LA Fashion District

Welcome to the Los Angeles Fashion District section of the guide. The LA Fashion District spans approximately 100 blocks in downtown Los Angeles. Across those blocks you will find apparel and fashion accessories for the entire family, textiles of every description, and work lofts where fashion designers develop their collections — the largest concentration of fashion trade on the West Coast, operating as both a wholesale market for the industry and a bargain shopping destination for the public.

This page explains what the district is, who runs it, where its boundaries lie and how to use its own wholesaler search. The district's official organization maintains a website of its own, linked in the references, with a searchable database of Los Angeles clothing wholesalers.

The District and Its BID

The LA Fashion District BID is a non-profit organization dedicated to making the community a clean, safe and friendly place to work, shop, do business and live, through maintenance, security and marketing programs. Launched in January 1996, the LA Fashion District BID was the first property-based BID in Los Angeles. A 15-member Board of Directors, consisting of LA Fashion District property owners, administers the management of the BID, and a six-member management team directs the day-to-day operation of BID programs and serves as a liaison for law enforcement, industry associations and city government.

The BID covers 100 blocks in downtown Los Angeles. Its general boundaries run from 7th Street (and on Los Angeles Street to 6th Street) to the north, the Santa Monica 10 Freeway to the south, Spring and Main Streets to the west, and San Pedro Street to the east. Inside those boundaries sit the wholesale showroom buildings anchored by the California Market Center, the fabric stores of the textile blocks, Santee Alley — the famed open-air bazaar — and the flower markets that share the district.

Wholesale, Retail and Textiles in One District

Most fashion districts separate their trades; Los Angeles stacks them together. A buyer can walk from a showroom appointment selling next season's lines to a fabric store holding the textiles those lines are made from, then to a retail stall selling this season's goods to the public. For designers, the district offers the full working kit in a few blocks: textiles and notions, sample makers, pattern services, trim suppliers and the loft space to put a collection together. For consumers, the same blocks deliver the bargains and trend-setting fashion that made the district a shopping destination — independently owned stores rather than chains.

Finding Wholesalers

The Fashion District's own website is the practical tool: from fashiondistrict.org you can find a great deal of information about the district, including a searchable database of clothing wholesalers in Los Angeles, at its wholesalers search. Buyers planning a market trip should start there for current listings, then use the events page in this guide for market week and California Market Center dates, and the B2B directory for the wider Los Angeles industry resources.