Keep L.A. a Home for Fashion

It is said that when New York wants fashion it looks to Europe, and when Europe wants fashion it looks to Los Angeles. Pity that Los Angeles itself doesn’t hold its world-class garment center in such high esteem.

So important is the Los Angeles area to fashion, and fashion to the L.A. area, that it is the nation’s largest apparel employer. The clothing industry is L.A.’s No. 1 employer of minorities, the largest employer of Latinos and provider of the largest number of entry-level jobs. The industry, which employs 114,000 in Los Angeles County and 14,700 in Orange County, is second only to aerospace among Southern California’s manufacturing employers.

But Seventh Avenue West has a problem in that cutthroat competition and the fragmented nature of contracting make it vulnerable to illegal sweatshops. State and federal officials have appropriately cracked down. Since 1992, 2,000 of the region’s 3,500 registered manufacturers and contractors have begun participating in monitoring programs. But in some cases the expense of monitoring, increasing competition and other rising costs have driven manufacturers out of Southern California in search of cheaper production.

Guess Inc. is the latest and the biggest apparel manufacturer to make a move, announcing this week it will shift much of its production to Mexico and other parts of Latin America. The jeans maker’s decision may not have been spurred by labor costs alone, however, since it has a history of union problems and alleged workplace abuses among its contractors.

The presence of sweatshops detracts from the dynamic core of the L.A. garment district, where designers, pattern makers, marketers and data processors work along with garment makers. About 18 months ago, Mayor Richard Riordan met with apparel representatives interested in shoring up the industry’s image. He encouraged industry initiatives such as the California Fashion Assn. and the Fashion District, a business improvement district, to make the fashion center friendlier and safer. The mayor noted the lack of a hip L.A. fashion show; that led to the “Look Show,” which will be held here next month to showcase young designers.

Whither the industry? California-based apparel houses are likely to stay put. But will they keep all their production work in Los Angeles and Orange counties? That’s a tough business and community decision.

Los Angeles will benefit if they keep at least some local production because entry-level jobs provide a crucial and necessary first rung of employment, one that will be even more in demand with the diminution of welfare benefits. Producers of high-fashion lines that require quick style changes and flexibility prefer manufacturing in Los Angeles, and the city should do all it can to make that happen. Maybe it’s time for another session with the mayor, and maybe the City Council should join in.