LOS ANGELES — As a crop of new fashion brands invigorated the trade shows and showrooms here, retailers who came to the Los Angeles market left with orders and optimism to rejuvenate their stores in the spring.
Consider Karen Meena, the vice president of buying and merchandising for Ron Robinson. Noticing an overall increase in foot traffic at the trade shows held earlier this month at the California Market Center, New Mart Building, Cooper Design Space and other venues, she was on the lookout for interesting swimwear collections and innovative lifestyle brands that were well-versed in activewear. She picked up four brands for the spring: Albertine, a swimwear line from Paris; Well Kept, a New York-based company that makes intimates that transition from day to night; Bobo House, a laid-back Los Angeles label that integrates cheeky French phrases, and Electric & Rose, another L.A.-based line that melds inspiration from surf and yoga.
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“I was excited to see a lot of new brands,” she said, “and business seemed to be buzzing all around.”
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To be sure, competition among brands and consumers’ heightened savvy required fashion entrepreneurs who were launching brands to fully develop their point of view and sharpen their price points.
Australia’s The Wallflower is landing in Revolve Clothing, Planet Blue and other U.S. stores in the spring with fringed vests, embroidered minidresses and other bohemian looks wholesaling for between $30 and $74.
Amanda Shi returned to designing after closing her eco-friendly knit line Avita in 2009 with a namesake collection wholesaling from $78 to $312. Limiting her palette to black and white, she combined silk, lace, sequins, vegan leather and vintage-inspired scarf prints in tank dresses, biker jackets and boxy tops. Specialty stores that bought the debut spring collection included Z Collection in Newport Beach, Calif., and American Rag Cie, which is co-owned by Shi’s husband, Mark Werts, with locations in Los Angeles and Newport Beach.
“This line is going against fast fashion,” Shi said. “It’s not for young girls. It’s for working women.”
Here, more on the shows:
Brand: Brand Assembly
Mood: For its fifth run in Los Angeles — and largest show ever — Brand Assembly gathered 73 emerging and established brands in contemporary fashion, accessories and beauty at Cooper Design Space. To ensure that the up-and-coming brands didn’t get lost among seasoned businesses such as Cynthia Rowley, Rebecca Minkoff and Black Halo, show organizers highlighted eight young designers: Michelle Kim, Nikki Chasin, Laveer, Sarah Magid, Daisy & Elizabeth, Fala, Maria Dora and Voz. In addition to buyers from California, retailers from Japan, Alaska and the southern region of the U.S. shopped the show.
Key Trends: Brand Assembly didn’t introduce any trends as many of them were already displayed at ENK Vegas and Coterie, held respectively in Las Vegas and New York, months earlier. It offered the usual looks that dominate the contemporary market, such as a black-and-white color combination, lace, biker jackets, Neoprene accents and distressed jeans.
Show Buzz: Several brands were giddy with anticipation when buyers from Nasty Gal scoped the show in search of items to sell in its first brick-and-mortar store slated to open on Melrose Avenue in November.
Best in Show: Having learned the ropes of the fashion business at Juan Carlos Obando, Ohne Titel and Phi, Maria Dora spins her own yarn from cotton and silk Modal and hand-knits her sassy dresses in Los Angeles. She launched her wholesale business this fall at Isetan in Japan. Wholesaling from $160 to $330, her top styles included a fringed minidress in heathered gray and an open-weave T-shirt dress enhanced by a silver metallic leather panel. Oil heir August Getty partnered with designer William Anzevino on a men’s line that appealed to women’s buyers with its backpacks made of taupe patent leather and ivory ponyskin that retail for $350. Sarah Magid masterfully wrapped a single sheet of mother-of-pearl into conical earrings and pendants retailing for under $200. — Khanh T.L. Tran
Brand: Designers & Agents
Mood: As the Internet helps break down barriers between fashion markets, designers and brands realize they need to sell in multiple locations. After showing his 13-year-old premium denim line called Kohzo by Shauket at trade fairs in Paris, Las Vegas, Tokyo and Florence, Shaukat Imam joined more than 100 brands at Designers & Agents at the New Mart Building to display his jeans coated with silk paper and other styles. While he thought D&A did a better job showcasing accessories than denim, he acknowledged the importance to have a presence in L.A. “We have to be everywhere,” he said.
Key Trends: The ath-leisure trend continued to dominate the fashion game, as seen in color-blocked baseball-style sweaters from New York’s Label + Thread and Kohzo’s carbon-coated yoga pants. Floral prints, a black-and-white palette and easy-to-wear silhouettes also underscored the demand for fun and comfortable clothing.
Show Buzz: The recovery of the global economy resulted in the arrival of foreign brands as well as the return of international retailers from countries such as Bulgaria and Israel to Designers & Agents. Participating in the L.A. edition of the trade show for the first time, French Rebellion brought 10 of its brands from France. Of the international stores, Michelle Jonas, who regularly shows her Los Angeles-based women’s line called MiJo by Michelle Jonas at the trade fair, said, “It’s nice that they’re coming back.”
Best in Show: For its inaugural collection hitting stores in the spring, New York-based During mixed materials such as a honeycomb-weave cotton, blue eyelet and polyester in sprightly separates wholesaling from $60 to $220. Made Gold, also launching for the spring, capitalized on a competitive edge from designer Marta Goldschmied’s father, denim guru Adriano Goldschmied, who helped to develop innovative textiles such as a denim jacquard woven to resemble shredded fabric. To strengthen the ties it’s forging between activewear and jeans, Marta Goldschmied said she’s experimenting with tape seaming to bond fabrics. “That’s how Nike does it,” she said. “We thought it would be a cool story for denim as well.” — K.T.L.T.
Brand: Coeur
Mood: Having completed its seventh L.A. edition, the accessories-focused show has seen a steady increase in the number of buyers over the past three years. At its show in March, it welcomed just over 500 buyers to Cooper Design Space. “This spring season, we’ve had over 650,” said Henri Myers, cofounder and creative director of Coeur.
Key Trends: Common themes included minimalistic gold and silver jewelry, leather goods and silk loungewear, all of which resonated a bohemian vibe. “We’re looking for things that are authentic and handmade,” said Paul Niski, owner of Good boutique in Boston. “New York has become so expensive that it’s forcing all the creatives out of here, so there’s a sort of renaissance happening. It has the essence of the hippie spirit but more refined.”
Show Buzz: Buyers from Nordstrom, Saks Fifth Avenue and Piperlime.com, alongside the usual bevy of local boutiques including Fred Segal, Ron Robinson, Satine and Madison, made their way to the intimate show, which was a welcomed change of atmosphere. “I like this show because it’s not a giant show in a convention center, and buyers appreciate that because we get more face time with them,” said jewelry designer Ariel Gordon. “It’s more intimate, less overwhelming and [buyers] feel like they’re discovering more independent designers.”
Best in Show: Making its debut at a trade show, Amanda Bond Malibu revived feminine silhouettes of the Fifties with hand-dyed silk loungewear inspired by marbleized paper dating to the 19th century. Miami-based accessories line Miansai presented its first women’s collection, which included geometrically shaped statement pieces, like the gold Hudson Cuff retailing for $225. — Rebecca Dancer
Brand: Select
Mood: Although buyer traffic was often slow, this season’s expanded format included a few impressive newcomers, which greatly upped the show’s overall quality. “It’s been a bit slow, but we’ve made some good contacts to follow up with,” said Phoenix-based designer Misha Mendicino of Misha Mendicino Designs.
Key Trends: From rhinestone accessories to cashmere knits to linen loungewear, the trends varied greatly, thus making it difficult to identify any consistency.
Show Buzz: Despite such a diversity of vendors, California-casual seemed to be the prevailing trend among buyers. “Our knitwear does the best out here, I think, because it’s casual and that translates well on the West Coast,” said Marissa Nardone, sales manager of New York-based Magaschoni.
Best in Show: Taghrid Hodroj, who studied under Anne Valérie Hash in Paris, made her design debut with a strong line of neutral-toned separates, dresses and rompers, called Hodroj Jalpachik, retailing from $170 to $270. Avenir was another refreshing newcomer in apparel, offering elevated basics at wholesale prices ranging between $20 and $60. — R.D.