I wanted to post a quick entry on Fall/Holiday Los Angeles Fashion Marketing before heading to the 140Conference this week in New York.

Los Angeles Fashion Market Buying Trends

• Jewelry was booking extremely well.
• Vendors were writing orders on the high and low price points. Several vendors with “luxury lines” (pieces that sold sell at wholesale $200-350) reported phenomenal orders on jewelry with strong organic elements (fire opal, turquoise, corral and semi-precious stones).
• Buyer wrote orders for cocktail statement rings that featured natural stones/semi-precious stones and looked hand crafted (or were handcrafted) so that no one piece was an exact replica was doing well in a higher price point.
• Long layered necklaces did extremely well. There was a balance of yellow gold, silver and silver/copper combinations. Again, the same organic feel was translated into the single tone colors were accented with the semi-precious stones.
• Mixed metals, copper/silver and silver/gold multi-layered strands had a strong presence.
• I saw a strong emphasis on leather in bracelets.
• In the lower price point range (under $135) what I could call Vintage “Bling” trended well. Costume statement pieces, petite brooches and larger chandelier earrings.
• What’s going out: Animals – mostly Anthropologie is carrying this.
• Clothing purchases were mixed. Most people gravitated towards basics and versatile pieces at cost conscious price points.
• Shoe Trends: Affordable luxury with a Western flair; Gladiators are still holding strong.
• Dresses: umm, the Lapis Girl long maxi style dresses in charcoal, medium heather gray and black is a staple for Macy’s, Nordstrom & Dillards. – Gotta say, something else I predicted. I love this brand and price points!
• House of Harlow was booking like like crazy.

Michael Azaara Costume Line, 8384  Beverly Blvd, Los Angeles, CA

I encountered a number of amazing designers and showrooms that I’ll highlight in upcoming posts, but here’s a flavor:

Funky East, designed by Jun Lu Lujan, http://www.funkyeast.com

Allison Izu, Premium Petite Denim, http://www.allisonizu.com (video interviews to come!)

Oyukaa, designed by Oyun Nyamsuren (video interview coming soon!)

Boutique 9 (a division of Jones New York/Nine West), SHOE PORN