LAFW, 3rd edition, here we go. Held at the W Hotel in Hollywood, just renovated in a new contemporary style and far more glamorous than before, the event kicked off this Wednesday morning with a series of presentations, exhibitions and performances before two runway shows led by The Blue Fashion Show and The Rio World, the brand founded by designer Rio Uribe.

In a new format, reduced to four days and three evenings, and held for the first time in November, LAFW “marks continuity with the two previous editions,” according to Ciarra Pardo, president of LAFW and co-founder of N4XT Experiences. “Because of the uncertain context, and to give us time to build, the format of our new edition was shortened this year to break with the traditional fashion week circuit. We’re still working on perfecting things. When we acquired LAFW, we brought sustainability, diversity and technology to the forefront. With the support of the LAFW Society, we’re also working to give emerging designers a place. This edition aims to set us apart from other fashion weeks around the world. There is no place for us to compete with others, but just to impose our great identity.”

In this fashion week like no other, the first day opened with a first Nike Sport x Style Studio workshop curated by Keyla Marquez, fashion stylist and fashion director at large for LA Times Image magazine. Sponsor of the event, Nike attracted dozens of fans for a sneaker customization session with jewelry designer Georgina Trevino.

On the first floor of the hotel, a marketplace brought together a dozen fashion and beauty brands to sell their collections and get a little publicity. In addition to Fenty Beauty, these included AGCF, Alexandra Gucci Zarini’s handbag and jewelry brand, Sami Miro Vintage’s collections and those of Algerian-born designer Chuck Collins, seen notably at New York Fashion Week. 

Founded in 2011, first in New York and now relocated to Los Angeles, Houghton, the brand created by Katharine Polk and made famous by her best-selling ‘Khloe’ dress worn by Khloe Kardashian, presented its bridal, couture and ready-to-wear collections made in Los Angeles, with a collection of well-thought and oversized suits in linen and Japanese denim.    

A few floors up, LAFW hosted a debut performance by Tribute Brand, founded by Croatian designer Gala Marija Vrbanić in 2020. Merging fashion with technology, the brand first launched digitally, presented its latest Uniforma collection in Los Angeles on both physical models and digital screens.
 
“We envision a world where fashion needs to be physical and virtual,” said Vrbanić. “Our collection doesn’t aim to represent fashion, but is based on just a few pieces imagined through functionality, utility and sustainability, the three important topics for us. To avoid clothing overproduction, we dedicate the digital world to let speak our crazy ideas.”
 

Present in Los Angeles for the first time, Vrbanić admitted to choosing Los Angeles “because other fashion capitals don’t represent who we are or how we see fashion. Los Angeles is a city of pop-culture, a very open minded city and advanced in digital brands. The Gen-Z clientele who are interested in our brand and our values, and who seek to express themselves, are a big part of LA culture.”

Another singularity of this LAFW, the attention paid to diversity found its best example with the Head of State’s exhibition, the brand founded in 2016 in New York by Nigerian-born designer Taofeek Abijako. In collaboration with Youth Service, a creative house and DJ collective also the creator of the monthly afrobeats experience VIM, Head of State presented its collection accompanied by the sound of djembes revisited with today’s technology. 
 
“These djembes are a way of mixing African traditions and modernity,” explained Abijako.”It’s a positioning that reflects my brand. The collaboration with VIM is important, as their movement is introducing African beats to Los Angeles parties. What they’re doing in music, I hope to bring to fashion through this traveling exhibition.”

Expected at 6 p.m., the first LAFW show marked the West Coast debut of The Blue Jacket Fashion Show. Launched eight years ago in New York by designer Frederick Anderson, and now ultra-popular, the show featured some twenty models and celebrities, including actors Erik West, Omar Sharif Jr, Carl Clemons, the great Michael Richards, famous for his role in the TV show Fridays, and singer Young Paris. A selection of all ages, genders and types, all wearing blue jackets, the rallying sign for the prostate cancer cause. 
 
“This show gets bigger every year,” explained Anderson. “There’s been a lot of talk about breast cancer for women, and it’s become a matter of course to get tested. But the subject is rarely discussed among men. And yet, it claims thousands of lives every year. Since the CFDA, in collaboration with the New York Community Trust, has already developed a program focused on breast cancer, I had the idea of organizing this event myself. Johnson & Johnson, which supports the event, loved the idea. Today, the show arrives in LA. The atmosphere is nothing like New York, the groove is different here. We’ll see where it takes us!”

To round off the first day of fashion week, designer Rio Uribe held his Rio World show at 9 p.m. Known for his commitment to inclusive fashion and body diversity through his former brand Gypsy Sport, the designer returns this year with a new label name, following several criticisms denouncing the racist nature of the word “gypsy”, referring to the ethnic minority describing the Roma people. 

A regular at LAFW, Uribe presented his new collection in the same vein as his previous ones. To the cheers and applause of a wildly enthusiastic audience, his show featured all kinds of models, short, tall, slim, fat, wearing sports jerseys on their backs, colorful shorts and shirt ensembles, patchwork and sports dresses, and cowboy looks. Several silhouettes borrowed from the Vetements runway shows were recognizable here and there, but the packed audience couldn’t care less and applauded the designer’s energy.

The first day of LAFW ended on the top floor of the W Hotel. A rooftop with a dream pool, where beautiful guests of all genres – goth, street, queer and glam – celebrated in joy the uniqueness and commitment of Los Angeles fashion.