Los Angeles Fashion Week Gets Closer to Finding Itself in 2024
The West Coast event wrapped up its third since its post-pandemic return and a change of hands. Top New York talent hosted runway shows alongside local designers. But who is it all for?
Los Angeles Fashion Week has been back from its hiatus for a couple of years now. Despite having been around for 21 years, LAFW has historically failed to represent the Los Angeles fashion scene or capture the sprawling city’s buzz. Change, however, seems to be steady on the horizon thanks to a new guard at the helm. Its 2024 event wrapped mid-November after a four-day long parade of panels, runway shows, dinner celebrations, and rooftop parties—mostly hosted at the W Hollywood. Designers from Los Angeles and out-of-state alike came together to show their latest works. Others joined the pop-up marketplace, stocking booths with goods for guests to shop IRL.
As one might expect, runways were a central fixture. BruceGlen’s showcase kicked off with what felt like church. A gospel singer and choir opened the show—decked out in cobalt blue sequins—before models strutted in the design duo’s latest punchy sets alongside... a Cirque du Soleil performance. Private Policy’s catwalk focused on powerful women and featured stylist Zerina Akers, WME Co-Head of Hip-Hop/R&B at Caroline Yim, and Emmy-winner Sarah Eagle Heart, among others, as its models. Ed Hardy continued its revival with an evening show boasting its tattoo-ish graphics and spiky embellishments.
Though Sergio Hudson previously hosted a show at LAFW—where his power suits and cinched waist dresses were on full display—the designer held an intimate dinner and presentation this go-round with a star-studded guest list. Tracee Ellis Ross, Tina Knowles, Beverly Johnson, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, and Cookie Johnson were among those who joined. Kim Shui also threw an evening get-together with special guests. Beyond dinner celebrations, there were, of course, more fabulous parties. Theophilio followed its cocktail hour with a runway show that served as the grand finale to LAFW programming. Looks first seen at New York Fashion Week debuted at the West Coast show alongside new pieces designer Edvin Thompson made specially for the Californian catwalk. The Blonds threw a closing party with Rasa, where the New York-based designer’s intricately made pieces were on display.
“We definitely have approached this in a very untraditional way, and we're staying the course with that,” N4XT Experiences Co-Founder Ciarra Pardo tells L’OFFICIEL. The company acquired LAFW in 2022 and has been putting it on since. “Working with emerging brands will continue to be really important,” she adds. Head of State opted for an exhibition format during LAFW, which ran November 12 through 15. It showed women’s and menswear pieces, and each had its own story, per founder Taofeek Abijako, whether inspired by the silhouette of a childhood school uniform or an image he found from his mother. Hanging between the meticulously made garments were monochrome sneakers by Nike, a sponsor of the days-long event and frequent collaborator with the label.
LAFW is not like the other big four fashion weeks (New York, London, Milan, and Paris). And it shouldn’t be, anyways, because it can’t be. Each fashion week needs to cater to its local city culture and be clear on its purpose. Los Angeles has its own scene, and LAFW tries to match that. To start, unlike the other fashion weeks, LAFW’s guest list is more varied. While New York and London may focus heavily on industry guests—like buyers who’ll select which pieces end up in-store and editors who’ll spot pieces to put on magazine covers—LAFW welcomed a different crowd. There were some industry characters, but there were also students from local fashion schools, as well as influencers (obviously, it’s LA) and guests who bought tickets.
“The beauty of LA is we have the space to play around and test certain things out. One thing that we’ve done is open up the events up to a larger audience, more like democratizing the event, versus [limiting it to] industry,” N4XT Experiences Co-Founder Imad Izemrane says. “Of course, we want the industry people to attend and the right front row. But we also want to open it up to students from Otis [College of Art and Design] and FIDM [Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising]. Democratizing the event is not one of our four pillars, but it lives within our DNA.”
Despite the name, fashion is just one component of LAFW programming. Beauty is a pillar of the event, according to Pardo, in addition to sustainability and technology. This lends itself to why Snapchat (an event sponsor) placed interactive AR mirrors throughout the venue, where visitors could “try on” a designer’s item. Fenty Beauty (where Pardo previously served as chief creative officer) had a presence at the four-day extravaganza, too.
LAFW’s return hasn’t been without flack and setbacks. The new edition of the event arguably flopped when it came back in 2022. The new promise wasn’t fully realized to some editors last year, either. Two years since its comeback, there’s still room to grow, especially when it comes to tapping into the local fashion scene, be it designers or local manufacturers. Still, the 2024 event signals strong progress for a fashion week that’s historically struggled. Ahead, Izemrane (who co-founded Spring Place, which hosted NYFW for the last eight years) and Pardo are setting their sight on growth. For these industry mavens, LAFW's current iteration has plenty of room to expand, and they say they want it to serve as a launchpad for future events and spin-offs related to beauty and wellness programming.
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