On the fashion beat

It was only a matter of time before many of the Jewish retailers on the 400 block of Fairfax Avenue would be moving out, either because of age or rapidly rising rents. In their place, according to California Apparel News, are stores catering to "streetwear," which are casual clothes inspired by skateboarding and hip-hop music (I have a closet filled with the stuff). Among the names: Supreme, SLB, Reserve, The Elegant Mess and Flight Club. It's an interesting retail environment because customers are coming from USC, Echo Park and Pasadena - not the immediate neighborhood.

While Fairfax seems to be burgeoning with streetwear fashion, real estate broker Chuck Dembo didn’t think it would be the next glamorous fashion street such as Robertson Boulevard. He said the street’s retail needs some time to mature. “You’re seeing the first generation of [fashion] retail opening up there. National chains probably won’t be moving in soon,” said Dembo, partner in Beverly Hills, Calif.–based Dembo & Associates.

Roxy vs. Roxywear: It's the court case that keeps going - and going and going. Huntington Beach-based apparel giant Quiksilver has a popular line called Roxy and for almost three years it's been claiming trademark infringement and unfair competition against L.A.-based manufacturer Kymsta Corp., which uses the label Roxywear. (Kymsta is way smaller than Quiksilver.) The Apparel News chronicles the litigation, which the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals has finally sent back to U.S. District Court for a jury trial. Meantime, all restrictions placed on the Roxywear label have been lifted for now.