California Apparel News

There are thousands of apparel-related companies in California but not many nonprofit groups that serve as a go-to source informing the industry about new state laws and regulations, tariff and trade problems, and other fashion-centric issues.

But nearly 19 years ago, the California Fashion Association was founded to help apparel and textile businesses grow and serve as a voice for the industry. Ever since its formation, it has been helmed by Ilse Metchek, its president.

Metchek brings to her position nearly four decades of experience as a designer and owner of her own Los Angeles dress company, Ilse M. For years, she was the general manager of the California Market Center, one of the largest showroom buildings in downtown Los Angeles.

Metchek is the person newspaper journalists call when they need a perspective on a fashion or apparel-business issue. CFA has been mentioned in stories written in the Los Angeles Times and the Los Angeles Business Journal as well as broadcasts by National Public Radio and CNBC.

When not providing an overview of the fashion industry, Metchek organizes a host of panels and information seminars at trade shows and industry events on subjects such as expanding your brand through licensing, protecting your brand and supply chain, and how to grow through mergers and acquisitions.

This year, Metchek was at the forefront fighting to repeal a European Union tariff imposed on U.S.-made women’s blue jeans. The tariff went from 12 percent to 38 percent on May 1, adding $95 to the cost of a $250 pair of U.S-made women’s blue jeans. She immediately prompted four congressional representatives who represent districts in California to send letters to the U.S. trade representative urging a resolution and worked with trade and customs law firm Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg to figure out a way to get around the tariff.

In early December, the law firm won a major victory for Los Angeles–based Hudson Clothing in a decision issued by the United Kingdom tax and customs department. Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg argued that the jeans contained dyes that faded and were not colorfast, technically classifying them as women’s cotton trousers, subject only to a 12 percent tariff. Other EU countries were expected to uphold the U.K. decision and apply it to other brands.

Every year, Metchek organizes an annual meeting, called the “Crystal Ball,” which gives CFA members prescient insights into the economy and current issues affecting the industry.

Three years ago, Metchek took over the administration of the Textile Association of Los Angeles, whose membership has more than doubled.

Through the California Fashion Foundation, a CFA nonprofit entity formed in 1999, the charitable group and TALA organize an annual scholarship awards luncheon held at the California Market Center for participating design-school students. It also has an annual holiday party that gives away toys to children from the nonprofit Para Los Niños, Dolores Huerta Elementary School, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Los Angeles and East LA.