INDUSTRY ISSUES
The Desktop Revolution: How xTool is Democratizing Industrial-Grade Apparel Printing
| May 1, 2026
In the traditional apparel manufacturing landscape, the bridge between a creative concept and a finished garment has long been guarded by high entry barriers, complex industrial workflows, and prohibitive costs. However, a seismic shift is occurring. xTool, which has rapidly ascended to become the world’s second-largest DTF (Direct-to-Film) brand by GMV, is dismantling these barriers.
Prana Names New Director of International Sales
Prana, the lifestyle and yoga line headquartered in Carlsbad, Calif., is going more global with the appointment of Pacho Bedoya as its new director of international sales. He begins his new job on Feb. 2.
Winky & Dutch: Novelty Metal Jewelry Made in the USA
After nearly 30 years making novelty jewelry in America, New York–based Winky & Dutch is restructuring the company, streamlining its pop culture–inspired collection and updating its back-end operations.
Fusing Sport and Street to Encompass an Active Lifestyle Brand
Garbe Luxe is a contemporary activewear lifestyle brand headquartered, sourced and manufactured adjacent to downtown Los Angeles.
Showroom Profile: Necessitees
When her CMC lease expired last year, Hallie Shano decided to move across the street to the seventh floor of The New Mart, opening a 1,200-square-foot space that is even brighter than her old space—if that is possible.
Showroom Profile: Frnch Label
The B-wing of the California Market Center’s fifth floor just got a little more French with the opening of a new brand, Frnch Label, a young contemporary line designed in France and Los Angeles and produced in Asia.
Showroom Profile: Tivoli Paris Collections
For her very first independent showroom, Smadar Elkayam chose to be in the Gerry Building, where other showrooms carrying European lines are located.
Showroom Profile: Research and Development
Candice Clark, owner of the Research and Development showroom in the Cooper Design Space, shared a showroom on the building’s second floor for about a year and a half but found she was outgrowing the space for her four collections: Just Female, Diarte, Della and Callahan.
Eco & Art-Driven
There’s another world, hidden in plain sight, said Lily Chehrazi and Benedict Barrett, owners and designers of the fashion brand Together California.
Ingear Fashions Introducing Licensing Swim Line Based on the Popular Beer
Constellation is upping the ante for marketing the popular beer, and its next step will be rolling out a women’s swimwear line bearing the Corona logo produced by Ingear Fashions Inc.
Brand Buiding Starts With the Hat
Eventually, Sunset.Vintage.Flex will offer all categories of clothes, said Rico Curry, the Los Angeles–area line’s founder. Yet since it started in 2013, the nascent brand’s focus is on headwear.
Made-in-USA Capsule Collection Blends Heritage With High-End Details
Streetwear designer Karl Kani is coming home, so to speak. The Brooklyn native, who has been based in Los Angeles since the 1990s, recently launched an American-made capsule collection for men and women.
Made-to-Measure for the 21st Century
Custom made-to-measure clothing has been a luxury few could afford until recently, when a renewed interest in craftsmanship over disposable fashion gave rise to another side of the fashion industry: companies that offer made-to-measure tailoring and custom design at relatively affordable prices and timely turn times.
Buyout Firm Lion Capital Urges American Apparel Sale
The pressure keeps mounting for American Apparel to put itself on the auction block.
New California Laws Will Change Some Workplace Rules in 2015
A new year means a flurry of new workplace laws that go into effect.
2014: Year in Review
As 2014 draws to a close, the editors of California Apparel News take a look back at the year’s significant news from key industry sectors such as retail, trade shows and international trade agreements. We also take a look at the burgeoning interest in made-in-America manufacturing and some of the most-read stories of the year. Plus, we remember some California industry notables in our in memoriam section.
