 12
Economy on Track to Grow With Solid Retail Sales
If the U.S. economy were a car, it would be rolling down the highway of finance at 55 miles per hour instead of traveling at the speed limit.
Cavalli: Back On Rodeo
Cavalli's Rodeo Renovation Revealed!Roberto Cavalli reopened on Rodeo Drive after more than six months of renovations. Located at 362 N. Rodeo Drive, the 3,000-square foot store will sell women’s handbags, accessories, shoes, eyewear, jewelry, watches and lingerie as...
No Piano
Photo courtesy of streetpianos.comFor those who aren’t making the migration to Coachella and who are looking for some music a little closer to home, LA Chamber Orchestra is kicking off its musical public art installation “Play me,...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Do These Two Looks Mix Well? (The New York Times)Michelle Obama Can’t Help It If she is so popular (The Cut)Preserving the fabric of history (The Boston...
Wednesday, April 11
Apparel News Daily Reader
Kate Middleton’s Stripper Second Cousin Shops Reality Show (The Cut)There’s A New Sole in Town (Elle)UGG's expanded styles (Shop Eat Surf)How Robots Helped...
Tuesday, April 10
Joe's Jeans to Open New Store in Florida
Los Angeles premium-denim brand Joe's Jeans has another door to open.The company revealed it will be unveiling its 23rd retail store at the high-end Aventura Mall in South Florida on April 20. The 1,500-square-foot space...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Guess v. Gucci Lawsuit Drags On (The Cut)Miu Miu’s Sea Creatures Are Super Fancy (Elle) David Beckham to be Elle’s First Solo Male Cover Model (The...
Play With Your Type
See the 3D B?French artist Jerome Corgier is taking typography to new dimensions. Corgier is experimenting with what Imprint magazine called “type sculptures,” with folded and layered paper. (Hat tip to Salon.)The artist’s...
Monday, April 9
R.B. of McD Launch Party at I.Bazaar
R.B. of McD founder John McDavid Lehman III (pictured) is “a sucker” for L.A. Mill Coffee’s orange-infused cappuccino (to wind-up) and Black Black Old Rasputin beer with iced coffee (to wind-down). In the organic way that things happen in Los Angeles, Lehman’s posh R.B. of...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Dior Picks a Low-Key Successor to Galliano (The New York Times)'CR Fashion Book,' Carine Roitfeld's New Magazine, Delivers 'Creativity,' Sideboob (Huffington...
Friday, April 6
Barbara Fields’ Forecast for Fall ’12
Metallic shirts and sweaters, sequins, animal prints, boyfriend jackets, and body-hugging contour dresses are just some of the predicted “million-dollar items” for Fall and Spri...
Fall ’12 Trends by Directives West
It was a crowded house at the Directives West Fall ’12 runway presentation, which opened L.A. Majors Market on April 2 at the California Market Center. Retailers, sales reps...
Gerber to Take on Customer Challenges at Texprocess Americas
Tolland, Conn.–based technology company Gerber Technology is asking potential customers to bring the company their apparel-production challenges at the Texprocess Americas show, which runs Ap...
Sage Principals Join Investment Bank Intrepid
The Sage Group, a Los Angeles investment bank that has brokered several high-profile apparel-company sales and acquisitions, has lost two of its top executives to another Los Angeles investme...
Apparel Industry Recovery and Challenges
With the U.S. economy predicted to grow faster this year than in 2011, apparel companies are starting to feel that better times are ahead....
FineLine Technologies and ClikGenie Partner to Provide Mobile Merchandising Technology
Technology
Atlanta-based FineLine Technologies has aligned with ClikGenie software consulting and solutions to integrate mobile merchandising bar codes with apparel price tags....
Flash-Sale Site LuxeStyle Bows
Established retailers such as Nordstrom Inc. and Amazon.com Inc. made news by acquiring flash-sale sites Hautelook in 2011 and Woot.com in 2010, respectively, but...
DVF Opens at South Coast Plaza, Planet Blue Closes Westlake Location
South Coast Plaza made way for a new DVF store on April 2. The 2,000-square-foot store is located on the first level in the Costa Mesa, Calif., luxury center’s Saks Fifth Av...
Apparel News Daily Reader
Today Is National Beyonce Day (Elle)Coachella Cool (The Zoe Report)Fashion News: Rihanna wears PJs to 'Battleship' premiere (Los Angeles Times)American...
Buttons and Bows Brings Vintage Chic Downtown
Button and Bows owners Karen Marley and Monique Aquino opened their store after finding success selling...
Lectra and WGSN Partner to Bring Fashion Trends and Design Development Together
French technology solutions provider Lectra and London-headquartered online trend-analysis service WGSN have formed a new global partnership aimed at bridging the gap between fashion...
Thursday, April 5
Apparel News Daily Reader
Jackie Onassis, Liza Minnelli, Jerry Hall and more in Ron Galella’s Paparazzo Extraordinaire (The Cut)Nail Polish as a Fashion Accessory (The New York...
Chinese Laundry Dives Into Denim for Fall
Chinese Laundry has taken the plunge into denim, launching a new collection of denim dresses, skirts, jeans and jackets for fall.Known for its affordable footwear, this is the label’s first...
Etnies' Easter Gift
Pierre Andre Senizergues, Etnies' CEO pictured left, at Los Angeles Mission Easter week 2011.Skateboarders often have the reputation of being rebels and malcontents, but skatewear brand Etnies will show that skaters can be angels with dirty...
Wednesday, April 4
March Sales Robust
March sales were robust, with many retailers reporting sales that either met Wall Street expectations or exceeded them....
Apparel News Daily Reader
Brits Ban American Apparel’s Gratuitous Nudity, but Approve of Beckham’s ’Golden Balls’ (New York Magazine)Bunker Hill fashion shoot (Los Angeles Times)Stella McCartney Used To...
The Wind Beneath My Feet
These socks showed up in today’s mail. Supercute, right? Plus, they have an intriguing little sticker that reads “Made with 100% Wind Power.” San Francisco–based Pact makes women’s and men’s socks, undies and T-shirts, made from mostly organic...
Tuesday, April 3
US Trade Ambassador: LA Apparel and Textile Companies Key to Boosting Exports
The Obama administration wants the Los Angeles apparel and textile industry to help the country double its exports by the end of 2014....
Apparel News Daily Reader
Top Trends From Fall 2012 (Elle)A-list boredom with China's fashion shows (China Daily)A time-traveling fashionista boards the Titanic (All the Rage)Ancient...
Fashion Business Inc. Gets New Space
It's moving day for the people over at Fashion Business Inc.The business incubator for up-and-coming apparel companies is shifting its digs within the California Market Center.For the past three years, the...
Monday, April 2
Apparel News Daily Reader
Street Style: Gingham Plaid (The New York Times)HM Registers Brand Names (The Telegraph)Ivanka Trump’s Turn on the Runway (The New York Times)Coty makes $10B...
FIDM Pays Homage to Titanic Anniversary
April 15 marks the 100th anniversary of the sinking of the RMS Titanic. The Fashion Institute of Design Merchandising will pay homage with a presentation on April 14 at the design school’s Irvine campus by Kevin Jones, FIDM Museum curator and fashion and Titanic...
Big Birthday Bash for Jerry Leigh
Harajuku Lovers T-shirtIt's not often you hear about an apparel company that has been around for 50 years under the same owners.But Jerry Leigh Inc., founded in 1962, is getting ready to light the candles and celebrate its 50th anniversary....
Take Me Out to the Ballgame
And while you’re at it, pick up some Tommy Bahama MLB gear. The Seattle-based lifestyle line has expanded its co-branded collection with Major League Baseball Properties, which, in Tommy B’s words “pays homage to America's favorite pastime while delivering authentic skybox style.”This year’s...
Pike Goes to the Glitter
From Hexagon Accessories.Laurie Pike’s words and idiosyncratic style have inspired Los Angelenos for years. She wrote about fashion for Los Angeles magazine, website LA.com and her own journal The Paris Blog. Occasionally, she became the story. New York Times and other...