NEWSPAPER 2ND CLASS $2.99 VOLUME 73, NUMBER 34 AUGUST 11–17, 2017 THE VOICE OF THE INDUSTRY FOR 72 YEARS New BCBG Owners Outline Their Plans for Moving the Brands Forward By Deborah Belgum Senior Editor When Michael DeVirgilio and Cory Baker were figuring out whether they wanted to acquire the BCBGMaxAzria la- bel and its sister brands, they quizzed retailers about whether they were still willing to carry the decades-old brands in their stores. They were happy to find that the labels weren’t on life support yet. Polling shoppers, they found that customers were still loyal to the sophisticated collections that until last year were con- sistently seen on the runways of New York Fashion Week. “What was wrong with them was what was under the hood, not what was in the eyes of the customer,” said Baker, the chief operating officer at Marquee Brands, the New York–brand management group that acquired the intellectual-property rights out of bankruptcy court for BCBGMaxAzria, BCB- ➥ BCBG page 12 DENIM Japan’s Edwin Denim Retailers Emily Park, left, and Esther Paik in their new bricks-and-mortar store, Le Box Blanc, located in downtown LA’s South Park neighborhood. For more about the store, see page 10. Brand to Unveil Adriano Goldschmied Line for U.S. DSTLD Plans Second Round of Crowdfunding, By Andrew Asch Retail Editor Pop-Ups and Other Events In its 70th anniversary year, Japanese denim power- house Edwin Co. Ltd. opened a U.S. creative studio and is By Alison A. Nieder Executive Editor percent in the last year. bringing in jeans legend Adriano Goldschmied to design a “To keep that up, you need to keep putting fuel on the fire,” collection for the U.S. market. DSTLD, the direct-to-consumer contemporary brand for he said. “That’s been our strategy with the brand. There’s a The Tokyo-headquartered brand also recently named men and women, is preparing to open up its second round of large segment of people that will benefit from our apparel Vince Gonzales, a veteran fashion and brand-development crowdfunding. ethos and quality and pricing. We decided that the most ef- executive, to lead the studio. It opened on June 15 in Los “After the success of our first round, we are embracing ficient and the most democratizing way to do that is through Angeles’ Arts District, a burgeoning area where high-end this as the core strategy for financing growth for the busi- this Regulation A Plus mechanism, which enables us to bring retailers such as Rei Kawakubo’s Dover Street Market are ness rather than bring in private equity or venture capital,” in our best advocates to share in future potential gains.” scheduled to open stores in the near future. said Corey Epstein, DSTLD co–chief executive officer and Epstein said the majority of DSTLD investors are custom- Edwin is one of Japan’s top denim brands and is avail- creative director. “We’re really focused on building that cus- ers—the company calls them “brand advocates”—but there able at 3,000 points of sale in that country—including at tomer/investor/ambassador list.” are also some who learn about DSTLD through business- ➥ Edwin Denim page 23 Epstein and co-CEO Mark Lynn founded DSTLD in 2014 investment channels. in Los Angeles as a premium-denim and T-shirt resource. The “As we grow as a brand and expand our customer base, we brand has since expanded to include a full range of tops and want to continue to provide the opportunity for customers to bottoms as well as accessories and outerwear with a focus invest in the brand and own a piece of the company,” he said. INSIDE: on sustainable fabrics, sweatshop-free sourcing and “ethical” DSTLD is able to raise money from small-scale inves- Where fashion gets down to business SM pricing. Denim is priced below $100. Leather jackets range tors through provisions in the JOBS (Jumpstart Our Business from $350 to $400. Wool coats are priced between $180 and Startups) Act of 2012, which expanded funding opportunities $250. for small U.S. businesses. There are some perks available for Epstein said DSTLD has seen its business grow by nearly 200 ➥ DSTLD page 5 CFA Breaks Down Intellectual-Property Landscape 19 24 By Alison A. Nieder Executive Editor dent of the CFA, moderated the discussion, which covered the Agenda Festival to return ... p. 2 The California Fashion Association broke down an ever- differences between copyright, trademark and patents as well Bachrach to exit Chap. 11 ... p. 6 widening field of intellectual-property issues for a group of as some recent developments that are poised to affect apparel apparel manufacturers and retailers at a recent strategy ses- manufacturers. Made in America ... pp. 14–18 sion featuring several legal and insurance experts. The Varsity Brands Inc. v. Star Athletica LLC case went The Aug. 9 event, held at the Los Angeles Chamber of all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, which found in favor Supply Chain ... p. 22 Commerce in downtown Los Angeles, featured a panel that of Varsity. The case revolved around the chevron and striped Resource Directory .. p. 25 included Oliver Bajracharya, a partner with Lewis Roca patterns on cheerleader uniforms, which the court found to be Rothgerber Christie LLP; Robert Ezra, partner with Free- a copyrightable design element. man Freeman & Smiley; and Kaleigh Kemmerly, vice presi- “Could it stand almost as a work of art? It’s a little bit of a dent of Hub International Insurance. Ilse Metchek, presi- ➥ CFA page 20 www.apparelnews.net 01,2,5,12,20,23.cover.indd 1 8/10/17 7:36 PM NEWS Agenda Festival to Return in 2018 Agenda Festival, the consumer day of Festival saw 15,000 attendees, according to food trucks, checked out art galleries and “Brands spend so much energy speaking the streetwear-focused Agenda trade show, an Agenda statement. watched performances by rock bands and to the consumers through digital marketing, made an inaugural run last month. Consumer days are a rarity for trade-only hip-hop groups. During the evening of July and we believe this is only creating white It was deemed a success by Agenda man- shows. For a price of a $45 ticket, Agen- 15, hip-hop star A$AP Rocky made a sur- noise in the long term,” Levant said. “We’ve agement, and the Agenda Festival will make da Festival goers gained access to booths prise appearance during the show of Tyler, cut out the noise by bringing brands and con- a sophomore run on Jan. 6. Agenda produc- run by brands such as Obey, Stance and the Creator. Agenda founder Aaron Levant sumers together, giving the fans the mean- ers forecast that the festival’s attendance will Herschel Supply Co., where they could said that consumer days open untapped op- ingful engagement they are seeking.” grow by 50 percent. The first run of Agenda find exclusive items. They also dined at portunities. —Andrew Asch Callaway Hopes for Hole in One With TravisMathew Acquisition Callaway Golf Co. recently announced areas tangential to golf. This acquisition, golf-focused accessories and clothing com- tered in Huntington Beach. The brand makes that it had acquired Huntington Beach, once completed, is expected to be slightly pany, also headquartered in Carlsbad. Calla- tops such as polos, button-ups, T-shirts and out- Calif.–headquartered apparel brand Travis- accretive to earnings in 2018 and create way paid $75.5 million in an all-cash trans- erwear as well as shorts, pants, baseball caps, Mathew, LLC for $125.5 million in an all- significant value for our shareholders over action for the company. socks, boxers and footwear. It also runs a boys’ cash transaction. the long term. We look forward to working In July 2016, Callaway announced the com- line and fashion belt–focused line Cuater. Chip Brewer, the chief executive officer with the TravisMathew management team pletion of a joint venture with Japan-headquar- TravisMathew also runs a line of boutiques of the Carlsbad, Calif.–headquartered Calla- to maximize this brand’s growth potential,” tered TSI Groove & Sports Co. Ltd. TSI is located at high-end malls such as Westfield way, said that the 10-year-old TravisMathew Brewer said in a statement. Callaway’s longtime apparel licensee. The new Century City, Fashion Island, UTC San Di- brand would serve as a growth vehicle. Since 1982, Callaway has been making venture was called Callaway Apparel KK. It ego and Scottsdale Fashion Square in Scotts- “With its golf heritage, culture of product golf clubs, golf balls, equipment, apparel will design, manufacture and sell Callaway- dale, Ariz. The brand also is sold at Nordstrom. excellence and double-digit growth in the and accessories. In recent years, Callaway branded apparel, footwear and headwear in TravisMathew developed a prominent golf and lifestyle apparel business, Travis- has been increasing its reach into apparel. Japan. Callaway Golf holds a 52 percent stake presence in the golf world when it started Mathew is a great fit with our business, In January 2017, Callaway wrapped up in the new venture. sponsoring pro golfers. TravisMathew also brands, culture and our strategy to grow in its acquisition of Ogio International Inc., a TravisMathew will continue to be headquar- sponsors professional tennis players.—A.A. Prana Chief Executive Leaving in Mid-August After being with the company for nearly the California–based watch and accessories tunity to work alongside Scott for the past Prana stores. nine years, Scott Kerslake is leaving Prana brand, effective Aug. 21.