RISING STARS

In the summer of ‘84, a television audience of 2 billion people sat down to watch the Olympic Games-- and Los Angeles. Instead of the predictable red, white and blue, the city appeared draped in magenta, vermilion, yellow and aqua. The Games also took place amid ephemeral struc- tures made of cardboard, fabric and fancy. Balloons, murals and wafting pennants lined the boulevards. It was a pivotal 16 days for the city; the world discovered that Los Angeles had replaced its out- moded reputation for ennui and sprawl with culture, cuisine and a sense of humor. And what it lacked in grace, it clearly made up for in style. In the following pages, we offer some of the high points--and the high-profile practitioners--of that style, including the likes of architect Jon Jerde and color consultant Deborah Sussman, who together gave the city its look for the Olympics and still shape its skyline, and Susan Feniger and Mary Sue Milliken, taste-making chefs with the courage to improvise. We’ve also united rising stars in entertainment with their counterparts in fashion for a sneak preview of L.A. designers’ fall collections. Their contributions propel Los Angeles forward, making it, in Jerde’s words, “the place where things are going to happen . . . the city of the future.”

Forward fashion and fast-track actors. Los Angeles breeds them, coddles them and unleashes them. In a city of cheerful ambition, talent finds its own audience. Style isn’t something you put on in the morning, it’s a way of life. We’ve paired some great faces in the L.A. film and design worlds for a sneak preview of the designers’ fall collections. PRODUCED BY SHAWN HARPER CASTING BY ANNETTE BENSON MAKEUP BY RENEE PARENTEAU SHOES FROM SCARPA, LOS ANGELES