Designers, Organizers Look at Future L.A. Fashion Week Dates
Fashion is much like politics. Both are tied to perfect timing....
Port Bottleneck Leads to Shipping Surcharges
With ships waiting as long as one week now to unload their cargo at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, seven shipping lines announced they will start charging a congestion surcharge fee on cargo...
New Year Could Bring New Shipping Headaches for Apparel Importers
California apparel manufacturers who have shifted their production to China are worried that when quotas disappear on Jan. 1, it will be nearly impossible to obtain cargo space on vessels sailing from...
Japanese Rebound Means Consumers Are Spending More
Japan, which has the second-largest economy in the world after the United States, is showing signs of life again....
Economic Forecast Holiday 2004: Gas Prices, Job Outlook Could Dampen Holiday Sales
Retailers were looking forward to some Holiday cheer this season, but a Grinch is about to steal Christmas. That Grinch is the price of gas....
Port Congestion Leads to Overflow Docking in Orange County
For the first time in two years, container ships are being parked off the coast of Huntington Beach, Calif., in Orange County because of congestion at the Port of Long Beach and Port...
Finding the Sweet Spot
Bubblegum USA’s eight-year ride to success took the company’s owners from Glider to glitter to carefully gauging teen trends ...
L.A. Manufacturers Lobby Mexican Government on TPL3
MEXICO CITY—Three hefty vans fortified with armed guards weaved in and out of the heavy traffic that has become a daily occurrence in Mexico City, one of the world’s most populated cities....
Southern California Ports Struggle With Boost in Wal-Mart Freight
The Holiday shipping season is turning into a lesson in patience....
Hot Trends Sizzle in the Hot Desert
LAS VEGAS—If you had to take away just one trend from the recent apparel shows here, it would be this: blazers....
New Venues Help Boost Business at Las Vegas Shows
LAS VEGAS—The decision by MAGIC International to consolidate its shows under one roof paid off at the Aug. 30–Sept. 2 run of the semiannual apparel trade show in Las Vegas....
Action Girl Turns Into No Action
After a dismal turnout by buyers, Action Girl, a relatively new trade show focusing on young female skateboarders and surfers, is closing...
State to Crack Down on Illegal Contractors
Just as California apparel makers brace for increased offshore competition, the state labor department is preparing to help even the playing field at home....
Power Shortages in China Cause Delays for Calif. Apparel Makers
China’s energy shortages this summer are adding up to big delays for California garment manufacturers waiting impatiently for Holiday and late Fall orders...
Another Legal Go-Round Erupts Over Roxy Name
Big-name apparel maker Quiksilver Inc. and small Los Angeles manufacturer Kymsta Corp. have headed to court again to discuss who has the rights to use the name “Roxy” o...
Judge Awards Former Seven Partners Millions in Profits
A judge tentatively decided on Aug. 5 that Peter Koral, one of three people who started the Seven for All Mankind blue jeans label, must pay his two former partners $5.5 million in profits they didn...
Hong Kong Fashion Week
HONG KONG—The new world order of apparel manufacturing has Charlotte Hurst on a serious search. In a little more than 24 hours, the head of development and imports for Los A...
Threat of Strikes Looms at Southern California's Ports
Apparel manufacturers and retailers are wringing their hands, worried that a series of problems at Southern California’s ports may delay overseas shipments when goods start arriving for the Backto- Sch...
Seven Lawsuit Adds Up to Confusion
A long and drawn-out lawsuit dispute among the founders of Seven for All Mankind ended with a jury recommending that the creative forces behind the company be paid $5.5 million in pr...
CFA Panel Tackles Calif.'s Strict Labor Laws
Apparel manufacturers and retailers have to navigate a maze of labor laws to keep their operations above-board and profitable....
Preparing for 2005: Apparel Makers Face Changes as U.S. Quotas Disappear
The world order of apparel and textile manufacturing will shift drastically on Jan. 1, 2005, when quotas on these goods are eliminated for World Trade Organization members....
Europe's Increasing Tariffs Challenge U.S. Apparel Makers
Shortly after Randa Allen began her contemporary sportswear line, Notice Inc., the Los Angeles designer started exporting to Europe....
Summer Slowdown? Truck Strikes, Shortages Could Derail U.S. Shipping
This summer is shaping up to be the season of discontent for getting goods in and out of the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif....
Guatemala Prepares for 2005
GUATEMALA CITY, Guatemala—Central American apparel manufacturers are ramping up their production and full-package capabilities to meet anticipated demand even though it is uncertain whether the Central...
U.S. Apparel and Textile Forces Take On China
They may be down, but they’re not out....
Election, War Delaying CAFTA
First there was NAFTA. Will there be CAFTA?...
Mercedes/Smashbox Fashion Week to Work Out Glitches
Consider the new and improved Los Angeles Fashion Week a work in progress....
Innovo Takes the Fast Track With New Denim Brands
One of the fastest-growing apparel companies in Los Angeles is a relative newcomer to Southern California and the clothing industry. The Innovo Group Inc....
Tarrant Shifts Focus From Mexico to In-House Brands
The Tarrant Apparel Group, one of the largest denim companies in Los Angeles, has lost more than $100 million in five years by producing clothes in Mexico....
Imported Sweaters Tangled in Customs
First it was socks. Now it’s knit sweaters....
Asian Apparel Mart Planned for Las Vegas
Want to find a Chinese apparel manufacturer without hopping on a jet for a body-numbing journey to Hong Kong or Shanghai?
Changing Demographics and Tastes Will Affect Retailers
SCOTTSDALE, Ariz.—The world of retailing is changing so fast that if companies are not familiar with the latest trends and customers’ rapidly evolving tastes, they may as well close their doors immediat...
Efforts Underway to Shift Market Dates
A serious move is afoot to bump up by one or two weeks all of next year’s Los Angeles market weeks....
IMG Lays Fashion Week Plans After Smashbox Merger
Los Angeles designers are expecting better press coverage and more organization during the upcoming Los Angeles Fashion Week now that Smashbox Studios and...
Hong Kong Fashion Week
HONG KONG—Leland Smith, a Los Angeles businessman whose childrenswear company is on the move lately, was a bit of an oddity at the recent...
The Future Looks Brighter for California Apparel Industry in 2004
The worst may be over for the California apparel industry, but there are still some hurdles ahead for 2004. That’s what members of the California Fashion Association, which h...
SARS Doesn't Scare Away California Cos.
Despite the reappearance of a new confirmed case of severe acute respiratory syndrome, West Coast apparel companies are not curtailing their plans to travel to Asia...
Customs Enforcement Set to Heat Up in '04
If you thought customs officials have been tough on apparel and textile imports, just wait. They’re only going to get tougher in 2004....
Economists Project Growth for California and Apparel Industry in 2004
Economic gurus have been reading the tea leaves to decipher what next year will bring for California.They conclude the economy will be growing at a faster clip next year and that that growth will tric...
Influential 20
News makers, hot topics and trends....
LAEDC to Industry: Capitalize on the 'L.A. Look'
Southern California’s apparel and textile industries have been losing jobs—particularly entry-level and low-wage jobs, but companies can survive through sharp marketing skills and by latching onto Los Angeles...
Apparel Makers, Mills Deal With Rising Cotton Prices
Climbing cotton prices, which have nearly doubled in the last year, are leaving local apparel manufacturers and textile factories in a quandary about how to keep the lid on prices without gouging thei...
Fed Crackdown on Smuggling Top Priority in L.A.
Inside a cavernous warehouse the size of five football fields, federal customs inspectors dressed in dark-blue uniforms comb through several mountains of cardboard boxes every year to determine whethe...
Shipping Costs Could Heat Up Again Next Spring
Just as the economic picture is beginning to look rosier for the apparel industry, a dark cloud is gathering on the horizon....
L.A. Companies Look to Nicaragua
For more than 20 years, Song Ho Kim has managed to survive the ups and downs of the tough textile industry in Southern California....
Local Company Named in Apparel Smuggling Case
A well-known Los Angeles apparel executive has been accused of smuggling apparel from China in a scheme that had goods allegedly headed for Mexico ending up in U.S. stores including ...
Third Quarter Report: California Economy Likely to Lag Despite Some Positive Indicators
Even muscleman Arnold Schwarzenegger may not be able to strong-arm California’s economy back into fighting shape until the middle of next year....
Workers' Comp Hikes Taking Toll on Payroll, Benefits
Recent reforms in California’s workers’ compensation insurance program will do little to help people like Jimmy Macias, a longtime Los Angeles apparel contractor with 41 employees....
Central, South American Trade, Sourcing Key at Material World Show
MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—Miami is at the crossroads of the Americas—a fact not lost on the organizers of 3-year-old sourcing and fabric trade show Material World....
Apparel Makers Prepare for Post-2005 Sourcing
MIAMI BEACH, Fla.—Make no bones about it: China is the sleeping giant that will likely be filling most of the orders placed by American clothing makers and retailers when import quotas for textiles and...
