http://gtafashioncluster.mypodcast.com/index.html

 The LA Fashion District spans 90 blocks and is the hub of the apparel industry on the West Coast. Retailers, wholesale buyers, designers, stylists, students, shoppers and residents all converge here. Whether you’re a wholesale buyer reviewing the latest collections in the District’s designer showrooms, or a shopper on the prowl for a bargain – it’s all here: apparel and accessories for the entire family, textiles, flowers, even live/work lofts. This portal represents wholesale business, textile and notions, retail shoppin, flower market and the neighbourhood. It also features news articles, newsletters and a directory.
http://www.fashiondistrict.org/

  With heightened concern about toxicity from PBDEs (flame retardants) and other chemicals in clothing and products, organic and renewable materials, such as bamboo, are gaining ground as alternatives to conventional fibers produced with pesticides, herbicides and defoliates. Though organic cotton is becoming more common in everything from bed linens to diapers, costs and production methods haven’t made it an easy sell. Designers also are turning to synthetic fibers from plant-based biopolymers. In the U.S., sales for organic fiber linens had climbed to $203 million by 2006, up nearly 27 percent from the year before, according to the Organic Trade Association. Five years ago food was the focus; increasingly, fashion and style are. Companies like Patagonia, Nike and Timberland have been at the forefront of a green fashion movement for years using recycled plastic or organic materials, and the growing list includes Edun, Loomstate, Banana Republic, Gap, Old Navy, Wal-Mart, Target, Nordstrom, Levi Strauss & Co., H&M and Barneys New York.

http://www.telegram.com/article/20080304/NEWS/803040407/1102/RSS01&source=rss

 VIDCAT Productions has launched Screenfashion Magazine, a new videomagazine series available on DVD. The 2008 Premiere Edition includes two DVDs and features an exciting mix of fashion runway trends and backstage interviews with designers, hairstylists and makeup artists who set the fashion and beauty trends during New York Fashion Week. Screenfashion Magazine DVDs are targeted toward salons, spas and boutiques to entertain and inspire their customers, clients and staff.

This article deals with the New York fashion cluster/industry is also tied in with the ICT cluster/industry, in terms of using digital technology to showcase trends in fashion.

http://www.pr.com/press-release/77600

 In the fall, Los Angeles underwear brand Go Softwear will roll out a men’s “Waist Eliminator,” which has a waistband that extends up to mid-torso in order to hold the tummy in. Last month, Andrew Christian, a men’s underwear line sold in boutiques such as Fred Segal in Los Angeles, introduced the Flashback Butt Lifting Technology Boxer — a stretchy bodyshaping brief with a built-in elastic sling to lift and perk up the back side by “up to an inch.” Retailers say a younger generation of men is more open to wearing body-sculpting undergarments today than their fathers were. Sales growth in men’s underwear is outpacing that of women’s. Last year, sales of men’s underwear in the U.S. rose 7.8% from 2005 to reach 1.1 billion units, according to market-researcher NPD Group. By comparison, women’s intimate-apparel unit sales rose 2.3% to reach 1.5 billion in the same period.

http://www.thefashionspot.com/forums/f49/girdles-shapewear-men-66642.html

 Shares in Lululemon Athletica, a Canadian firm that sells yoga clothing and equipment, fell after news reports claimed that tests had failed to find any trace of seaweed fibre in some of its garments, which were supposed to contain the stuff. Lululemon insisted that its own test results showed seaweed really was present, though it agreed (at the request of Canadian regulators) to withdraw unsubstantiated claims about its supposed therapeutic benefits.

None of this appears to have affected the devotion of Lululemon’s fanatical customers, of which there are many. Yoga Journal, a magazine, estimated in 2005 that about 17m Americans practise yoga, spending about $3 billion a year in the process—$500m of it on clothing. “This is one of the best growth stories in retail,” says Paul Lejuez, an analyst at Credit Suisse. Lululemon, with sales of $66m in the most recent quarter, is by far the most visible brand. “If you’re going to call anything a yoga pure-play, this is the one,” says Mr Lejuez.

http://www.economist.com/displaystory.cfm?story_id=10286974&fsrc=RSS

Cotton Ginny Inc. has filed for bankruptcy protection. They did they same thing in 2003. Cotton Ginny is following the same path as many unsuccessful Canadian apparel companies, such as Creeds, Marci Lipman, Clotheslines and the entire Dylex chain (Tip Top Tailors, Fairweather, Thriftys, Braemar), which commanded 10 per cent of the Canadian apparel trade in the 1980s. It is hard to determine which Canadian apparel companies are still going to be around in the next ten years, where all these current companies are competing against a giant, Wal-Mart. In order to be a successful Canadian Apparel company, you have to keep up with the trends and likes of your target customers.

http://www.thestar.com/article/302299

In this article it says that if the Women’s Apparel Market focuses on the plus-size market it can retain more profit.

“The special sizes market, especially plus size, offers significant growth opportunity for Canadian retailers that are willing to offer a greater variety of wardrobe options and current fashions,” says Kaileen Millard-Ruff, Director of Fashion for the NPD Group. “Our report shows that the Ladies Plus segment in 2007 was the fastest growing size segment and is now worth $2.1 billion. That’s growth of $342 million dollars since 2003, despite significant levels of dissatisfaction with what is available to them. Just imagine if they were satisfied.”

Women are seeming to be buying more plus-size clothing and the market is growing and companies. if they decide to focus on this market can up their profits and reach a large percent of the Women Apparel Market.

http://www.bharattextile.com/newsitems/2007196

 Top Canadian celebrities and designers are joining together in support of women’s heart health at The Heart Truth Fashion Show at Toronto’s L’Oreal Fashion Week. The Heart Truth Fashion Show features top Canadian fashion designers’ original, one-of-a-kind red dress designs created in celebration of women and heart health awareness modeled by Canadian women celebrities from television, film, music, the arts, sports and media.

The Heart Truth campaign educates women about identifying their risks and warning signs of heart disease and stroke, and arms them with the information they need to take charge of their heart health.  It is especially relevant for women 40 to 60 years old, whose risk increases as they age. The Red Dress is the symbol for The Heart Truth campaign.

http://www.fashiontelevision.com/infashion/industrynews/industrynews_1915.aspx