LA Fashion Week Doomed?

Los Angeles Fashion Week has been fighting an uphill battle for quite some time. The biannual event not only can't compete with the sheer size and quality of designers showcased at its New York counterpart, but Angelinos aren't exactly known for their fashion-forward style (a lack of true seasons and reputation as the epicenter of Ed Hardy hasn't exactly helped matters). Not to mention the most recognizable names at LA Fashion Week are typically reality TV stars-turned-fashion designers (think Paris Hilton and various alumnae of The Hills).

According to the Wall Street Journal, LA Fashion Week might not last for long. “Fewer than a dozen [LA fashion designers] have expressed serious interest in showing at an L.A. fashion week this fall.” To make matters worse, at a recent benefit intended to encourage support for the threatened institution, “many Los Angeles-based fashion designers opted out of the event,” adds the WSJ. With LA’s most famous designers—Scott Sternberg of Band of Outsiders and Boy, Rodarte, Monique Lhuillier and Juan Carlos Obando—showing in NYC, there’s little hope LA will manage to put its Fashion Week back on the industry’s map. There’s no comparison; as Obando told the WSJ, “when he started showing in New York three seasons ago, he says the impact was immediate ... ‘sales appointments were up 500%’.”