California Apparel News

During the Oct. 14–­16 edition of L.A. Market Week, buyers visited the Fashion District in downtown Los Angeles to place those last-minute Immediates orders for Holiday and consider trends for the following Spring. At the California Market Center, The New Mart, the Cooper Design Space and the Gerry Building, showrooms saw optimistic buyers who wanted unique pieces and a shopping experience without distractions.

New approaches to color, construction at New Mart

Walking the building from top to bottom, Denver-based Tara Weydert was interested in Immediates and Spring for her boutique Covered. With a sweet spot of $200–$400 retail, she

was filling in for December deliveries by placing orders for sweaters in browns and muted tones.

“There is a demand in my area for dresses that are flowy hippie but also structured. I have a lot of realtors who want dresses that are easy to get in and out of cars,” she said. “I start at the top floor and work my way down. I love Lisa Todd. Bishop + Young is a great, easy price point with dresses that look like they are off the runway.”

For Spring, she is seeing a lot of blushes and demand for dresses. With an upper-middle-class female clientele, Weydert has been in the business for 20 years, becoming a trusted source to the women who trust her style judgment.

At Salt & Pepper Sales on the eighth floor, brand manager Sandy Cooper saw linens and prints ticking for Spring along with more-architectural cuts from lines such as Banana Blue and Brynne Walker. For her high-end customer, price isn’t much of a consideration, with average pieces selling for $160 wholesale.

“People come here for Spring’s lighter and heavier linens,” she said. “It’s all about color and art. This is a really important market for us for Spring.”

Santa Barbara-based Catherine Gee, recently introduced XL sizing and was showcasing her eponymous brand’s Spring/Summer 2020 collection at Sam’s Showroom on the building’s ninth floor. Fresh colors in tangerine and a green palm print were in demand by buyers from new accounts.

“The classic silk shirt is selling really well. Buyers are looking at all the new prints and they like the ease and effortlessness of the new solid silk shirts,” Gee said. “It’s refreshing to see some of the more fashion-forward pieces that are selling really well.”

Downstairs at Designers & Agents, the October market required the expanded space that could accommodate an array of independent brands. Among the vendors was By the Sea Company, a Kapaa, Hawaii–based zero-waste, upcycled brand by industry veteran Kathryn Letson, who makes pieces in small batches at family factories in Jaipur, India.

“Polka dots are going to be big for Spring. I am all about polka dots. They are charming. People are also loving gold with little touches,” said Letson. “Organics and natural dyes are getting a good response. Indigo, marigold, turmeric. My line is only one size to eliminate the consciousness of sizing.”

Francesca Bacci, owner of the Italian denim brand Shaft Jeans, was exhibiting her colorful denim, which included jeans, jumpsuits, jackets and shirting. She saw local buyers from Los Angeles and as far away as Boca Raton, Fla., for goods with wholesale pricing between $129 and $170.

“We want to start with the L.A. Market, and it’s the final show of the year,” Bacci said. “This show is curated, and our customers are all boutiques.”

Shopping for Immediates and Spring, Lisa Patterson, owner of The Wildflower, searched for wholesale price points ranging from $30 to $150. The D&A show is important for Patterson as it affords the opportunity to find special pieces for her shops in Ketchum and Hailey, Idaho.

“There are a lot of really great European lines. There is a different color—a lot of white for Fall. Winter white is huge this year. I am buying a lot of prints, which I don’t really do,” she said.
“Usually we go from bright summer into a black, neutral winter. With the white it’s keeping it lighter and airy.”

Creating a space for all categories at Cooper

With a tightly packed schedule at the Cooper Design Space’s Ali & Jay Los Angeles showroom on the building’s eighth floor, Senior Account Executive Larisa Sanchez was fielding demand for pieces in white and pale blue priced from $38 to $68 wholesale.

“This is our launch of Spring,” she said. “This market is important to get the feedback for Spring forward and working on one of our largest assortments.”

Visiting Los Angeles from Oakland, Calif., Dana Olson of We Are Good Stock was shopping for accessories at wholesale price points of $50 to $100. Her clientele comprises female jewelry lovers ages 20–70 who care about the source of her products, with great interest in handmade goods.

“It’s a bit of both Holiday and Spring, but there is consistency to what I buy,” she said. “I look for things that are pretty high in quality. I care very much about where and how they are made. I love supporting women-owned businesses and makers.”

At the penthouse level Brand Assembly, a carefully selected variety of brands ranging from smaller independent lines to trusted luxury collections showcased their goods. At the It Is Well L.A. booth, founder and designer Amy Cho was fielding interest for Spring and Immediates, such as her sweaters in muted tones. At an average price of $60–$80 wholesale, the Anaheim, Calif., brand used its made–in–Los Angeles message as a sales tool for clients who wanted all-natural fabrics in linen, cotton, Modal and Tencel.

“This is where we meet our buyers. For me, meeting the buyers is very important. It’s all about a good relationship,” she said. “Hearing their feedback is very important. We can use that for the next season when we know what works and what doesn’t.”

A colorful selection of knitwear was available at the Hayley Menzies booth, where Wholesale Manager Rebecca Woods was introducing the British brand to the Los Angeles market. She saw interest in Immediates, which included long duster sweaters.

“Less bold, more pastel colors such as baby blues and lighter palettes and, for Immediates, darker colors such as black,” she said. “I wanted to see how the L.A. women shop and buy. They are quite effortless and casual. It’s interesting to see what will work.”

The founder of the online brand Wear Joy, Casey Lum-Dautel, was searching for Immediates. The former stylist and owner of Melrose Avenue’s B. Poy & Jo closed her shop a few years ago and was looking to launch a social-media store.

“It’s bridging the gap between a self-love advocate and fashion blogger who will help you wear joy in every aspect of your life,” she said. “There are some lines that B. Poy & Jo had that I might go back to. I love RDStyle. I want clean, a bit edgy, a little sexy and classic.”

Variety at the Gerry

New to the Gerry Building, representatives at the Vision Sales LA Showroom were settling into their new space, which they’ve occupied for less than a month after moving from the California Market Center. While they didn’t intend on participating in this market week by making appointments, they did have a few buyers stop by looking at new trends in elevated streetwear with retail prices averaging $32 to $350. Sales representative Kenyatta Sands, who also founded and was preparing to relaunch the Positive Wear brand, was looking to guide his buyers through the business-and-advertising process, such as a visitor who was designing a new store in San Francisco.

“He is building a higher-end, exclusive store. They have a store now called True Soul—it’s primarily a streetwear store—but they are looking to do a higher-end store. We offered Cult of Individuality as a tastemaker brand,” he said. “We also have Hustle Gang, which is more of your urban street brand.”

Shopping on the building’s ninth floor at Jamie Prince Sales, Salt Lake City, buyer Jackie Brown was searching for her 40-to-70-year-old customer. Her ideal wholesale price point for her Paletti shop is approximately $100. During this visit, she was searching for Spring pieces in reds, pinks, yellows and greens with lightweight fabrications in linen.

“Many of my European lines show at L.A. Market,” she said. “I am always looking for T-shirts because no one understands how to make a T-shirt and, also, dresses. No one makes dresses for my customer in Salt Lake City, who needs sleeves and no low necks, but I want it to be pretty and unique.”

CMC buyers enjoy last fashion market of 2019

Retailers and fashion consultants shopping L.A. Market Week flagged different trends going around the CMC and checked out the Label Array show, which is produced in the building.

During market week, retail community and platform The Boutique Hub produced The Boutique Hub Los Angeles Experience in the CMC Fashion Theater. The three-day summit featured an orientation to buying in the Los Angeles market, said Ashley Alderson, founder and chief executive officer of The Boutique Hub. It also offered a members-only buying event, which featured a number of vendors ranging from Chinese Laundry to brands such as the B&S Clothing Co., which produced its first West Coast trade show at L.A. Market Week. About 100 retailers attended the members-only show, Alderson said.

Philippe Brenot, senior director of retail procurement for the hospitality company Miraval Group, said the current and upcoming seasons would be marked by specific trends.

“Animal prints will be important for Holiday. Spring is tie-dye,” he said during a stop at the Romy M Showroom at the CMC.

Mercedes Gonzalez, a retail consultant and president of Global Purchasing Companies, also said that animal prints would be popular, but designers are beginning to experiment with styles that place images of animals onto animal-skin prints.

“Every store should look like a jungle,” she said. “Blazers are huge. If you don’t have blazers, you are losing money.”

CMC showroom owners said traffic was mostly good. Rose Marie Migliazzo of Romy M said that about 75 percent of her clients were looking for Immediates that would be delivered for the holidays.

More than 100 brands exhibited at the Label Array show, which ran on the 13th floor of the CMC. The show marked the fifth time that Label Array has been produced at the CMC. It featured diverse categories ranging from footwear to contemporary apparel. The show also produced a Canadian Fashion Suite for more than six Canadian clothing brands, marking the first time that some of these brands have exhibited on America’s West Coast.

Showing moderately priced brands such as Jess & Jane, Harry Wallach worked with retailers such as Eve & Me from Modesto, Calif., and The Dressing Room from Tehachapi, Calif.

“I thought my customers wouldn’t find me in Label Array,” he said of his first time exhibiting at the show. “But they did.”

Tesha Rosenwinkel started her online Hazel Rose Boutique in June and said jumpsuits have been popular with her online shoppers and at pop-up shops that she produces at California State University, Long Beach and at the Rose Bowl Flea Market. She browsed Label Array searching for new styles.

“Rocker tees and graphic tees are huge,” Rosenwinkel said, in addition to teddy-bear jackets, which are outerwear pieces distinguished by a fuzzy, shaggy fit.