ENK to Debut Brighte Companies During Los Angeles Fashion Week
New York–based ENK Productions, which puts on the Fashion Coterie and Intermezzo Collections shows in New York, will try to recreate the success of those shows in Los Angeles with the debut of Brighte Companies. The contemporary apparel show will bow Oct. 31–Nov. 3, during Los Angeles Fashion Week, at the California Market Center in Los Angeles.
The event will be staged in the fashion theater and the updated exhibit hall on the lower floor of the CMC. The accent will be on contemporary apparel and accessories that range from classic to eclectic and that represent both East and West coasts, as well as Europe. Among those scheduled to show lines are designers Kate O’Connor and Vivienne Tam, as well as hot footwear designers Bettye Mueller and Bonjour Florette. Denim collections from BluJeanious and Alice + Olivia will be shown in addition to separates by Fray and bag lines from Andrea Stuart, Billy Bag, Adrienne Vittadini and Carlos Falchi. Jesse Della Femina, Mirabelli, Sophia & Chloe, Eyssa B., Ben Amun, Maggie Barry Black Collection and Blue Dragon Ltd. will also show their collections. In all, about 100 exhibitors will participate in the event.
ENK has staged its Pacific Champions show in the CMC fashion theater for the past four years, but the growing specialty market prompted ENK producer Elyse Kroll to expand the concept and replace Pacific Champions.
“We’ve changed the whole show and the whole theory behind it,” she said, adding that ENK will liven up the deacute;cor of the show space with bright-white, yellow and lavender colors that reflect the “new and fresh” lines. “The new management at the CMC has really worked with us, and that’s helped,” she said.
The CMC stands to benefit from an expanded ENK-orgnized show in the building. New York–based contemporary and young designer show Designers & Agents has expanded its show in recent seasons at The New Mart and the Cooper Design Space. During the August market, the CMC’s fifthfloor contemporary showrooms rolled out a marketing campaign with an informal fashion showing, parties and promotional materials to spotlight the contemporary and young designer collections on the floor.
With the CMC’s exhibit hall space and lobby, which ENK is dubbing Level One and Level Two, Brighte Companies will comprise 35,000 square feet in addition to the CMC’s fashion theater.
“It will be a good mix of lines, and we’re very hopeful and optimistic that traffic will be strong enough to support the event. New York was great, and we think L.A. will be fine, too,” said Kroll. —Robert McAllister
