Ready, set, strut: An insider’s guide to running with the fashion pack An insider’s guide to running with the fashion pack
The skinny: For the record, L.A. Fashion Week is officially called Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, hence the website is www.mbfashionweek.com. And it is officially an industry-only, invitation-only event that nobody should even think about crashing, not even if you’re a very polite, cool, well-dressed person who learned in a major daily newspaper that polite, cool, well-dressed people can talk their way into shows, especially the morning events, or call the designers’ publicists and ask for tickets.
You didn’t hear that here. And if you’re in my seat, get out.
Speed show: So, you didn’t make it past show security? IMG Media will produce two-minute highlights of each show along with other Fashion Week features, at www.msn.com. Just click on the video section. Stilettos optional.
The kickoff: The Gen Art show is the week’s unofficial kickoff event -- and it’s the only show that’s officially open to the public. On Friday, the group presents the New Garde: A Celebration of Innovative Los Angeles Fashion. These avant-garde newcomers come from all over -- Canada, the Pacific Rim, Europe -- so the L.A. event has become the de facto fashion melting pot. Three designers -- Kit Pistol’s Christina Scarbo, Unhee’s Suzy Yun, and Hajnalka Mandula of Mandula -- will present live vignettes, that is, mini stage sets where models pose for hours. Tickets are $25 to $70 and are available by calling (310) 360-0141 or at www.genart.org.
The designer suites: Those who aren’t staging a runway extravaganza display their collections at H.D. Buttercup at the Helms Bakery Building. The showcase has grown from 10 participants three seasons ago to nearly 35 today, including some with a high coolness factor: Henry Duarte, Imitation of Christ, Rebecca Danenberg, Jacquelyne Love and Taverniti So Jeans. The suites aren’t open to the public, but in honor of fashion week, H.D. Buttercup is offering free food and drinks Tuesday through Thursday to help highlight their wares to the fashion cognoscenti (and that means you).
The hangouts: When they’re not swilling free champagne -- and in L.A., almost every show starts with a pour -- the fashion pack doesn’t stray far from the runway.
The newest lure is Ford’s Filling Station, an appropriately stylish, but comfortable, gastropub in Culver City that happens to be run by Harrison Ford’s son, Ben.
A little French flair is always fashionable, so La Dijonaise Cafe is the choice for authentic omelets and French bistro fare. For night crawlers, there’s an In-N-Out Burger that’s open after midnight. But before 5 p.m. you can join the crowd at the Bluebird Bakery at National Boulevard and Hayden Avenue, where you’ll find insanely good cupcakes.
The not-so-powerful breakfasters eat at the S&W; Country Diner on Washington Boulevard. Vegetarians fill up cheaply on the buffet at Govinda’s, the Krishna-run complex that also features a popular shop, Govinda’s Imports, where shopatarians can feast on all things bohemian.
Bluebird Bakery and Cafe, 8572 National Blvd., Culver City. Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays.
Ford’s Filling Station, 9531 Culver Blvd., Culver City; (310) 202-1470. Hours: lunch, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.; dinner, 6 to 10 p.m., Monday through Friday; dinner, 4 p.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday.
Govinda’s Natural Food Restaurant, 3764 Watseka Ave., Los Angeles; (310) 836-1269. Hours: 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., and 5 to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday. The upstairs gift shop, Govinda’s Imports, is open 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.
H.D. Buttercup, 3225 Helms Ave., Culver City.
In-N-Out Burger, 9245 Venice Blvd., Los Angeles. Hours: 10:30 a.m. to 1 a.m., Sunday through Thursday; 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., Friday and Saturday.
La Dijonaise Cafe, 8703 Washington Blvd., Culver City; (310) 287-2770. Hours: 7:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Saturday; and 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday.
S&W; Country Diner, 9748 Washington Blvd., Culver City; (310) 204-5136. Hours: 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Monday through Friday; 8 a.m. to 3 p.m weekends.
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-- Valli Herman
