A CITY OF GUEST LISTS
They’re still repairing the stiletto divots in the mayor’s backyard.
But that’s what you get when you invite the fashion crowd over for a party. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa opened the back lawn of his official residence in Windsor Square to celebrate the fashion industry in L.A. and Earth Pledge, a group that raises the eco-consciousness of businesses.
Designers & Agents, the trade show producer that spearheaded the event, recruited a dozen local designers to create “sustainable” looks (the event was sponsored by several groups, including The Times’ Image section). The results were displayed on mannequins clustered around the fountain -- a chic navy sweater dress by Magda Berliner, patchwork separates from Rozae Nichols, a summery caftan by Trina Turk. Guests including Barneys New York fashion director Julie Gilhart and designers Corey Lynn Calter, Tarina Tarantino, John Whitledge and Tadashi Shoji mingled on the sprawling lawn.
Earth Pledge executive director Leslie Hoffman explained that she is working with L.A. fashion schools to develop a reference library of sustainable fabrics, while the mayor told the crowd that his efforts in support of the industry are partly motivated in part by his daughter -- Prisila Villar-Contreras is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.
And in case you’re wondering why, despite a desire to make L.A. the hub of the Fashion Week frenzy, the mayor hasn’t visited the tents at Smashbox Studios, there’s a simple explanation: “They’ve asked me to come, but they should ask the mayor of Culver City,” Villaraigosa said. “That’s his territory. I’m the mayor of Los Angeles.”
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-- Adam Tschorn
