LA Fashion Market Optimistic But Cautious Part 2

Cited: Apparel News

“Fall is a very important market even though business is different. Buyers are still more cautious and not frivolous in their buys, but there is a sense of confidence,” said Kathy Walker of the Kathy Walker Sales showroom at The New Mart.  She also stated that traffic was up but the overall mood was positive at the market.  Market orders at the showroom leaned toward Immediates and Summer wear.

Trends for Fall and Winter are a continuation of the laid-back, casual styles that were popular for Spring and Summer. “There weren’t any big, new must-haves. Buyers continued to want sexy, casual styles,” Walker said. That means lots of military-inspired items, body-conscious leggings and skirts, casual slouchy knit tops, and pops of novelty on outerwear. Holly McNally, showroom manager of Showroom Seven in the Cooper, agreed. Cotton tunic tops that have performed well from Odd Molly were again on buyers’ lists, as were leather leggings from Twenty Cluny and sequined tops from Sweet Robin. Nanushka, a contemporary line from Budapest, sharpened its price points by about 10 percent, McNally said.

Mona Sangkala, the leasing manager at the Cooper Design Space, said attendance was notably up from the same market last year, with majors and many international stores shopping.

Bodies in showrooms and priced-to-sell goods didn’t always earn orders, however.  Huy Dang of the Standard showroom in the Cooper building said there are simply too many markets spreading buyers’ budgets and attention too thin.

Order writing at Brighte

Fashion and accessories show Brighte got mostly good marks from its vendors.

Mark Schulman, a vendor representing New York–based contemporary label Zoa, said his business at the most recent Brighte improved compared with its performance at the Brighte show in March 2009. He also said retailers were more willing to spend money. It requires faith in the economy to pay for inventory that will be delivered more than 90 days later, he said, and 80 percent of orders he took during the most recent Brighte were for deliveries scheduled from May to August. The other 20 percent of his orders were for Immediate deliveries.

During his 2009 trade shows, 50% of the orders Schulman took were for Immediates.

Schulman also said a tough economy may be a blessing in disguise for the fashion vendors because it forces retailers to make a decision on what inventory they’re going to purchase. “They know what they can sell and what they cannot sell,” he said.

David Sadot, owner of New York–based contemporary line Basix Black Label, said business was up slightly compared with the Brighte show in January 2010. He saw retailers from Japan and the United Kingdom. Other retailers reportedly browsing the show were E Street Denim of Chicago, TNT of Toronto and National Jean Co. in New York.

Although many of the show’s vendors complained retail traffic was light, Aziza Chorsi, importer of brands Kokomarina and Sarah Pacini, said her business was good.

Among the retailers shopping the show were representatives from Amazon.com, Aritzia, Beams, Belk, Bettina Duncan for Fred Segal, Big Drop, Bluefly.com, Brothers, Clutch and Diane Merrick, according to organizers.

Newness key at Gerry, Lady Liberty and 824

Showrooms with new lines fared the best at the Gerry Building, the Lady Liberty Building and the 824 Building.

At the Boutique Lingerie show in the Gerry Building, Allure from New Mexico and California stores Purrmission in Santa Barbara, Romantiques in Los Gatos, Chadwicks of London stores in San Francisco and Camouflage from Santa Cruz were in attendance.

Samantha Chang, producer of the Boutique Lingerie show, designer and showroom rep, said that “business is still soft” in lingerie. Though buyers continue to fax and e-mail replenishment reorders for basics, most are not shopping the market for new fashion brands. Though there were few new buyer faces, exhibitors met with their key existing accounts.

This was the first time Layla L’obatti, showed her Modal/Lycra lounge and sleepwear line, Between The Sheets, and high-end silk line, Layla L’obatti for Between The Sheets, in Los Angeles. L’obatti grew up in Upland, Calif., but now lives in New York, where she manufactures the line. Between The Sheets’ Modal/Lycra leggings and tunic-length tops and ribbed silk/Modal/Lycra wrap cardigans fit right in with the Angeleno style of contemporary-cut lifestyle clothing.

Trevor Riewer, a buyer for Greta in Beverly Hills, shopped the Renée Cohen showroom in the Gerry Building for Alberto Makali’s leather pencil skirts and “jean-type leggings.” Riewer had his eye on “glitz and glamour” and “something with something on it” to entice “Forever 40s”– age customers shopping for special occasions.

In the Lady Liberty Building, Kristen Aguilera of The Park showroom saw a steady stream of buyers from opening to closing to write Nicole Richie’s line, Winter Kate. “She was in the showroom for two days. That really helped the buyers,” Aguilera said. Aguilera added that Winter Kate is about “triple in sales” from last season.

Heidi Pettit of the Vie Showroom showed a selection of brands in The Penthouse showroom focused on responsible design. San Francisco–based Mr. Larkin balanced classically beautiful architectural design with hints of trend, such as oversized shoulders on a jacket.

At the T+A Showroom in the 824 Building it seems the military looks are trending in the outerwear category.  According to Alfred Davis, he saw it just as many buyers at the LA market as he did in Las Vegas the previous month.  Buyers were enticed to revisit the showroom with the addition of new lines such as Chambers, Kanvis, Kr3w and Han Cholo.

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My Take: All I have to say about passion is that it is not the clothes that make the person; it is the person that makes the clothes!  A good example of this is the modern T shirt designs.  Depending on the style of the T-shirt, the body shape the person who wears it actually makes it stand out.  Tee shirt designers today understand this and design their shirts in such a way that they become works of art.

There is one form or fashion that is strictly on what a person likes and not what they wear.  That is interior decorating.  That is mainly a person’s vanity and how much they want to show off their home.  Take for example the average, everyday tablecloth.  Do you realize how many varieties there are as well as the difference in the prices?  You can go into Wal-Mart and buy a tablecloth for about $5.  But if you want a linen tablecloth or even table runners that will make your guests eyes pop out, you could spend hundreds of dollars on just one table runner.  Let’s not even get into curtains!

Let’s get back to the T-shirt!  It is strange to think that the infamous T-shirt started out as nothing more than a plain white undershirt.  Now, the T-shirt is become a fashion statement!  T-shirt started to change in the 60s with tie-dying and then came the funny t shirts.  Now you can find offensive and rude T shirts everywhere.  Not to mention T-shirts that actually advertise products for various companies around the world.

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