here - California Apparel News

The Swim Collective Trade Show made its debut at the
Balboa Bay Club & Resort in Newport Beach, Calif., on
Aug. 2. Hoping to fill the void left by San Diego’s Action
Sports Retailer Trade Expo, which ended last year, Swim
Collective is aiming to be the predominant swim show for
the West Coast, according to executive show director Shannon
Leggett.
“We have some of the best swimwear designers and manufacturers
in the world in our own backyard, so it made sense
to do something close to home,” Leggett said. “For two to
three years, everyone has been saying, ‘I wish there were a
West Coast swim show.’”
Showcased at a five-star, waterfront resort, the show is
aimed to feature a broad range of swimwear-specific exhibitors
from a variety of price points.
“We’re a swimwear trade show only,” Leggett said. “We’re
not trying to be surf; we’re not trying to be a skate trade
show—our goal is to be the West Coast swim show.”
Many exhibitors said they were pleased with both the
show and the turnout.
NEW PRODUCT: New designer Magdalena Trever said the strong
buyer interest in her line of knitted swimwear, Maggie May, at this
year’s show guaranteed she would come back next year.
web-only stories
trade show reports
Swim Collective Debuts in Newport Beach, Calif.
By Deidre Crawford Manufacturing Editor
Even though men’s apparel sales in the United States
inched up 3.3 percent in 2010, specialty-store owners have
been on a challenging journey this year.
That was the word at the recent West Coast Trend Show,
a menswear show held July 30–Aug. 1 at the Embassy Suites
LAX North near Los Angeles International Airport.
“Most businesses are flat,” said Ken Haruta, the show’s
organizer and a menswear rep himself. “Some have shown
increases, but they are up and down. Nevertheless, the stores
seem to be cautiously optimistic.”
Buyers cruising three floors of hotel suites packed with 90
representatives carrying 260 lines were echoing that sentiment.
“Things are not good. I think it is the effect of the economy,”
said Hooshang Seda, owner of Quest, a 1,000-squarefoot
casual-menswear store in the heart of Sausalito, Calif.
He yearns for the boom-boom times of 2004 and 2005, when
his customers had a more carefree attitude about spending.
Now his customers seem to be more interested in novelty
items and special merchandise.
Even retailers in affluent areas such as Malibu, Calif.,
haven’t been immune to a lackluster economy. “We are hoping
for a better day,” said Gene Ford, owner of Malibu Lifestyles,
located in the tony Malibu Country Mart. “People
even in affluent areas are less likely to spend when their
stocks are upside-down.”
Ford was one of the 199 registered buyers shopping the
twice-a-year, three-day show. This year, buyer attendance
was up 32 percent over last summer, Haruta said, in part
because some retailers are cutting expenses and traveling to
more local shows instead of shelling out big money to go to
menswear shows in New York and Las Vegas.
Malibu Lifestyles’ Ford was at the show to see the lat-
“We’re very happy. I think it’s real important that we have
a swimwear show here in California,” Augusto Hanimian, designer
and owner of Miami-based Luli Fama, said. “I think
California has been the heart of swimwear for so many years
and not having their own show here, I think, hurt them [designers]
a lot. For us, as a company, it’s very, very important. It’s a
good opportunity to see our accounts in Southern California.”
Exhibitors cited the venue’s upscale, intimate environment
and surrounding events as a draw. The club provided
free gourmet food during the day and a networking cocktail
party and fashion presentation by Beach Bunny swimwear
in the evening on Aug. 2. As further incentive to entice buyers,
the trade show was timed to take place at the same time
as the Nike US Open of Surfing, which runs July 30 to Aug.
7, and many buyers were offered free flights and lodging at
the hotel.
“We’re a brand-new line, so one of the things that we really
wanted to do here was make connections and meet buyers
and meet new people,” said Elizabeth Rovsek, designer of
South Laguna, Calif.–based label Sun Kitten.
est collections from the companies from which he already
buys. That gives him more time at the various trade shows
in Las Vegas to branch out and search for new clothing
lines.
With retailers looking for newness and novelty, manufacturers
were shuffling their lines to give it to them. New to
the show this year was Jams World, a 47-year-old line of
men’s casual shirts from Hawaii. Lorrie Simsen, the line’s
sales manager, was surrounded by a blast of bright colors
NEW DESIGNERS: Former Miss Kentucky USA Elizabeth Rovsek
debuted her new line of “event-inspired” swimsuits, Sun Kitten
Swimwear, with bikini names such as “the Bachelorette” and
“Spring Break,” at Newport Beach’s Swim Collective.
As a designer and former Miss Kentucky USA, her collection
of event-inspired bikinis—with names such as “The
Bride,” “The Bachelorette,” “Spring Break,” “Be My Valentine,”
and “My Lucky Charm”—was already chosen as the
official swimsuit sponsor for Miss Malibu USA, but Rovsek
said she registered for Swim Collective at the last minute,
looking for further exposure and to avoid cold calling potential
buyers.
“I think with a new company and just making cold phone
calls, and they can’t see a face, and they can’t see a product,
and all they can see is a line sheet, I think that’s a difficult
way to make a connection,” she said.
Rovsek said despite feeling that traffic was a little slower
in the new designer showrooms than in the main ballroom,
her “special occasion–based” swimwear line still attracted
buyers, especially a hand-beaded, black string bikini called
“Just Divorced,” showing that “you’re back on the market.”
Jessica Petersen, designer and owner of newly launched
➥ Newport beach page 34
Men’s Retail Remains Challenging, but Opportunities Exist
By Deborah Belgum Senior Editor
TaRGET MaRKET: Designer Jessica Petersen said her recently
launched swimwear line for curvy women, Sorella Swim, drew
specific buyers at the show.
RaINbOW Of COlOR: Lorrie Simsen represents Jams World,
whose bright shirts come from Japanese rayon cut and sewn in
Hawaii.
hanging from rolling racks that filled the suite where she was
set up for business.
She was pleased with buyer activity at the show. “We are
pleasantly surprised,” she said, noting she had opened a few
new accounts. “Retailers are cautious, but they are looking
for and excited to see new things.”
Jams World provided that newness with its art-driven
collection. The company’s president, Pua Rochlin, travels
around the world looking for textile artwork that can be
made into rayon fabric manufactured in Japan and cut and
sewn in Hawaii. “We are doing only eight to nine prints a
season,” Simsen said. “We are cut-to-order, so once it is sold,
there’s no more of that design.”
Also new to the show was Ramblers Way, an almost
2-year-old high-end line of men’s worsted wool tops made
completely in the United States from the wool that comes
from Rambouillet sheep in Colorado, New Mexico and Montana
to the natural dye house in Maine, where the company
is headquartered.
Chris Chappell, the West Coast representative, said the
show had been rather slow for him because not many people
knew him or his product. “Not everyone knows me, but I
will do this show again to have more presence in the marketplace,”
he said.
His line of fine wool henleys, polo shirts and pocket tees
carried an upscale price tag. A short-sleeve polo wholesales
for $110, and a long-sleeve turtleneck had a $100 wholesale
price tag.
Unique product is what drives John Faul and Ralph
Odenberg of Red Zone Agency in Newport Beach, Calif.
They do well at the show with Red Jacket, a line of vintage
➥ Men’s Retail page 34