L.A.'s Golden (Globes) Moment
Jane Lynch in Mon Atelier, photos courtesy JM International GroupThere were plenty of Los Angeles designers represented at last night’s Golden Globes. Shortly after the final award was handed out, I had received an e-mail from textile rep John Marshall, of JM International Group, letting me...
Busy Premiegrave;re Vision Preview Draws a Handful of West Coast Names
NEW YORK—Premiegrave;re Vision Preview New York, the abridged version of the last Paris-based textile trade show, had a strong turnout for the Jan. 11–12 run at the Metropolit...
Everything is Beautiful at the Ballet
Collect 'em all--Les Ballets TrockaderoAlready saw “The Black Swan” and hankering for more ballet-related entertainment? The New York Times has a great story and beautiful slide show about Les...
Move along, folks! Nothing to see here...
Although 2010 brought a surprising number of store openings—both big and small. It still was a challenging year for retail. Add this to the list of casualties. Skeletons in the Closet, the official gift shop for the Los Angeles County Coroner’s Office, has closed. The...
Shop at Gilt, Get a Car
Gold one. Gilt has three 2011 Jettas and will be selling them practically for pennies.Gilt Groupe just kicked the flash-sale concept into overdrive.The New York–based company has built a name for itself as a purveyor of limited-time sales of fashion,...
Divine Design--Mark Your Calendars!
Last year's honoree "Mad Men" star Christina Hendricks It’s that time of year again—the time when you can shop like a celebrity (or, for those of you attending the opening-night gala, you can shop with a celebrity...or two). And it’s all for a worthy cause....
ENK to Launch Show in China in 2011
ENK International—the New York–based producer of Coterie, Designers Collective, ENK Vegas, Intermezzo Collections and WSA—is taking its show to China. ...
Art Meets Fashion at Prada, of Course
Apparently, when art imitates fashion it’s just as tall and skinny. Photos from WallpaperLos Angeles artist John Baldessari has an exhibition at the Prada Foundation in Milan featuring sculptures created to imitate a fashion show. Titled “'The...
Stylish Debut for Beverly Hills Fashion Festival
Beverly Hills Fashion Festival kicked off yesterday with a series of runway shows and pop-up shops that drew a fashionable crowd.Organized by Leanna Lewis and Barbara Graff, the event featured runway shows by Elie Tahari, Teresa Rosati and...
Here's the pitch: Judy Jetson meets 'Tron'
MIT's Gravity Loading Countermeasure Skinsuit, photo from Popular ScienceResearchers at MIT are working on a new spacesuit that will help astronauts stave off bone loss during the prolonged exposure to zero gravity during long space flights. The suits are engineered...
New Plan, Venue for Canceled Shows!
Michael Venedicto, the co-founder of the planned Fashion Los Angeles event, has stepped in to help the designers scheduled to show at a recently cancelled Los Angeles Fashion Week event by providing a location for them to showcase their collections on...
Focused Buyers Home In on Accessories, Immediates at L.A. Market
Fewer buyers but more orders. That was the report by many of the showroom representatives at the Spring 2011 Los Angeles Fashion Market, held in downtown Los Angeles. ...
Steve Needleman Is One Cool Dude
Spotted this Gary Leonard photo of Steve Needleman—Anjac Fashion/Orpheum Theatre owner—at LaObserved. Awesome. ’Nuff said....
LAFW: Scenes from Sue Wong
Dropped by the Sue Wong atelier last night for her glamorous presentation. It was wall-to-wall celebs, press and beautifully dressed guests!...
CMC Carves Out a New Space
Access to Area4The California Market Center's newest showroom space, Area4, bowed today for Los Angeles Fashion Market.The light, airy space features showrooms with glass walls and great L.A. views. To find it, head to the CMC's...
L.A. Fashion Week: A Glimpse of Exchange LA
Los Angeles Fashion Week is underway with a lineup that is—so far—approaching 70 events, including runway shows, presentations, parties and pop-up stores. (For those who say “L.A. doesn’t have a fashion week,” I say “HA.”) EM Productions (veteran L.A. Fashion Week event producers from way back), sent over a little taste of...
L.A. Fashion Week: One-Degree Separation from Iman
Iman, looking a bit like Iman Barbie, from the Bravo websiteBe sure to ask Mike Vensel lots of questions about Iman when you see him at the Concept L.A. Fashion Week Shows this weekend.The designer, photographer, Kitten...
Gird Your Loins, People. It's L.A. Fashion Week!
Los Angeles can do a lot of great things, including produce a diverse mix of design talent that ranges from contemporary must-have staples to avant garde creations that require instructions for wearing. One thing the city can’t seem to do, however, is stick to just...
Attendance Up at GlobalTex
Now in its fourth season, the GlobalTex textile trade show returned to the Los Angeles Convention Center with a tightly edited mix of international textile resources, factories, tren...
Key Buyers at L.A. Textile Show
It was a who’s who of Los Angeles design talent at the Sept. 27–29 run of the Los Angeles International Textile Show, held at the California Market Center....
Design Piracy Law: Industry Voices
In August, lawmakers introduced a
Passport Pictures. Bringing the Glamorama
Macy's Passport, the fashion fund-raiser that raises money for HIV/AIDS charities, bowed last night in its new location—the Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles—with a new name: Macy's Passport Presents Glamorama. And it was glamorama,...
Forever 21 v. Express Decision Illustrates Copyright, Trade Dress Challenges
A recently concluded dispute between retailers Forever 21 and Express illustrated the challenges of copyright and trade-dress claims. ...
Fashion Copyright Bill Reintroduced--With Changes
The design piracy law is back, with a new name, new supporters and a few new changes to the proposed legislation. ...
Cars + Couture at the Petersen Auto Museum
The Petersen Automotive Museum in Los Angeles has set the scene for so many fashion shows including Eduardo Lucero, Gen Art and the short-lived Rock Fashion Week. I recently dropped by the museum...
Product and Location Drive Sales in Las Vegas
The slowly recovering economy made for a mixed message from the recent Las Vegas trade shows, where some exhibitors reported booming business, others reported solid but not stellar sales and a few fai...
Barnstorming a New Identity
What’s in a name? When it comes to fashion branding, a lot. Dress Barn—the Suffern, New York–based company that operates stores under the Maurices, Justice, and Dressbarn nameplates—is looking to change its corporate name.
Las Vegas Gets Back to Business
LAS VEGAS—The industry got back to business during the recent run of trade shows here, where buyers braved sweltering temperatures to travel between multiple shows and multiple venues....
Sundek Returns to the West
Surf brand Sundek is back in California after years away from its West Coast roots. ...
Slow but Steady for L.A. Fashion Market
The secret to success in the recent Holiday/Resort market, held Aug. 8–11 in downtown Los Angeles’ Fashion District, seemed to be booking buyer appointments ahead of time. ...
Fluxus Party at Santa Monica Place
Let the retail parties begin.Santa Monica Place is officially reopening tomorrow, and retail tenants in the completely redesigned center are hosting kickoff events to entice the public to come take a new look at the mall’s new look.
Emmy Costumes and More at FIDM
Robert Blackman’s costume designs for “Pushing Daisies,” the 2009 Emmy Award winner for Outstanding Costumes for a Series, are among more than 75 costumes featured in the fifth annual Outstanding Art of Television Costume Design at FIDM Museum Galleries...
New York Textile Shows Highlight the Supply Chain
NEW YORK—The textile side of the apparel supply chain—from fiber and yarn to finished goods and sourcing opportunities—rolled into town recently for a series of trade shows focused on fabric. ...
Kicking Off the Menswear Season
NEW YORK—The menswear business kicked off the Spring/Summer season in New York on July 18 with the opening of ENK New York and MRket trade shows, followed by the Cap...
Textiles, Textiles and More Textiles
Premiere Vision Preview New York (photo by Stephane Kossmann)NEW YORK—Westside, Eastside, Chelsea, Midtown. Manhattan was practically covered in textiles during the recent Textile Week, when Texworld USA, Premiere Vision Preview and Kingpins showcased the latest in textiles,...
Talking Shop(ping)
Not-so-secret shopper? Practicing (or reformed) retail sales clerk? Los Angeles magazine wants to hear from you. Style Director Laurie Pike has crafted a pair of nifty little quizzes for shoppers and retail workers on her Chic Leak blog. The...
Mood Upbeat but Buying Cautious at L.A. Market
Reviews mixed for shift in schedule...
Tony's L.A. Connection
MemphistheMusical.com Los Angeles designer Chad Kimball was up for a Tony award at last night’s ceremony in New York for his lead role in the musical “Memphis.” Although he didn’t snag the top prize—that went to Douglas Hodge in “La Cage aux...
World Cup's Fashion Moment
For one month beginning June 11, soccer fans around the world will be watching the World Cup, and international brands are already snatching up airtime in order to get their products seen. But apart from sports apparel powerhouses such as Nike and Adidas, fashion appears to be sitting on the sidelines. Billed as the biggest international sports event, the World Cup games...
Man Spanx--It's What's Inside That Counts
Spanx has received its fair share of praise and parody—and competition. But until recently, the focus has been on women and their loyalty to the popular shapewear product.Now Spanx and other shapewear companies have set their sights on the...
One-Stop Shopping for Technology
SPESA, Techtextil and ATME-I co-located trade shows offer preview of what’s to come in apparel technology....
Bijan Honored by Otis
Dr. Bijan PakzadDr. Bijan Pakzad is perhaps best known by his first name--or, possibly, his 1,000-watt smile. For years, his face and signature logo greeted visitors and locals from billboards across Los Angeles. As chairman and designer of House of...
Outsourcing Infrastructure Like the Big Guys
Polygon Solutions seeks to help start-up apparel makers with a combination of industry experience, ERP technology and modern distribution....
L.A. Majors Market Gets Off to a Brisk Start
The April 12-14 run of the Los Angeles Majors Market got off to a brisk start at the California Market Center, where representatives from major retailers—including department stores and chains—turned out to shop the the CMC's showrooms.Buyers...
Mall Food--Redefined
Last Tuesday, I dropped by my local shopping mall—Americana at Brand, the Glendale, Calif., lifestyle mall created by Grove developer Rick Caruso, and found myself in a packed crowd that looked more like the Christmas crush in a booming economy.The Tuesday-night draw: gourmet food...
Mayor Villaraigosa Goes Green at L.A. Fashion Week
Photo by John EckmierMayor Antonio Villaraigosa received the 2010 Humanitarian Award from the Green Youth Movement at the Green Initiative Humanitarian Fashion Show at L.A. Fashion Weekend. The eco-themed show, organized by The...
AAFA Summit: Eyes on the Future in D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C.—With politics on the agenda and setting the scene, the American Apparel & Footwear Association hosted its 2010 Executive Summit in its hometown, Washington, D.C. ...
Good Sign for Day 1 of L.A. Market
Today is opening day of Los Angeles Market Week and they're packing 'em in at The New Mart parking lot. Literally. We're not sure how the attendants plan to undo this parking puzzle (and we'd hate to...
Signs of Recovery at L.A. Textile Show
Designers and representatives from apparel brands big and small walked the Los Angeles International Textile Show during its March 15–17 run at the California Market Center. ...
GlobalTex Returns for Third Run in L.A.
GlobalTex returned for a third edition in Los Angeles in a new hall at the Los Angeles Convention Center, where the textile and sourcing trade show drew representatives from both large and sm...
