a work in progress: a look behind the scenes of workroom

workroom brand press: Ai for Ai in LA Times

L.A. Fashion Collective celebrates local talent
March 25, 2010 3:48 pm


While downtown “fashion week” festivities have commenced, a few events still linger on the Westside, showcasing local designers in nontraditional venues and presentations.
The L.A. Fashion Collective highlighted four contemporary collections at a crowded cocktail party Wednesday night. Looks from the fall/winter 2010 lines of Dolan, Barlow, Jane Oh and Ai for Ai were on display at Bond St. inside the Thompson Hotel. Two models donned one ensemble for about five minutes then changed into another designer’s clothing, giving ample time to take in the black cocktail dresses and slouchy fleece pants, but difficult to see everything in a timely manner.
But the party seemed to be more about support than actually seeing the clothes. Guests at the event were a mix of fashion folk and friends and fans of the designers who excitedly snapped pictures and seemed genuinely thrilled for their moment.
And from the clothing I did see, Ai for Ai shined as an interesting collection of fluid and modern separates with a slight goth undertone. Think "Twilight," grown up and much more girly.
-- Melissa Magsaysay
Photos: A look from Dolan, left, sisters and Ai for Ai designers Carol and Elizabeth Ai with models wearing looks from their line and a look from Barlow. Credit: L.A. Fashion Collective

Source: LA Times

workroom brand press: Grown&Sewn on AContinuouslean.com

Born & Bred and Grown & Sewn

Mar 3rd, 2010 by Michael Williams

Every single stitch, button, thread and piece of fabric is Grown & Sewn in the United States of America. That was half of Rob Magness’s concept, to source everything domestically. The Ralph Lauren alum’s other idea was to combine denim fits with khaki cotton twill fabrics. The result are some very nice looking, wearable, washable goods.

I first heard about Rob’s collection at the second Pop Up Flea in November. A very nice young lady told me about their new store in TriBeCa, but it wasn’t until a few weeks ago in Las Vegas that I could meet the designer and see the collection. I’ll be honest, at first pass I wasn’t sold on everything (and there are a few pieces that are definitely not for me) but on the whole, the line is excellent. There are three fits to choose from, and just like with denim, there are varying wash options — everything from raw to distressed. (Note the top photo, distressed on the left, medium in the middle and raw on the right.)

In Vegas, Rob and I spoke about the difficultly he had in sourcing everything in the line. The fact of the matter is, while a lot of people know about how manufacturing has disappeared from the U.S., a compounding problem for the companies still doing production domestically is the fact that nearly all of the support and suppliers are also gone. So sourcing something completely domestic, as Rob did, takes five times longer than it would if you were making the goods overseas. Actually, I bet it takes ten times as long but that’s just my best guess. Maybe if Rob reads this he can weigh in.

In addition to the khaki pants, Grown & Sewn also just opened a retail store in TriBeCa at 184 Duane Street (probably my favorite street in Manhattan). The company has also produced a collection of accessories that includes a few really nice looking distressed leather belts and a khaki tote bag / wine carrier in collaboration with friends that own a winery. All in all, good values and good people. Grown & Sewn right here at home.

Source: A Continuous Lean

workroom brand press: Grown&Sewn on Thrillist.com

Grown & Sewn

Fashionably mashing up jeans and khakis

Available exclusively at Ian: 1919 2nd Ave, between Stewart & Virginia; Downtown; 206.441.4055

Combos totally rock: like peanut butter and chocolate, or Emanuel Lasker's bishop takes H7/queen D7 combo against Bauer putting him in a dream final with Isidor Gunsberg! Or milk and cookies. Combining pant styles for the sake of your gams, Grown & Sewn.

Using super-high-quality vintage-inspired cloth to combine the weight/feel of khakis w/ the "guts" of jeans, the former Ralph Lauren designer behind this line turns out his signature "kax" in several durable styles, all made and hand-sorted in the US to reduce their carbon footprint, and subsequently increasing your chances of sleeping with a woman in Fremont. G&S' three dungaree inspired trousers feature signature threading & details, custom brass hardware, media coin pockets, and come in a variety of custom washed fabrications; both the more-jean heavy Foundation and the straight-leg Legend are in +3 Twill (a 3-ply American cotton made to resemble authentic military surplus), with the Foundation also available in high-count combed-cotton black Cramerton Cloth, developed for the Army in 1931 after the failure of the "doughboy" uniform (inevitable as the bulkiness of the big gold chain & LA Raiders cap made marching nearly impossible). If you'd prefer your pants even more pre-grimy, they've got the Carolina Cloth heavyweight ringspun cotton slub twill, which features herringbone pocketing and an authentic resin rinse with hand-set wear wrinkles, think of it as Abe Vigoda for legs.

G&S also does bags and belts that'll be available in their online shop soon, which when combined with their khakis, make you an even better combo than Lasker and his brother at the 1890 International Chess Championship in Berlin, but not nearly as popular. Because they had milk and cookies.

Keep your pants on, all the deets about G&S is at their website

February 16th, 2010

Source: Thrillist

workroom featured: Phoenicia Association - wearephoenicia.com

“SURFACE TO AIR is a unique group operating in contemporary fashion, communication and film Born in Paris in 2000. At the beginning in the late 90’s Surface To Air consisted of a group of friends who wanted to work on projects they liked. Year after year, the team has grown into a multidisciplinary company spanning across creative domains such as fashion, graphics, photography, design, music, film. Today each company develops its own activity but always within the Surface To Air vision.” Phoenicia Association had the opportunity recently to view one of their many great endeavors, jewelery manufacturing. With a a focus on multi fingered rings and dark imagery, this collection finds itself on the cusp of modern yet still rooted in classic simple design. As we showcase this product we hope you understand that NOTHING IS CONFIRMED and this is simply a inside look for you the customer. We want to be able to showcase the latest in trends and not confuse anyone with what we might carry in the store. That being said we hope you enjoy this collection as much as we do and stay tuned over the next week from more details about the upcoming A/W10 season. easy.

February 20, 2010

Source: Phoenicia Association

workroom press: Sportswear International

Kanvis

24 Feb. 2010

LAS VEGAS TRADE SHOW LANDSCAPE EXPANDS

New venues, multiple competing shows and an absolutely massive assortment of brands created a rather overwhelming atmosphere in Las Vegas last week. Although many shows or shows-within-shows aimed for intimacy, the sheer volume of exhibiting brands in the city made navigating the show circuit akin to running a marathon.

The granddaddy of the Vegas shows, Advanstar’s MAGIC Marketplace, which ran Feb. 16-18, continued its reign as the largest and most sprawling of the Vegas shows. Covering two so-called campuses this season, the show was split by gender. The Las Vegas Convention Center housed the women’s section WWD MAGIC, MAGICKids, Sourcing at MAGIC and a new show-within-a-show concept, the FN Platform, an aesthetically pleasing showcase of all-white booths that housed approximately 500 women’s, men’s and kids’ footwear brands, including major players such as Kenneth Cole and Camuto Group. Peggy Merck of Camuto Group reported brisk business and steady traffic for the company both at its FN Platform booth, which showcased the brands Arturo Chang, BCBGeneration, BCBGMaxAzria, Kensie Girl, Lucky Brand and Vince Camuto, and its large Jessica Simpson apparel and lifestyle booth in the WWD MAGIC section.

In addition, the Convention Center also housed the Pool Tradeshow, which continued to be an artsy/kitschy mix of apparel, shoes, accessories and household gadgets, some of which were available directly for sale in the Cash and Carry section.

The Mandalay Bay Convention Center, across town, was the site of the rest of Advanstar’s offerings, and had a decidedly more masculine bent. Upstairs, the MAGIC show continued with sections for traditional menswear, premium and contemporary menswear, street-driven and young men’s apparel, and S.L.A.T.E., a special juried area for skate, surf and street brands. While the Premium and Street sections seemed cramped and overrun with brands that offered sameness and row after row of men’s underwear brands, S.L.A.T.E.’s more intimate and relaxed atmosphere served it well. Key brands showing there included L-R-G; Obey, which offered current denim trends such as acid-wash leggings and coated jeans at affordable prices; and Triple Five Soul, whose fall 2010 collection was inspired by the pre-Cold War Soviet Union.

The first floor of Mandalay Bay served as the new home of Project Las Vegas, which continued to be the most extensive showcase for men’s and women’s premium denim and contemporary fashion. Well organized and easy to navigate, it featured more than 750 brands. Included in the vast mix were four impressive lines making their debut: Improvd, Project founder Sam Ben-Avraham’s directional womenswear collection that offers cool style at affordable prices; The Same Guy, a rather uncharacteristically graphic- and logo-free line of men’s and women’s basics from Christian Audigier; Propriété de, a men’s workwear- and street-inspired line; and Double Fantasy, a line of chambray collared shirts by showroom owner Vince Gonzales. Established LA-based denim brand Kasil also unveiled its new The Workshop collaboration platform at the show. The first looks were created by Rachel Zoe’s former assistant Taylor Jacobson and included several ultra skinny fits in a variety of washes. While most exhibitors reported good results from the show, foot traffic seemed steady but not as intense as in prior seasons.

Advanstar also launched a new show concept in a room just outside the entrance to Project. Dubbed Workroom, it featured a mix of approximately 20 apparel, footwear and accessories brands and was meant to resemble a cutting-edge specialty boutique that specialized in cool and up-and-coming designs. Key exhibitors there included Lacoste, Radcliffe Denim, Hyden Yoo and the surf-inspired brand ambsn. The show also featured the debut of Cloth, the new line by former Anzevino & Florence designer William Anzevino, and the return of the brand Kanvis, which had been on hiatus the past few seasons. Designed by Kfir Levy, this men’s and women’s line no longer features basics and is much more fashion driven than before and now features asymmetric jackets, henleys with interesting hardware detail and wispy knit tops.

Further down The Strip, at the posh Bellagio Hotel, trade show powerhouse ENK International hosted the fourth and largest ever edition of its ENK Vegas show, which featured more than 150 hand-picked exhibitors across two ballrooms in a setting that was again intimate, elegant and inviting. Top denim brands such as Hudson, Parasuco, J Brand, Paige, Serfontaine, Habitual, Agave and Citizens of Humanity served as some of the show’s key attractions and offered the season’s top denim trends including the ubiquitous jegging and dark-wash styles. Serfontaine showed edgy, rock-inspired styles that included a denim jacket with leopard-print sequins on the back and distressed jeans with glimmering sequin insets.

Capsule Las Vegas also grew and included approximately 150 mostly street, up-and-coming and young designer brands in its location on the fifth floor ballroom of The Venetian hotel. Although traffic appeared on the slow side on Wednesday, the final day of the two-day event, exhibitors overall said they were happy with the results of the show, which again featured clothing racks and wooden shelves to separate its "booths." Among the many impressive brands on display there was Temple Bags, a new LA-based bag company that creates modern satchels and knapsacks from recycled surplus WWII cloth.

The next round of trade shows in Vegas is set to run earlier than usual next season: Aug. 17-19.

—Christopher Blomquist

Source: Sportswear International Magazine

workroom press: California Apparel News

Workroom Room Bows With Curated Collections

February 26, 2010

This season marked the debut of Workroom, the new upscale trade show located next to the Project Global Trade Show at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center.

With just 21 lines, the show featured an airy, loft-like atmosphere.

Among the lines showing were Factory by Erik Hart, Kova & T, Radcliffe Denim, Sitbon Laundry and Ai for Ai.

Gretchen Jones, designer of Portland, Ore.–based contemporary women’s line MothLove, gave the show high marks for looks and location.

“I was pleased with the proximity to Project, enjoyed the layout and design of the venue,” she said. Although traffic seemed slower than she had anticipated, Jones said American Rag, Atmosphere, Moule and Candy Store Collective were among the retailers that shopped the show.

“I would have loved to have seen more contemporary womenswear buyers, as the traffic seemed menswear-driven,” she said. However, being that A/W 2010 is only my second national collection, I feel as though exposure and brand recognition are an [integral] part in participating in any trade show, and from last season to current I found growth in actual and anticipated sales/orders.”

This is the second national collection for MothLove, which features sophisticated bohemian pieces in organic cotton, silk, bamboo and soy-blend fabrics.

Anna Korte, who designs Portland-based accessories lines Im:mortal and AK Vintage, was equally enthusiastic about the look of the show.

“The venue was beautiful and spacious,” she said. “Everyone who walked in commented on how good it felt in the space. The coordinators did an amazing job creating a fresh atmosphere and a carefully curated group of just 25 brands.”

The Im:mortal collection features leather bags, pouches and accessories, as well as scarves, pendants and necklaces.

She also felt traffic was somewhat slow but said that “all the right buyers were there,” including representatives from American Rag, Shotwell, Zebraclub and Need Supply Co.

Yves Spinelli, a rep for the Hatch showroom was at Workroom showing the Kova & T collection. Hatch was also showing Factory by Eric Hart, Lacoste Mens and Womens and Lacoste Red at Workroom. (Hatch representatives were also showing their collections at Project.)

“The overall impression of the show from me and accounts with whom I spoke was that it was a very nice space to showcase emerging lines and focus more attention, as things don’t get lost in the vastness of Project,” Spinelli said.

The new show drew several buyers from Asia, as well as a mix of well-established specialty boutiques from the East and West Coasts and new stores, Spinelli said.

Although traffic at Workroom was lighter than at Project, Spinelli said, “The quality of accounts that came through were more selective and serious.”

He also gave the venue high marks for atmosphere and selection.

“The space was really nice and open and intimate, and it was a nice place to meet and work with clients,” he said. “There were some nice emerging lines in there, and it was a nice mix of new and interesting designers.”—Alison A. Nieder

Source: CA Apparel News