We had the good fortune of connecting with Houman Salem and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Houman, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
LA Fashion Startups was born out of another company I had created over 10 years ago called ARGYLE Haus of Apparel. At ARGYLE Haus, we are an award-winning fashion design house and clothing manufacturer based in Los Angeles. Over the past ten years we have helped create and launch over 500 startup clothing brands. Our clients include notable celebrities, major influencers, established fashion designers, as well as newcomers to the fashion industry. I can safely say that ARGYLE Haus is the leading expert at launching new clothing brands on the fashion design, apparel development, and manufacturing side.
LA Fashion Startups combines all of ARGYLE’s core services as adds a range of additional “wrap-around” services to help startup brands success in this competitive marketplace. The wrap around services includes professional photo shoot, development and launch of an e-commerce website, continued digital marketing support, access to over 2,500 retail store buyers including such notable names as Neiman Marcus, Nordstrom, as well as value retailers like TJ Maxx and Ross.
Much like the startup clothing brands that we serve, our process in launching LA Fashion Startups was finding a gap in the marketplace and creating the services to fulfill the gap.
Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
LA Fashion Startups Is essentially a business incubator for aspiring fashion designers. The company was born out of ARGYLE Haus of Apparel, which is a leading fashion design house and clothing factory in Los Angeles. What sets us apart is that, unlike other clothing factories, we bring a next generation approach to the garment manufacturing industry. Meaning, that we will not only design, develop, and manufacture your collection, but we will also launch your brand by providing additional services such as e-commerce website development, digital marketing, and much more. The unique thing about LA Fashion Startups is that you don’t need any fashion industry experience to work with us. We will do everything for you, and you can be as hands-on or as hands-off as you want to be, In the end, it’s your brand and your vision.
Business is all about staying competitive and relevant. Launching LA Fashion Startups wasn’t too challenging, it was a natural evolution of ARGYLE Haus of Apparel. Since ARGYLE Haus already provided the core set of industry services, and since I already had a tremendous amount of digital marketing and e-commerce experience, it was just finally time to merge the two. Now, added to the fact that we have a showroom at the famous New Mart building in the Downtown LA fashion district, it only made sense to bring the showroom service and the retail buyers relationships into the mix.
If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Just as Randy Newman said back in the 80s – “I love LA!” There is so much to do and often, not enough time to do it.
Any stay with me would involve a lot of food and driving around. From Nobu and Geoffrey’s in Malibu, to Raffi’s in Glendale (best Persian food anywhere), to El Compadres in Hollywood. Oh, and we’d probably hit up all the food truck along the way. Anyone who hangs with me for a week will gain weight.
Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
I’d like to dedicate this shout out first to my parents who’ve always stood behind every crazy idea I’ve ever had. A huge shout out must also go to all the employees at LA Fashion Startups and ARGYLE Haus of Apparel. I am so lucky to have the greatest workforce in this industry, all of whom have stuck with me throughout thick and thin – including the pandemic. Their dedication motivates me. I would also like to shout out my industry partners including all the great people at the New Mart building, the California Fashion Association, our technology partners at TUKA Tech. Finally, I’d like to shout out all the apparel industry businesses, all our friends and competitors, vendors and suppliers, and all the businesses that make this entire industry run in Los Angeles. Businesses do not get the recognition they deserve in this town.
Website: https://lafashionstartups.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/argylehaus/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/houmansalem/
Twitter: twitter.com/argylehaus