Small Town High School Wins $50,000 Prize from Vans
Parker City, South Dakota is a one stoplight town, but its arts and fashion potential is enormous. It was the grand prize winner for the 8th annual Vans Custom Culture art competition.
Trash Los Angeles' New Styles
Trash Los Angeles was previously known for its T-shirts and hoodies. Now the rock 'n' roll inspired line is doing jeans and vests.
Comeback for Beverly Hills Hosiery
The downtown Los Angeles fashion biz mourned the loss of Beverly Hills Hosiery, which has been selling hosiery, intimates and costumes for more than 80-years. But the company's new ownership told us to get ready for a comeback.
Barbara Fields’ Spring/Summer ’18 Fashion Forecasts
Barbara Fields Buying Office has been forecasting juniors fashion for more than 30-years. Last week, it released the Fields Spring Summer 2018 Trend Report. Fields gave us a peek at trends forecast to make a splash soon.
CMC's 3rd Floor Party for LA Fashion Market
Get ready for the first breakfast buffet party produced by the showrooms on the A-wing of the CMC's 3rd floor.
Rails Does Pop-Up in N.Y. Surfing Mecca
After nine years of building an apparel line for men, women and children in Los Angeles, Jeff Abrams, founder of Rails brand is going cross country to open a pop-up shop. The Rails pop-up will be in the East Coast surfing Mecca of Montauk June 3-4.
Fred Segal Announces Shops for WeHo Location
Fred Segal made headlines in December when it announced that it would open a West Hollywood location. On June 1, it gave a peek inside the upcoming store.
Retail Sales Tough in May
Retail
Retail sales reports for May were downbeat. Cato Corp., a Charlotte, N.C.–headquartered retailer, had a particularly tough month when it posted a same-store-sales decline of 16 percent.
Kors to Close Stores
Retail
Michael Kors Holdings Ltd., the New York–based ready-to-wear and accessories brand founded by designer Michael Kors, announced on May 31 that it would close more than 100 stores.
FBI Moves Out of CMC
Manufacturing
After nine years at the California Market Center, Fashion Business Inc., the educational nonprofit for start-up and growing fashion companies, is moving into a shared office space called CTRL Collective.
Bamboo Rose Extends Social Reach of PLM
Technology
Product Lifecycle Management software is something of a social media for the manufacturing set.
New Project for L.A. Arts District Pioneer Guerilla Atelier
Retail
In 2012, Carl Louisville quit a job running the Prada Epicenter store on Rodeo Drive, where he got to socialize with Miuccia Prada and Hollywood A-listers. Post Prada, he opened a luxury store in a section of Los Angeles adjacent to homeless encampments in the city’s tough Skid Row section.
Changes for Fairfax Ave., Rodeo of Streetwear
Fairfax Avenue is still the Rodeo Drive of streetwear, but there have been some notable shops leaving the thoroughfare.
Phillip Lim’s Arts District Store
After an eight year run on Los Angeles’ Westside, award winning fashion designer Phillip Lim
Pocket Square Clothing’s Big 1st
From pompadoured hair to high end sneakers, men’s styles have been reaching for new heights in the past five years. Pocket Square Clothing hoped it could wrap some of the creative ferment in a handkerchief. It celebrated the first anniversary of its downtown Los Angeles shop on May 25.
The Credit- and Debit-Card Business Is Booming
Retail
Credit, debit and prepaid cards in 2016 saw a purchase volume increase of 7 percent based on a year-over-year comparison, according to The Nilson Report, a Carpinteria, Calif.–based trade publication reporting on the payments industry. In America, credit, debit and prepaid cards’ purchase volume reached $5.648 trillion in 2016.
Aussie Retailer Showpo to L.A.
Retail
When Sydney entrepreneur Jane Lu started posting pictures of fast-fashion styles on social-media sites for her Australian e-commerce label, Showpo, she was surprised that she got interest from California.
S.M.N. Plans To Offer the ‘Real’ Premium
S.M.N.
S.M.N. Studio sells men’s denim that retails from $200 to $600, but the pricing is not a repeat of the go-go days of Los Angeles’ premium-denim business from a decade ago when denim labels typically asked consumers to pay hundreds of dollars for a pair of jeans, according to Jazmin Kim, cofounder of S.M.N.
The Leverage Makes Millions from Overlooked Market
The Leverage
During a time when conventional wisdom says that retailers are not making big merchandise orders, The Leverage fashion house reported making millions of dollars from an overlooked boutique market.
Reformation Brings Eco, Tech Store Concept to L.A.
Reformation
Reformation made fashion headlines in Northern California this year when it opened an eco-friendly boutique that featured retail tech such as touchscreens. The women’s fashion line recently announced that it will bring its new store concept to its hometown of Los Angeles.
Wolk Morais Shows Collection 5
Wolk Morais
To make a Wolk Morais runway show, you need a few main ingredients.
Will Google Assistant Become Retail’s Next Big Thing?
Technology
Technology company Google recently announced new angles to its Google Assistant. With a voice command, Google Assistant can offer help with a number of tasks, such as making phone calls, playing music and looking up information, similar to Apple’s Siri and Amazon’s Echo.
Jake Takes A Bow
NorCal fashion label Jake took a bow this year with suiting, dresses and casual looks that explore style, gender and architecture,
ComplexCon Adds Colette’s Sarah Andelman to 2nd Run of Festival
ComplexCon surprised many, when thousands of people bought tickets to the festival’s inaugural run in Long Beach, Calif. last year, to take in its mix of hip hop acts, art displays, food truck style cuisine and yes, retail. On May 25, ComplexCon producers Complex Networks and Reedpop announced a sophomore run for the festival. It also announced a committee to guide the festival. One of the committee luminaries will be Sarah Andelman, co-founder of the Parisian fashion/concept store Colette.
Sugar + Baywatch Surfs into Ron Robinson
On May 18, the label Sugar introduced its Sugar + Baywatch at Ron Robinson.
Avec Les Filles' Los Angeles Pop-up
After spending the past year or so launching the Avec Les Filles brand, and rolling out the brand in 155 Macy’s, Joyce Azria, Avec Les Filles’ founder, said it was time to celebrate. Her way of celebration? Open up a pop-up shop.
Shop & Dine
Shop & Dine
The trade-show season is a year-round circuit that is like a movable feast when it comes to hunting for new styles and fashions.
Neault Joins Style Fashion Week
Fashion
Christina Neault, who formerly worked as an executive producer for Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, has joined Style Fashion Week, a producer of the biannual series of runway shows during Los Angeles Fashion Week and New York Fashion Week as well as events in other cities including Palm Springs, Calif.; Miami; and Dubai.
Mad Engine Acquires Neff
Manufacturing
In April, Danish Gajiani, chief executive officer of Mad Engine LLC, a designer and distributor of licensed apparel, said that his company would acquire more branded apparel and accessories labels.
Pirates of Caribbean Sails into What Goes Around Comes Around
Fashion come in and out of style; big shoulders from the 1980s, pompadours from the 1950s, tie dye from the late 1960s. But what about 1710s? High end vintage store What Goes Around Comes Around celebrated a Pirates of the Caribbean T-shirt line.
NYC's In Support Of Pops in L.A.
For the past few years, boutique and showroom In Support Of has been treating New York City to a wide array of emerging fashion designers, each with a unique point of view. Since May 2, In Support Of’s Tanya Sheikh and Ivan Gilkes have been producing their show in Los Angeles.
Kinsley James to Los Angeles
For more than four years, Kinsley James Couture Bridal has represented up-and-coming and established designers at its bridal salon in Walnut Creek, Calif. On May 11, it opened a sprawling 3,900-square-foot location on 8231 West 3rd St. in Los Angeles.
Billy Reid Kicks off Made-To-Measure Event at Magasin
It was a Billy Reid shindig at the Magasin boutique on May 11.
Department Stores Report Declines for the First Quarter
Retail
Several department stores reported results for their first-quarter earnings on May 11, and the results included steep same-store declines for Macy’s Inc. and Dillards Inc.
UK retailer Prism pops at Platform
UK retailer Prism opened a pop-up shop at Platform boutique retail center in Culver City, near Los Angeles on May 10.
Peri A. Brings the Party To Robertson
Peri Arenas hopes that her new boutique will bring a joie de vivre to retail street Robertson Boulevard. One of her first acts was to produce a debut party for her Peri A. boutique.
Reformation’s Fight Against Toxic Denim
Reformation
Los Angeles’ Reformation label is one of a handful of companies that has lifted eco-fashion from a cottage industry to a larger scale.
Reality Star T-shirt Line Goes For the Difference
Another week, another T-shirt/fashion line by a reality star/celebrity/creative. Ho hum. But reality star Sean McElwee promised to do something different with T-shirt line Seanese.
JustFab’s Internet Brand Room
JustFab, an e-commerce company based in El Segundo, Calif., drank deeply from the Internet’s Kool-Aid. Its recently unveiled brand room was designed by an Internet company.
Nuyu’s Wonder Woman line Lands at Ron Robinson
Mightier than 10 armies! It’s the marketing push behind the upcoming Wonder Woman movie. But the Nuyu brand plans to do something different with Wonder Woman styles.
L.A.’s Fashion District on a Sneaker Kick
Downtown Los Angeles' Fashion District is on a high end sneaker kick. Holy Grail moved to the enclave in April, it is just the latest high end sneaker boutique to open for business in the Fashion District.
April Sales Bring Better Biz
Retail
After a tough beginning of the year, April proved to be a good month for retailers.
Paige Charts Stylish Path With New Stores
Retail
A few months after the Paige brand introduced its first design collaboration, Rosie HW X Paige, the Los Angeles–headquartered premium-denim brand, is embarking on a retail rollout.
Joyce Azria: Market Upheaval Is Good Time to Launch
Joyce Azria
Joyce Azria is a child of Los Angeles’ fashion industry. Azria talked to California Apparel News on introducing a new fashion label during a time of great change, leadership and why she chose to do business with Macy’s when the retailer is cutting back.
Analysts Talk Retail Survival in a Time of Change
Retail
For the past few months, fashion websites have been passing around forecasts that more than 3,000 stores are scheduled to shutter in the United States. Jeff Van Sinderen, a retail analyst for B. Riley & Co. in Los Angeles, predicts the number of store closures will be even higher.
Serving the CMC's Hungry since 1984, Bakery Nosh Moves
Since 1984, Bakery Nosh has been located on the second floor of the California Market Center showroom building; serving bagels, cookies and coffees to garmentos and the stylish. On May 1, Bakery Nosh made a big move.
Brooklyn Hat Company’s Trina Turk Shindig
Brooklyn Hat Company pulled into the Trina Turk/Mr. Turk boutique in Palm Springs, Calif. for a trunk show recently.
Oak + Fort's DTLA Party
The Oak + Fort brand opened a boutique at Westfield Century City in West Los Angeles earlier this month. But the brand came to downtown Los Angeles to party on April 27.
