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Allen Schwartz is taking his apparel business in a new direction.
The 35-year-old, Los Angeles-based company, which has been through several different incarnations, most recently was manufacturing dresses under the ABS by Allen Schwartz label. For fall, it will launch a single label, Allen Schwartz, which is an advanced-contemporary collection.
“We changed the name of the brand to match the product selection and establish ourselves as an advanced-contemporary collection that is accessible and made in the U.S.A.,” said Schwartz. The collection will launch the week of Feb. 20 and will be shown at Coterie.
The entire collection is manufactured in downtown Los Angeles using novelty fabrics. Schwartz described the targeted customer as a woman between the ages of 30 and 45, who will wear it to work and to go out at night. She’s digitally savvy, pursuing her career, is interested in current affairs and cares that a product is ethically produced, he said.
“I think I can bring a superior product at more accessible price points,” said Schwartz. The collection wholesales from $150 to $300, including faux furs. Among some of the looks are Victorian lace tops, off-the-shoulder dresses, velvet baseball jackets, pinstripe suits, pajama pants and pajama tops and dressy tops.
“Women can’t

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ALL ABOARD: Iris Apfel and Julien Macdonald will be among the industry guests aboard Cunard’s Queen Mary 2 when it makes its fashion trans-Atlantic crossing to New York, landing on Sept. 7, the first day of New York Fashion Week, WWD has learned.
The 1,130-square-foot boat will depart from Southampton, England, on Aug. 31 and arrive at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Apfel and Macdonald will join passengers on the seven-night voyage that will feature a fashion show and industry-related talks. Fashion consultant Gail Sackloff, Colin McDowell and models from Storm Model Management will also be making the trip.
Macdonald will host a show comprised of his archive looks, while McDowell will do a Q&A with Apfel, the 95-year-old known for her eccentric style. The Q&A session will follow a screening of the documentary “Iris,” about her life.
“I’ve lived quite a life of fashion and can’t wait to experience style at sea,” said Apfel. “I look forward to being inspired by the elegance and glamor of the occasion and life onboard, especially the formal nights, on my voyage across the Atlantic.”
The 2017 Transatlantic Fashion Week price for a Britannia Balcony stateroom starts from 2,249 pounds, or $2,807, a person, including flights and transfers.

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FLYING PERKS: Etihad Airways has launched Runway to Runway, a travel program tailored to the fashion industry that will be unveiled during New York Fashion Week.
Etihad, which forged a fashion partnership with IMG last year, offers Runway to Runway members discounts on airfare and other services, preferred corporate rates for business travel, discounted cargo rates and special group travel rates when traveling for photo shoots, showing collections overseas or conducting business globally.
“Very few industries travel as much as the fashion industry does, spending tens of millions annually,” said Patrick Pierce, vice president of sponsorships, Etihad Airways. He said the travel program offers practical benefits.
Fashion industry members will receive additional benefits, depending on their guest tier level, whether that be gold status, silver status or guest status, ranging from lounge access for members and a guest, additional baggage allowances to complimentary upgrades and onboard Wi-Fi. Guest status will receive fashion news, exclusive access to partner promotions and be eligible for invitations to special fashion events including fashion weeks in New York, London, Milan, Mumbai and Sydney.
Etihad Airways supports 17 fashion events around the world annually. To support the new program, Nicole Kidman and Lauren Santo Domingo of Moda Operandi will host

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BOX FRESH: Riccardo Tisci may have quit his day job, but he’s still churning out the sneaker styles for Nike.
The self-confessed sneaker head on Monday unveiled a new style, the NikeLab Dunk Lux Chukka x RT, which will go on sale Feb. 10 at Bergdorf Goodman’s NikeLab, NikeLab 21M, Dover Street Market New York, Kith BK and Concepts NYC, to be followed by NikeLab retailers and nike.com from Feb. 23.
Tisci, who estimates he has more than 1,000 pairs of sneakers, kicked off his collaboration with Nike with a colorful, tribal-tinged interpretation of the Air Force 1 in 2014.
He followed up last year with his first Dunk collaboration, the NikeLab Dunk Lux High x RT, two training shoes, the Free Train Force Flyknit x RT and the Transform Flyknit x RT, and a Chelsea boot, the Air Zoom Legend x RT.
“I think the Dunk has something that’s very special. It’s grounded in sport as well as in the street-style culture,” Tisci said Monday. “For younger generations, it can fit as many different styles tribes as you can imagine. I think it’s one of the most iconic shoes that Nike has ever created.”
Like the Dunk Lux High, the new shoe features exaggerated

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Elsa Schiaparelli, political freedom and words of empowerment are among the diverse influences that moved designers for fall.

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India’s textile and apparel industry is banking on informal assurances of increased central government support, after it was largely ignored in this month’s formal announcement of the national budget.

One of the largest synthetic yarn production plants in Central America is to open in Honduras aimed at attracting more specialised manufacturing industries for the transformation of the fibre.

Antimicrobial solutions provider Noble Biomaterials has joined forces with product design and development group Bemis Associates to develop seamless, conductive advanced material that allows for the integration of electronics into apparel.

Eton Systems, which supplies unit production systems to the apparel industry, is looking to strengthen its local presence by relocating to the US as part of plans to be more flexible and offer optimised delivery precision.

The jeanswear division of US apparel giant VF Corp, which includes its Wrangler and Lee brands, is partnering with the University of North Carolina to incorporate 3D design technology into its curriculum, to help prepare students for careers in the apparel and retail industries.