L.A. Urbanwear Promoter Adds New Shows
Billy D. Foster, producer of Los Angeles Urban Fashion Week, said he is expanding the event to the MAGIC International show next month in Las Vegas in addition to several other cities this year.
The events will feature urbanwear companies, ranging from start-up designers to established manufacturers. Fashion shows, parties and trade events are part of the fashion weeks, which are open to the industry as well as to consumers. In addition to the Los Angeles fashion week, Foster debuted a New York event last May.
The shows will run July 22–23 in Philadelphia; Aug. 4–6 in Washington, D.C.; Aug. 12–13 in Virginia Beach, Va.; Aug. 29–Sept. 2 in Las Vegas; Sept. 9–10 in Boston; and Oct. 5–9 in Miami. The Los Angeles and New York events will take place in the fall.
Foster said he expects 15 to 20 lines to be showcased at the Las Vegas event, UrbanFashionWeek@MAGIC.
“We will be focusing on emerging designers as well as on some established designers,” Foster said. “The idea is to offer a low-cost alternative to going out and getting a booth on your own. Plus, we want to create a buzz about urban fashion.”
Foster said he will have a 20-by-30-foot booth at the Las Vegas Convention Center and will host daily fashion shows. Urban Forest is among the lines to be shown.
The Los Angeles–based promoter said he plans to continue the event at future MAGIC shows and in other cities. “The New York event was very successful. Word is getting out, and we hope to have more success,” he said.
In New York, Foster found himself in a legal battle after his former vice president of operations, Casey Rose, left the company and launched another urban event in town called NYC Urban Main Event, which Foster considered to be “a confusing, similar name.” Foster said Rose contacted models he used for his shows and also gained support from Kimora Lee Simmons, founder of Baby Phat and wife of urbanwear icon Russell Simmons.
Foster said he has filed a cease-and-desist order against Rose and is seeking resolution before his next New York event this fall.
For more information about Foster’s events, e-mail billyba@netscape.com, or visit www.theurbanfashionweek.com.
—Robert McAllister
