Archive for August, 2007

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Just to let anyone know that if you find any intreresting apparel industry news to just send it to dobizo@dobizo.com and we do cite where we get the information from no matter if it is a reader (we will link to your site) and the info is from another site.

Beaute4ashes is one of our readers who sent this rather interesting news link to our inbox. (If you have a site send us a link to update)

The New Zealand government reported on Tuesday that it was investigating imported clothing from China and other countries. The investigation was launched after?a local television?program found that?woollen and cotton fabrics from China had?900 times the?level of formaldehyde acceptable by the World Health Organization.?

Formaldehyde is used by some apparel manufacturers to prevent mildew, but must be used in moderation, because it can cause intense skin irritation, respiratory problems and even cancer?at high levels.

This is only one case of problems with imports from China within this one month of August others include the toy scandal with China made toys, non-flame retardent pyjamas, and now as Yahoo News! put it “Chemical Clothes”

Project and Pool are two alternatives to the Magic. Both are cheaper and more specific to?certain?segments of clothing?in their own way. Pool leans more toward contemporary clothing in my opinion. (Johnny Cupcake)

While looking at some of the?exhibitors Project seems to carry more premium boutique labels, but similar to what Pool has to offer.

The networking is better because of a smaller and less cluttered atmosphere. I almost forgot about the fact that they both go on at the same time as the Magic Convention until Christian from Me-In-Mind Footwear reminded me with a comment on the post about 7 Days Left Until Magic Trade Show.

After looking at some statistics on the Project New York trade show I came to the conclusion that most of their buyer traffic is looking to buy men’s apparel and are from the East Coast of the United States. Project is?mostly comprised of specialty store owners and less chain and department stores.

As compared to the Project Las Vegas with a good balance between East and West Coast retailers.

Patricia Underwood based out of Manhattan, New York is looking for a paid intern interested in apparel production. In order to?be eligible you must be a student of college level and have great experience in hand sewing and an eye for detail.

They don’t discuss compensation right off, but some of your duties include: trimming, inventory, swatching, choosing trim, and other various production duties. Also a commitment of at least 21 hours/week is required in this apparel production internship.

If this internship opportunity sounds interesting send resume and info to raya.eid@patriciaunderwood.com before October 1, 2007 and did I say it’s PAID.

Popularity: 1% [?]

It’s about that time again for the weekly wrap-up of what’s going on in the Dobizo forums. Of course we now also have the Fashion Network that will?soon be?integrated with the forums to become one solid interface….so join both for now.

Custom Dying Your T-shirts and Hoodies In Your Clothing Line was a topic I though could be very interesting with more readers input.

Below are some other interesting post from the How to start a clothing business forum:

Accessories To A Clothing Line

Buying Carhartt and Dickies Jackets and Using Them For Your Clothing Line (Different)

Do I Need To Incorporate Immediately?(Informational)

Do You Have A Clothing Label or Design Clothing? (Looking For Clothing Companies & Designers Who Are Looking For a Selling Avenue)

Popularity: 2% [?]

Monarchy Apparel which we chose for a Pick of The Day earlier this year has been bought by Hartmarx Corp. for $12 million.

Monarchy is a producer of casual/premium men’s and women’s clothing that is based out of Los Angeles, California. Monarchy Apparel is sold in 800 upscale premium and specialty stores and boutiques plus the big department stores including Nordstrom and Bloomingdale’s carry pieces also.

Monarchy sales over $20 million worth of clothing each year and have been in business since 2004 so I would say that was a quick flip.

Many clothing companies don’t sell at such a short time in business, but considering the success and growth of Monarchy I guess you could say it was due time.

Sometimes better financing is just what you need to take a business to the next level and if investors aren’t knocking selling is your next best option to cash-out.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I actually found out about Lingerie Buyer magazine pretty much by luck, while writing up the Harrogate Lingerie show.

Lingerie Buyer?is one of the leading resources for information on the United Kingdom lingerie, nightwear, hosiery and swimwear scene.

The magazine describes buyer trends and current information on the marketplace-from suppliers, manufacturers, producers?and other leading brands.

If you are interested in a subscription I would first suggest you take a look at the online e-magazine before making your decision.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Aug 20th
2007

zac-posen.jpg

Born?in Brooklyn-New York in 1980 and first got his first educated experience in fashion through the St. Ann’s School For Arts and then later attended Parsons?School of Design in New York.?

He dropped out of school to pursue his designer career which later proved to be a great move on his behalf. At only sixteen Zac interned at the Metropolitan Museum’s Costume Design Institute under the?wings of Richard Martin.?

Many of you may not be familiar with Zac Posen, but you have seen his clothing on many of celebrity starlets.

Matter of fact I wasn’t as familiar with him until I read about Sean “P.Diddy” Combs invested in Zac’s company for a 50% stake in the designers’ line in 2004…. hey! I knew then he had to be somebody…lol

For Zac Posen the sweet taste of success wasn’t long after he launched his collection in 2001 that was circulated in the best of high-fashion retailers including a joint-venture with 7 Of All Mankind denim jeans manufacturers. The limited edition jeans were so popular customers were limited to one pair per style and they were sold only at Neiman Marcus.

harrogate-lingerie-swimwear.png?

Harrogate exhibition is catering to the luxury-better provider of lingerie & swimwear.

From the site:

Harrogate Lingerie & Swimwear is organized and merchandised to meet the requirements of top retailers from fine boutiques, specialty chains, resort outlets, catalogs, better department stores, duty free shops, and discriminated e-commerce sites.

With over a 100 exhibitors showcase 350 collections to buyers and visitors of the trade only.

You can expect to see exhibitors that produce loungewear, sleepwear, underwear, daywear, swimwear, beachwear, hosiery, and men’s underwear.

The?Harrogate Lingerie & Swimwear show is?hosted in Harrogate, England and is going on at this very moment :) tomorrow being the last day, but the info was sent to me late and I still wanted our readers to know about another potential trade show. Look out for the next date on Dobizo.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Aug 20th
2007

Left In Stitches is a contract sewing operation based out of?Arcata, California with over 28 years of experience in product development and apparel design for both?the apparel and textile industry.

The great thing about Left In Stitches even with so many years of experience and many clients they cater to the little guys or start-up clothing companies?and with that in mind they are ahead of many in my opinion.

They offer a wide array of services including:

  • Sample sewing
  • Contract sewing
  • Pattern Drafting
  • Industrial Sewing
  • Pattern Grading
  • Sourcing of Materials
  • Product design & development
  • Prototype Sewing

From the site I can see that they are willing to take their time to make sure your time spent with Left In Stitches is as productive as possible. Mainly because they have a step by step tutorial on how to begin the process of having your apparel industry needs serviced by them. That is far beyond what most would do.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Aug 20th
2007

I actually found this clothing company from a reader and member of our Dobizo forum. So as you can see it definitely pays to participate in what we have going on around here on the blog.

Death Hippie Apparel kind of puts me in the mind of Affliction which we reviewed earlier this year.

The founders of Death Hippie have an extensive resume in the music and graphic design industry and you can see it through their graphic heavy designed t-shirts.

Death Hippie Apparel wanted to add a little “umph” to their shirts so that no?two t-shirt is alike, because they are all hand-treated after decorations are applied. They let you know that their print and quality are superb, but not uncomfortable because of layered hits of ink for each screen printed garment.

From the looks of it you could put some of their garments in the same category with Ed Hardy, but with a more gothic/rock feel to them. Tattoo inspired check, dark colors check, distressed print/quality check, but they are also unique in their own way.

Hopefully all who read this blog is familiar with one of the largest apparel trade shows in the world.

One of the questions that has always been in my mind is how affective the Magic is for small clothing companies that are self-owned and still in the beginning stages. Considering you have no brand awareness so it’s not like the buyers are checking for you.

We spoke on that subject in the article Magic Trade Show….Is It Atleast Worth It .

I just wanted to know with this article how many people reading will be at the Magic trade show?this August 27-30 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

I would love to get some feedback about some of the new attractions this year and maybe some exclusive pictures. Just another idea I have brewing for the Dobizo website. Just to help new hopefuls get a more visual and informational experience about the different apparel trade shows.

This time I will not be in attendance…just have too many things going on at the moment.

Fashion Network: Where the apparel industry connects! http://fashionnetwork.dobizo.com

What is it you ask? A Break Through In The Way Apparel Industry Businesses Will Source Company Needs By Connecting All Industry Resources In One Place! Here you will find apparel wholesalers, designers, manufacturers, clothing companies, buyers, retailers and much much more. Please register yourself or company and take a look around. There’s lots of networking to do, so take your time, meet some new contacts, and hopefully create a partnership or find some new sources. The more people active the more useful this resource will become so spread the word!

  • Some of the features include Google Map so that you can record the distance a company is from your location just by visiting their network profile
  • Fashion Network Success Rating is a tool where users can rate a company according to there experience in working with them in the?past, present, or future. 1-5 stars
  • Live Chatting
  • Industry Forum On Your Desktop