7th on Sixth Announces Plans for L.A. Event
Organizers of New York’s Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week on Nov. 1 announced at a rooftop press conference at the Downtown Standard Hotel in Los Angeles their plans to stage a series of runway shows in Los Angeles next April.
The announcement put to rest nearly a year of speculation about whether IMG, producers of the 7th on Sixth shows in New York, would stage a similar event in Los Angeles.
“We’re coming. We’re staying. We’re here for the long haul,” said Fern Mallis, executive director of 7th on Sixth, organizers of the press conference, which was attended by members of the media, publicists, designers and other industry notables.
The event, called Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A., will be held April 1–4 at the Downtown Standard Hotel and will feature three venues for shows—two on the Standard’s second floor and one in a tented parking lot adjacent to the hotel. Mallis said four or five designers’ shows would be produced in these venues each day. The venues will provide “a professional space, state-of-the-art lighting, seating systems, volunteers [from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising] and marketing opportunities” at reasonable prices, Mallis said. Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. will also benefit from the organizers’ national and international media outreach, she added.
Mallis said each day would also feature one showcase event in an underwritten venue, Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. Presents, which will highlight the work of designers selected by a steering committee.
Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A. will run prior to the start of Los Angeles Market Week, and Mallis was careful to point out that the Mercedes-Benz event will not be replacing the existing fashion week but will run “in cooperation with Los Angeles Fashion Week.”
Among the Los Angeles designers present at the press conference were Richard Tyler, Rick Owens, Peter Cohen and Rami Kashou. Tyler, who has shown his collections in New York with 7th on Sixth, noted the many talented designers in Los Angeles, singling out Owens, Jeremy Scott and Michelle Mason. He praised Mallis and 7th on Sixth for their success in spotlighting the designers in their shows.
“Once Fern gets behind you, she really makes it happen,” Tyler said. —Alison A. Nieder
