En route to L.A.’s runways
Fashion show producer Matthew Hunt -- in mint green scrubs and white sneakers, his blond bangs pinned to the top of his head by a silver barrette -- has that “holed up in the library studying for exams” look. And why not? It’s just four days before the first runway show of his client, Trina Turk, at L.A. fashion week. Hunt and Turk, who is known for her Palm Springs-in-the-’60s look, still have a lot to do.
Thoughtfully assessing a bare-breasted model in the studio, they agree that every pair of pants in the collection needs to be five inches longer. What’s worse, they are in the midst of an accessories crisis. “We need flat boots,” Turk says with desperation in her voice, dispatching a helper to fetch some from Gucci.
This, as they say, is crunch time.
For the first time in more than a decade, L.A. is having its own truly organized fashion week. Starting today, “Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A.” will showcase the work of more than 25 designers on three runways and in a parking lot tent at the Standard Hotel in downtown L.A. IMG, the international entertainment and sports marketing giant responsible for fashion weeks in New York, Brazil, India and Singapore, is producing the shows here for the first time.
In the 1970s and ‘80s, CaliforniaMart, the apparel showroom center now known as California Market Center, organized twice-yearly fashion shows in its downtown building. But during the 1990s, the L.A. market became defined by surf wear and denim. Retail buyers didn’t need big runway shows to spot trends, which were coming off the street and the beach, and shopped the apparel showrooms instead. The smattering of designer runway shows that were held during twice-yearly market weeks has been more a curiosity than anything else.
Still, in recent seasons, L.A. designers have gained momentum, with Magda Berliner, Imitation of Christ and others featured in Vogue and other publications. The indie-cool factor of the L.A. scene piqued the interest of executives at IMG, which owns Seventh on Sixth, the production group that puts on New York’s fashion week under the tents in Bryant Park. For the last few seasons, IMG executives have been sniffing out the shows here.
“The potential is incredible for this becoming a more important marketplace,” says Fern Mallis, a vice president at IMG, who is responsible for the firm’s interest in L.A. “More of these designers should be viewed and seen equally with everyone else,” she says, referring to the world’s other fashion capitals.
IMG’s decision to move in now has sent a surge of excitement through the local fashion community, the likes of which are usually felt only during the Oscars -- or the Fred Segal semi-annual sale. Downtown property owners and developers are enthusiastic about the shows and are offering tours of the area to show off the city’s revitalization efforts.
Closed to the public, the shows cater to buyers, media and stylists. Buyers from Saks, Macy’s and Nordstrom are expected to attend. More than 250 journalists have registered, from publications such as InStyle, Vogue, Elle, W, the International Herald Tribune, San Jose Mercury News, Dallas Morning News, Calgary Herald and New York Post. For select media folks, Mercedes-Benz is offering cars -- but not drivers -- because in L.A., people drive themselves. And the Standard, which extended reduced room rates to attendees, is fully booked. There’s even an Oscar suite-style scene brewing, as designers who don’t want to spend the thousands of dollars it takes to mount a runway show plan to sell their collections out of hotel rooms, and beauty companies take over rooms to offer complimentary services.
Mallis believes the shows will be standing room only. “And with what’s going on in the world, I couldn’t be more pleased,” she says.
At local modeling agencies, phones are ringing nonstop. Model Brandise Danesewich, who’s usually lying on a beach somewhere this time of year, is staying in town for the high-profile work. “This is really the first time we’ve gotten to be part of something with so much hype,” she says.
Jumping into the show scene
In Koreatown, designer Sue Wong and a dreadlocked stylist named Yve (just Yve) are discussing the finer points of a pair of faux fur-trimmed, Chinoiserie-print pedal pushers for her fall collection. “She’s too big in the hips for those,” Wong says of the reedy model, who is not, by any normal standards, too big anywhere. Circling around them like a hummingbird, a video producer records every minute on a hand-held camera. Two assistants scurry past with garbage bags full of Japanese geta sandals bought downtown after Wong got the idea she might want to use them in the show.
“OK, walk,” the designer commands, as a model carrying a red parasol in her hand launches into a runway strut down the hall of the office building. “Now put your arm out to show the sleeve!”
Wong, whose family escaped Communist China in 1954 after her mother bribed a border guard with her wedding jewelry, has been in the fashion business for more than 30 years. She designed for various local sportswear companies before starting her own label in 1985. In the last few seasons, she has earned a reputation with young Hollywood for bias-cut, ethnic-inspired dresses, most of which have hand embroidery and beadwork. Without having ever staged regular runway shows, she sells her dresses, which retail for a few hundred dollars, to Neiman Marcus, Saks and Macy’s. But the buzz surrounding this new fashion week was enough to make her want to jump into the show scene. “It’s an opportunity for a whole new generation of people to get to know me,” she says.
As designers such as Wong put the finishing touches on their clothes, celebrity wranglers, charged with assembling A-list front rows, are working frantically. Fashion publicist Sara Stein is still waiting to hear if Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen will grace Wong’s front row with their pixie presences. But Nikka Costa and Angela Bassett have already RSVP’d for the Frankie B show. (The cans of “Frankie B Ultra Hold” hairspray sent out as invitations were hard to resist.) And Janet Jackson has said she’ll support designer David Cardona, who made the clothes for her 1998 “Velvet Rope” tour.
But what about parking?
In his West Los Angeles studio in the shadow of the 405 freeway, Cardona is sitting cross-legged on the floor with dozens of sketches and Polaroids of his mostly black clothes. He’s working on the “run-of-show,” or the order in which the outfits will appear on the runway. Cardona also has alterations to oversee, and his new line of shoes still hasn’t cleared customs from Italy. But what he seems most worried about is parking for his models and staff. The local fashion flock is atwitter over the $15 valet fee at the Standard. In response to concerns, IMG sent a mass e-mail about cheaper lots nearby.
That’s not the only discontent simmering. People had hoped that IMG’s entry into the market, with one large venue for the shows, would mean relief from the scheduling conflicts that have plagued L.A. fashion week in the past. It hasn’t entirely. Friday night, the last night of the IMG shows, the California Market Center is slated to host a multi-designer show and awards presentation at the Orpheum Theatre, at the same time designer Richard Tyler’s show is scheduled at the Standard. Gen Art, the nonprofit arts organization that supports emerging designers, is also planning a fashion show at the Shrine Auditorium that night.
Then there are the brothers Factor. Photographers Dean and Davis Factor have organized their own separate fashion week at Smashbox, their studio in Culver City, nine miles west of downtown.
“I was surprised,” says IMG’s Mallis, “because it seemed to have been announced as if nothing else was happening.” But, she adds, “The more the merrier. If it brings more attention to L.A. fashion, it only helps to reinforce what we’re doing.”
The Factors worked with IMG organizers to space their shows in different hourlong time slots, but the drive time may make it impossible for people to attend shows at both the Standard and Smashbox. About 15 shows -- lesser-known designers, for the most part -- will take place at Smashbox from Wednesday through Saturday. Smashbox also will offer doggie day care and mini-workouts from Crunch Gym trainers.
“It’s about branding,” Dean Factor says, “Just as Mercedes-Benz is trying to get its name out there, so are we.”
