Here’s what’s happening this week in the apparel world …
Joaquin “El Chapo” Guzman is no one’s role model, but if you found yourself admiring his sense of style, you’re not alone. According to the Los Angeles Times, customers have inundated Barabas, a men’s clothing company, with orders after Rolling Stone pictured the kingpin in one of the company’s shirts. Its website crashed, the featured shirt is on backorder, the company hired new employees to handle the influx and the owners have started dreaming of opening retail stores.
We admit—Amazon isn’t the first place we go to shop for clothes online. But the joke’s on us, apparently. As The Motley Fool pointed out, the online retail giant is taking the apparel game seriously. Not only does it boast 30 million available clothing and accessory items (more than the number available in its electronics department!) and 2,500 clothing labels, but it sponsored the men’s New York Fashion Week this summer and is predicted to nab the top spot among apparel retailers soon (maybe even next year).
It’s almost Super Bowl time, which means it’s time to start stocking up on football-themed party supplies and appropriately boastful apparel—if you’re a Denver Broncos or Carolina Panthers fan, that is. As we reported, if you’re an Arizona Cardinals or New England Patriots fan, here’s the sucker punch: Not only did your team lose, but you won’t get to buy any new Super Bowl 50 merchandise for your team—even though it exists. Bright side: The would-be apparel will be donated to countries in need.
Concern over the Zika virus and other mosquito-borne viruses increases with each new case reported. In Brazil, where the virus is particularly prevalent, parents have been buying from gbaby’s “Baby Protect” line, which features cotton baby clothes that feature nanotechnology and micro-capsules that release a natural mosquito repellant made from citronella oil, The Washington Post reported. While some doctors question the apparel’s effectiveness, sales have increased 150 percent in the past four months.
Not sure what to do with your jeans that no longer fit? Bored with your usual cold-weather activities? One Minnesota man has a pretty cool idea how to fix that. As he explained to ABC News, soak jeans in a bucket of water, hang them outside, sculpt them while they freeze and put them on display around town. Sadly, we did not see any frozen pants on display in our neighborhood when it was blanketed in two feet of snow this weekend.
“Athleisure! Athleisure! Athleisure!” That’s the rest of the apparel industry’s best impression of Jan Brady. We all know it—fitness apparel is what everyone is talking about right now. And Runkeeper, an app that tracks our morning jogs and reminds us when we’ve missed a few too many, wants to join the big boys (like Nike and Under Armour), says Beta Boston. The company plans to introduce its own line of apparel and merchandise, as well as partnerships with outside retailers—think: a coupon for the sneaker brand you wear on your run.
It pays to come prepared. (Literally.) Before the PPAI Expo 2016, Terry Town sent out an e-blast, directing distributors to write “sublimation innovation” on the back of their cards to be entered into the Sublimation Innovation raffle—with a chance to win $1,000, $500 and $250 in Terry Town credit. The company has selected the lucky winners, including grand-prize winners Mike and Lorena Arias from VIP Printing & Promotions, runner-up Christine Gaddi from The Keep It Co., and third-place winner Chet Kent from Bridge Fast Promotions.
