NEWS

WIRES

OTHER

Petro Zillia, American Apparel, Ron Herman/Fred Segal Among Winners Announced at Inaugeral LA Fashion Awards

Melissa Rivers Hosts Debut Event

Designer Nony Tochterman of Petro Zillia, famed retailer Ron Herman at Fred Segal Melrose and American Apparel's Dov Charney came away from the first-ever LA Fashion Awards last Friday October 21st with wins in their respective categories. They joined other fashion leaders honored at the premiere event: designer Trina Turk was presented with the Fashion Achievement Award; editor Rose Apodaca of Women's Wear Daily was given the Communications Award; educator Rosemary Brantley of Otis College of Art + Design received the Inspiration Award, and active lifestyle brand Volcom, Inc., received the California Apparel IPO of the Year presented by NASDAQ.

Petro Zillia was awarded the night's top honor for fashion design, the Moss Adams Fashion Innovator (MAFI) Award. Louis Verdad and Trovata were also nominated for the MAFI, which was created three years ago by Moss Adams, one of the leading accounting firms in the fashion arena, to honor a company that has had a significant impact on the national marketplace by exemplifying California fashion innovation through unique and compelling design, production and presentation. Petro Zillia, whose whimsical spring 2006 line was inspired by Alice in Wonderland, presented a mini fashion show at the event, as did Louis Verdad, Trovata and Fashion Achievement Award Honoree Trina Turk.

The Fashion Retailer Award went to Ron Herman Fred Segal for maintaining an essential fashion following and contributing significantly to the fabric of Los Angeles through excellent merchandising. L.A. boutiques Decades/Decades Two, Kitson and Satine joined Ron Herman Fred Segal as nominees in the Fashion Retailer category.

American Apparel, with its socially conscious "sweatshop free" marketing campaign combined with an "everyday sexy" approach to the promotion of its retail stores, was honored with the Marketing Excellence Award, designated for the most innovative and compelling advertising campaign or marketing activity. American Apparel was selected from a prestigious group of nominees including BCBG Max Azria, Guess, Paul Frank and Roxy/Quicksilver which all presented short promo spots culled from current brand campaigns.

NASDAQ presented Volcom, Inc. with the first California Fashion IPO of the Year Award for sustaining optimum stock price performance after its initial stock offering. To add to the visibility of the event in the last month and during New York Fashion Week in September, NASDAQ shared airtime on its Times Square MarketSite Tower to promote the LA Fashion Awards.

Nominations and awards were determined by an invitation-only group of editors, stylists, designers, retailers and marketplace leaders, who recommended candidates for the ballot and voted on the winners. Each winner received a handcrafted glass art object designed by renowned artist Caleb Siemon. MAFI winner Petro Zillia also received $5,000 worth of partner consulting services from Moss Adams LLP, ApparelMagic's new Version 10 Software System, and complimentary membership in Fashion Business Incorporated.

The inaugural LA Fashion Awards closed Fashion Week and marked the beginning of L.A.'s Market Week. More than 1,000 members and admirers of the city's fashion industry turned out to enjoy a catered cocktail reception and hour-long award show, which incorporated mini fashion shows and multi media presentations. Costume designers Bob Mackie and Catherine Adair, and stylists Arianne Phillips and Elizabeth Saab were among the guest presenters. The evening's events were held at the historic Orpheum Theatre in the heart of downtown; a VIP after party, hosted by Angeleno, followed the event at the Broadway Bar.

Says Jen Uner, co-founder and co-producer of the event with business partner Mary Hill, "Our aim was to bring together the fashion community to celebrate the best in the industry and to elevate awareness for the high caliber of design, merchandising and marketing talent we have here. We accomplished this mission with a great debut event, filling a hole in the LA fashion industry landscape in the process."

Moss Adams LLP and The NASDAQ Stock Market sponsored individual awards. FedEx® and Wells Fargo Century led the slate of additional corporate sponsors, which included Design Tonic, ApparelMagic, Market Wire, Much and House PR, Traction Press, Kinetic Sculptures, Cloutier Agency, Cooper Design Space, LA Fashion District BID, Security Textile Corporation/Security Sourcing/Swift Europe, The City of Los Angeles/DWP, 24Seven, CIT Commercial Services, Ezra Brutzkus Gubner LLP, FTC Commercial Corp, Spa-Addicts.com, Biotherm and Paul Mitchell.

Several fashion and business not-for-profit membership organizations, including the California Fashion Association (CFA), Fashion Business Incorporated (FBI), Fashion Group International of Los Angeles (FGI-LA), LA Economic Development Corporation (LAEDC) and the World Trade Center Association endorsed the event. Angeleno Magazine, California Apparel News, LA.com and LA Weekly were among the media sponsors. Cocktail reception sponsors included Smartwater, Beautiful Bartenders, Krislyn Floral Couture, Cosmos, Vox Vodka, Plymouth Gin, El Tesoro Tequila, Jim Beam Bourbon, Starbucks Coffee Liqueur, plus restaurants New Moon, Zucca, City Kitchen and Pane e Vino.

MOSS ADAMS, LLP

The tenth largest accounting and consulting firm in the U.S., Moss Adams offers specialized accounting, tax, financial and business advisory services to clients in industry groups such as apparel, manufacturing and distribution, technology, hospitality, professional services and financial institutions.

NASDAQ

NASDAQ is the largest U.S. electronic stock market. With approximately 3,300 companies, it lists more companies and, on average, trades more shares per day than any other U.S. market. For more information about NASDAQ, visit the NASDAQ website at www.NASDAQ.com or the NASDAQ Newsroom at www.NASDAQnews.com.

FEDEX

FedEx provides access to a growing global marketplace through a network of supply chain, transportation, business, and related information services. FedEx offers a broad portfolio of products that range from express package and freight services to ground and less-than-truckload options to the largest customs broker in North America.

WELLS FARGO CENTURY

Wells Fargo Century is one of the largest factors in the country, providing a creative, entrepreneurial approach to factoring and trade finance, with the financial strength and stability of one of the nation's most respected financial institutions. The company has financed growing apparel companies for more than 50 years.

DESIGN TONIC

Design Tonic is a boutique design and marketing agency specializing in branding, marketing, public relations, events, and environments for fashion and style-oriented companies. For more, visit www.designtonic.com or call 213.687.3100.

APPARELMAGIC

Backed by two decades of apparel-industry expertise, ApparelMagic, the apparel industry's most technically innovative software, manages and electronically links all phases of an apparel or accessory business, from design and product development to manufacturing, sales and delivery.

MARKET WIRE

Market Wire is the industry leader in using the latest technologies to distribute real-time news, reaching all leading newspapers, broadcast outlets, financial newswires, disclosure points, analyst terminal systems, websites and online databases.

MUCH & HOUSE PUBLIC RELATIONS

Much and House Public Relations is a full-service boutique agency with an entertainment and lifestyle division, specializing in fashion, fitness and beauty.

Distributed by Market Wire