Fashion Week as I’ve known it for the last 6 1/2 years was very different this season.  There were runway shows and designer installations scattered throughout Los Angeles, including Beverly Hills and West Hollywood.  But how I longed for the days when everything was held under one roof.  Smashbox Studios on Higuera in Culver City was fashion week’s old familiar home base.  But we fashion followers were at a loss.  For the last few seasons, the “new thing” has been Downtown Los Angeles Fashion Week.  Premium fashion collections showed at the MOCA Geffen, and lesser known designers showed at the LA Theater.  The problems with this arrangement were too many locations, parking fees, and conflicting schedules.  I spent over $200 just trying to get to scattered locations all around Los Angeles and park my car.

The vicious PR wars . . . the left hand didn’t know what the right hand was doing.   RSVPs and last minute venue changes posed big problems.  The more established LA designers put on their own shows, separate from Fashion Week (Kevan Hall, Maggie Barry, etc…).  Some designers showed in big venues (Project Runway designers at the Music Box, Lauren Elaine at the Key Club), which turned into giant cocktail parties/concerts.

So, imagine my relief when I discovered that BOXEIGHT Studios was holding its own brand of fashion week.  I was just happy to stay put and enjoy the fashion.  This three-day event featured top designers whose pieces were photographed in front of a live audience.  Invited guests could watch the BOXEIGHT photographers snapping away as the models moved to the music.  Computer monitors displayed the final vision.  This was so interesting, especially for non-professional photographers like me—we got to see the photographer’s creative vision.  The energy in the studio was electric with a party atmosphere.  The designers featured were day 1, Isabel Lu, Skin Graft, and Gold Spun; day 2, Eduardo Lucero, Le Sang Des Betes, Lloyd Klein, Lekuin, and Michael Costello; and day 3, Future Heretics, and Kanvis.

After speaking with the PR rep of BOXEIGHT, I understood the concept behind the live photo shoots.  It was something different, artistic, and yes . . . very LA!  But is it fashion?  And that’s my dilemma.  I am a native Californian.  I’ve lived in the LA area my entire life.  I am a fashionista first and a fashion writer second.  And I can’t help but feel a little cheated.

Last fashion week I made the exhaustive attempt to attend LA shows, and there were a handful of happy accidents (Directives West); but where were the high production runway shows I’d grown accustomed to?  Is LA checking out of the fashion scene?   I guess I need to change with the times and accept the fact that LA Fashion Week is not what it used to be!  After traveling to New York with the prospect of attending fashion weeks around the world, I had to ask myself, “What’s wrong with my city?  I guess I’ll have to catch a plane to watch a well-produced runway show.   So, I’m stuck with just one question, “LA Fashion Week . . . where did you go, and when are you coming back?”

Written by Kaylene Peoples