Brad Gebhard, president of Los Angeles-based American Apparel, will keynote the 3rd annual Apparel + Lifestyle Manufacturing Summit next Wednesday, September 28 in Denver, Colorado at the newly remodeled McNichols Building in Civic Center park.
Gebhard appears at an interesting time not only for the American Apparel, North America’s largest apparel company, but also for the industry, said Bart Taylor, publisher of CompanyWeek, host of the event.
“The 3rd annual Summit occurs at a pivotal time for apparel and consumer product manufacturing and for local brands and communities,” Taylor said. “So many entrepreneurs want to launch lifestyle and fashion brands here, in the West. And established companies are evaluating whether domestic production is now viable. The question is, have we reached a point where today it’s possible to go ‘back to the future’ and support American industry in a meaningful way?”
American Apparel is today evaluating this question on a larger scale. The company has implemented a major reorganization after ousting it’s controversial founder, Dov Charney, and Gebhard, alongside new CEO Paula Schneider, have set the company on a new path as questions persist about AA’s ability to continue manufacturing in Los Angeles. California’s new labor laws have made that prospect increasingly challenging.
It all happens as industry players in Colorado are working hard to reconstitute supply-chain resources that would make apparel and consumer product manufacturing competitive on an international stage. Gebhard will join other company founders to discuss a blueprint for growth in Colorado and the West, and the future of American apparel manufacturing.
Apparel and consumer product designers, brands, production firms, business advocates and other community representatives are invited to attend the Summit. Industry professionals attending the Outdoor Industry Association Rendevous conference, or COILS, hosted by the Colorado Office of Outdoor Recreation, are also invited to attend. Registration fees for either event also included attendance to the Summit.
For more information or to register, click here, or contact Leslie Pera, CompanyWeek media, at lpera@companyweek.com, or 303-522-3906.
