L.A. to get an upgrade in its fashion show scene
7th on Sixth, the production company that organizes New York’s biannual Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, announced plans to launch a similar event here, during a cocktail reception Friday attended by some of L.A.’s best-known designers, including Richard Tyler, Rick Owens, Randolph Duke and Jeremy Scott.
Representatives from 7th say their aim is to use the event, set to take place April 1 to 4, to bring some order to L.A.’s runway shows, now held in far-flung venues with less-than-professional production values.
“We’ve been watching the creativity and energy of the L.A. designers and the resurgence of the downtown area,” 7th executive director Fern Mallis said at a reception held on the rooftop of the downtown Standard hotel. “And we realized that the talent here should be galvanized to help make L.A. a fashion destination.”
Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. will take place at the Standard. Events will be held in three parts of the hotel, including a tent in the parking lot that will seat 300 to 400 people.
The runways will have professional lighting and sound for photographs and video. Mallis said a steering committee of fashion and style leaders has been formed to choose which designers will be featured.
The shows will be staffed by volunteers from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, and one show a day will be underwritten by Mercedes-Benz. Mallis said in most cases designers will be charged for the venues, which will be less expensive to rent than the tents in New York’s Bryant Park, which start at about $30,000.
Tyler said he will probably show at least one of his collections in L.A. next season. “In 1995, we decided to show in New York because we had to. There were no venues here,” said the designer, who has a store on Beverly Boulevard and is known mostly for designing red-carpet gowns but also has a lower-priced sportswear line.
In L.A., the opportunity for crossover with Hollywood is limitless, Mallis said. “We know how important celebrity attendance is to the shows in New York. It does bring an extra layer of publicity.”
The dates were chosen to dovetail with the California Market Center’s fall season market dates. The downtown showroom center already draws thousands of buyers to L.A. to shop largely moderately priced lines.
