The Bay Area and the Northwest: riding the edge of tomorrow's trends

Bobbin, Sept, 1998 by Kathleen Desmarteau

Likewise, Briggs notes that the race to capture and keep a piece of the action isn't getting any easier. "As our ability to move goods quickly from all parts of the world improves, we have to reinvent ourselves," she notes. "Everyone is trying to find the pearl, the opportunity that lies in the future."

In considering the changes the industry will encounter over the next five years, both esprit's Damen and Thaw's Cross point to the challenge of understanding the end consumer. "We need to be getting more in tune with the ultimate consumer [by] watching the retail trends and constantly feeding the chain," observes Cross.

"Projecting what the consumer is going to want is one of the biggest factors [facing our industry]," says Damen, noting that firms must determine shopping expectations, such as whether consumers want to shop on-line, at a small retail store, at a department store, by catalog or otherwise.

With goals such as this in focus, you can bet the sewn products industries of northern California and the Northwest will continue to enchant the market with their products and surprise us with their performance.

Industry Resources - Northern California & U.S. Northwest

San Francisco Fashion Industries (SFFI) 1000 Brannan St., Suite 206 San Francisco, CA 94103 Tel.: 415-621-6100 Fax: 415-621-6384 Web Site: www.sffi.org

Made by the Bay Inc. (same address as SFFI) Tel.: 415-565-7215 Web Site: www.madebythebay.org

Northern California Chinese Garment Contractors Association (NCCGCA) 372 12th St. Oakland, CA 94607 Tel.: 510-465-3301

Northwest Sewn Products Association (NSPA) P.O. Box 13632 Portland, OR 97213 Tel.: 503-288-0824 Fax: 503-284-0862 Web Site: www.nwsewn.com