Under new ownership, LA Fashion Week introduces its official rebranding next month with new brands, celebrities, digital experiences, and at least one hologram.
Acquired in January 2022 by event organizer N4xt experiences, the revamped fashion week returns this season from October 6-9. Fourteen participating fashion brands are in the program, including AnOnlyChild, Fleur du Mal, a collaboration between Sami Miro Vintage and Levi’s, Guess and “Insecure” star Issa Rae’s first collection, sponsored by Delta Air Lines. The new direction of the event is being shaped by the co-founder of N4xt Experiences Ciarra Pardo, former CCO of Fenty Corp. who spearheaded the brand’s innovative digital events.
“Part of our reinvention of LA Fashion Week is to incorporate beauty, technology and sustainability, and take advantage of the renaissance that Los Angeles is experiencing,” said Pardo.
Going beyond traditional runway shows and fashion presentations, the revamped event will host immersive experiences, curated pop-ups, panels, fireside chats, masterclasses, and other activations. Categories not related to fashion, such as beauty, health and wellness, will also be incorporated into the programming. Participating beauty brands include Dr. Barbara Sturm, Estée Lauder, Too Faced and K18.
Events will take place across the city at its three official partners Lighthouse Immersive ArtSpace LA, Citizen News and Edition West Hollywood, as well as outside locations.
Home to projection-based art exhibits such as the popular Immersive Van Gogh, Lighthouse Immersive will offer brands the opportunity to present eye-catching projections and digital features at events.
“It’s a new playground. We are open to creating new experiences,” said Pardo. Fleur du Mal will host a 10 year anniversary party with choreographed performances in association with House of Yes nightclub. Meanwhile, AnOnlyChild will have “amazing screenings” at their event, Pardo said. And Guess will offer a 40-year retrospective. Some talks will also take place in futuristic formats; for example, Eco Age founder Livia Firth will appear in a talk on sustainability via hologram from Milan.
“We have a huge following in Los Angeles and we also opened a store in West Hollywood last year, which is doing very well. So activating in LA was important to us,” said Fleur du Mal founder Jennifer Zuccarini. Instead of professional models, the brand is opting to showcase its collection on “a diverse cast” of House of Yes, she said. She noted that the event will be “provocative,” in line with the Fleur du Mal brand.
Pardo’s experience with high-tech activations while at Fenty, like the 2018 Savage x Fenty launch event featuring a Rihanna hologram, “inspired a lot of the thinking behind how we began to reimagine our Los Angeles Fashion Week.” angels,” he said. The event is working with technology company partners including TikTok, Logitech and Bolt.
N4xt experiences was co-founded by Pardo in 2021 with Imad Izemrane, president and co-founder of Spring Place, producer Marcus Ticotin, and financial industry veteran Keith Abell.
Prior to the rebrand, N4xt Experiences hosted a spring Los Angeles Fashion Week in April with its previous brand and curated roster by former owner Arthur Chipman. chipman registered event name in 2015 and held the event at the Petersen Auto Museum. Prior to that, Los Angeles fashion events had existed under various names and organizers since 2008, when IMG and Smashbox Cosmetics founder Davis Factor stopped partnering on Los Angeles Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, following five years. Mercedes-Benz once again participates in this event, this time as the official car of LA Fashion Week.
chipman trademark faced a legal challenge from Art Hearts Fashion founder Erik Rosete, who claimed Chipman forged documents when applying for the trademark.
“We have no problem with Mr. Rosete; this dispute between Erik and Arthur long predates our involvement. We have supported and will continue to support a peaceful resolution. Mr. Rosete has managed to coexist with New York Fashion Week, another fashion week he claims to own, in a friendly way. And we intend the same for LAFW A N4XT Experience, ”said Pardo.
The week’s events will also be on the CFDA calendar in association with CFDA for the first time since 2008. Pardo said he envisions a more consumer-oriented role for LA Fashion Week than those in New York, Milan, London and Paris.
“We could never compete with New York, these legacy fashion weeks,” Pardo said. “What we’re doing is a little different.”
Pardo’s broader vision for LA Fashion Week is to transform it into an international brand, similar to Frieze in the art world. LA Fashion Week brand events are also planned for two upcoming international locations to be announced after the Los Angeles event wraps up.
A growing number of legacy fashion brands have chosen Los Angeles for off-season shows and presentations. Pardo said the trend was accelerating before the pandemic with shows for brands like Moschino in 2019 and Tom Ford in 2020. Since the pandemic, Gucci, Hermès and Alexander Wang have hosted shows or presentations in Los Angeles; Ralph Lauren has one scheduled for October 13. Southern California is becoming an attractive show destination in general, as Louis Vuitton held its cruise show in San Diego in May.
“We are seeing a new increase in the number of people showing up here,” Pardo said.
Source: news.google.com