Women's Wear Daily Friday March 26, 2004
L.A. Fashion United, but Questions Linger
By Rose Apodaca Jones and Kristin Young
LOS ANGELES — As fashion week here kicks off Saturday, concern hangs as thick as this city’s signature smog. And it’s not about how the fall looks on the runways will be received.
Despite a united program between show organizers 7th on Sixth and Smashbox and a schedule halved from last season, questions loom. Did last October’s chaotic schedule between the two camps, crammed with too many less- than-stellar shows and the added challenge of navigating congested roads between them, deter many key buyers and editors from returning? If the celebrities don’t come, will the press give Los Angeles Fashion Week a chance? Is it still worth staging a show in L.A.?
Still the newbie on the formal international calendar, Los Angeles’ appeal has been a mix of fashion and fame. The fledgling talent ever reinterprets a homegrown identity informed by a casual lifestyle and Hollywood glamour. But for much of the world, it’s also about the celebrity factor, whether it’s a designer’s famous acting pal walking the runway or a pop superstar cheering from the sidelines.
That’s certainly why Traver Raines and Richie Rich are introducing a Heatherette collection — “90 percent totally new” from what showed last month in New York — April 1 at a cavernous space a mile from the main site, Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif. Marilyn Manson and his girlfriend, burlesque queen Dita Von Teese, are confirmed, and Kimberly Stewart is modeling.
“New York is so about the industry,” said Raines upon arriving here Wednesday. “Out here it’s different — different buyers, different editors, the celebrity. We wanted to take advantage of it again.”
Back a third time, Heatherette’s “Big Top” show boasts corporate sponsor Gillette (a deal that meant designing looks inspired by the Venus Divine razor). And photographer-friend David LaChapelle is wrangling the circus performers.
New entries are also recognizing the marketing benefit to joining the fashion week escapades. Action sports brands Hurley and Split are holding events at Hollywood nightclubs Falcon and El Centro, respectively, on April 1.
Others who are showing off the main site include Trina Turk (presenting at her Third Street store), British accessories designer J Maskrey (rooftop at the Downtown Standard Hotel), Rock & Republic (at Sony Studios) and Show Pony (El Cid). While designer Michelle Mason is presenting her secondary line at Smashbox Studios March 30, she decided to stage her signature collection this Saturday night inside the dramatic downtown tiled tunnel on Second Street.
Several of her peers, however, have opted not to show at all this time, marking a noticeable void in the week’s program: Alicia Lawhon, Magda Berliner, David Cardona, Cynthia Vincent and Imitation of Christ.
“I’m taking all my money and investing it into my company,” said Lawhon. “As much as I love sharing my vision, I also believe you have to treat your company as a business. Not doing a show right now is the right choice for me.” A “wiser investment,” she believes, is a look book.
So, too, does Berliner. With her New York showroom The News opening a door at the Cooper Building, she’s instead holding court during market, April 1-4, introducing a third delivery not shown last month in New York. “Sure, I’m kind of sad I’m not participating [in fashion week]. But, I don’t spend a lot of money on my shows, and right now I’d rather spend it elsewhere.”
Will she show here again? Likely, she said. But Berliner’s already working on securing sponsorship to show in New York or Paris next season.
The number of registered buyers and press so far is lower than before, but corporate sponsorship is up. Evian has teamed with Louis Verdad, Rebecca Minkoff with Kodak, MAC with Sue Wong. American Express upped its participation at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios, which besides its marquee sponsors counts Redken, Cotton Incorporated, Silhouette and others.
Ian Schrager’s Mondrian is also on board, serving as both official hotel and opening its suites to a dozen or so brands, March 31-April 2. Among them is contemporary designer Rebecca Rich. When she opted out of doing a show, she said 7th on Sixth director Fern Mallis urged her to do a showroom instead. “Doing a show allows you to see your company at another level because of the professionalism [organizers] bring to the experience and the spotlight they put on the city,” said Rich. “But I’m focusing on my business right now and didn’t want to worry about models and the rest of it.”
And designers aren’t alone in their approach this coming week.
Many retailers, weary from New York, Paris and Milan fashion weeks, said they are eager to complete their fall buys, then head back to sell spring merch.
Barneys reps will have had less than a week to recover from their European buying trips before heading west, said a spokeswoman. “Seeing new people that we haven’t seen before is a priority for us,” she said, “but we prefer not to do it through the shows.”
Emily Chen, a buyer for Big Drop, with four doors in New York, said she’d like to attend Pegah Anvarian’s show the evening of March 30, but at press time, she wasn’t sure she’d make it. “My main priorities are the marts later in the week.”
Even local retailers are split between championing the shows and the time and energy they have left after a slammed buying period.
“I want to make an effort to support local talent,” enthused Satine owner Jeannie Lee, just back from Paris. She plans to hit Rebecca Minkoff and Petro Zillia. “But I’ll spend more time downtown because of time constraints.”
Melanie Shatner, owner of Dari in Studio City, Calif., said she’ll support New Yorker Heike Jarick and perhaps one other designer. But she sees fashion shows as a luxury. “It’s like going to a play,” she said. “You can get caught up in the drama really easily and not get those specific pieces you need. It’s kind of a distraction.”
That said, others plan to be front and center at the shows.
Saks Fifth Avenue senior fashion market director Michael Fink will spend most of his time at Smashbox, while a buying team checks out the downtown marts and studios. Saks’ support extends to cosponsoring the opening-night party at the Beverly Hills store in conjunction with the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week program. Fink arrives in time to host the event Saturday night.
“There’s a tremendous amount of business to be done in the California market,” Fink said. “It is extremely important to us. And I’m very happy the shows are in one location.”
Henri Bendel will not be holding its annual Open-See for fledgling designers this time, but top brass will make the trek to Culver City while its buying team tours downtown. “They won’t leave any rock unturned,” said a spokeswoman. “L.A. style totally hits the store.”
Many, in fact, agree the formal presentations are a necessary business ritual.
Retail veteran Shauna Stein, owner of the recently opened On Sunset boutique here, compared the shows to “studying for an exam. It’s important to understand a designer’s point of view. Today, it’s all about the mix. If you don’t know how to buy all the themes and put them in a small room, it can look clown-like. This is how I learn how to put things together.”
Then, of course, there’s always the social aspect. Actress Lisa Rinna, who opened the Belle Gray boutique in Sherman Oaks, Calif., with buyer Kathy Shawver last year, is an oft-photographed attendee wherever she goes. The retailing pair has rsvp’d to Frankie B., Sanctuary, Louis Verdad and Da-Nang. “Lisa and I try really hard to go to everything,” said Shawver. “Frankly, it’s fun to get out of the showrooms.”
that guy's hair.....well, actually everyone 
