Project Ethos to Join Lineup at L.A. Fashion Week
In October, Los Angeles–based Project Ethos will be the latest fashion-show organizer to join the lineup at Los Angeles Fashion Week.
Organizers are currently looking for an October date to hold its event, which merges fashion, art and music in a nightclub setting.
The group is also working on plans to take its concept on the road, with an eye to producing events in six to 10 other markets, according to founder and executive director Jason Peskin, who said the format will remain the same: spotlighting local talent in a nightclub setting.
Peskin and his team have the production down to a science.
The most recent event (see related story here) featured eight clothing lines, eight visual artists, eight DJs and one band. In all, the event drew nearly 2,000 people, Peskin said, about three-quarters of whom paid the admission fee of $20 in advance or $25 at the door. Project Ethos organizers offer complimentary tickets to invited retailers, showroom owners, press, bloggers, photographers, record executives and other industry insiders, who are cultivated by a team of Project Ethos volunteers in the weeks leading up to each event. (Many of Project Ethos’ volunteers are fashion-merchandising students who receive college credit for their work with the organization.)
Designers pay a flat fee (currently at $800), plus they receive a percentage of all the tickets they sell. (“When we change talent, we change the crowd,” Peskin said.) Project Ethos provides the models, hair and makeup. After the event, Project Ethos furnishes the designers with photos and a high-definition video of the show.
Before Project Ethos takes its show on the road, however, it’s preparing to move to fashion week. Peskin is working on finalizing dates for the next show and hopes to land a spot during Los Angeles Fashion Week to draw additional press and buyers to the show.
But while he wants to participate in fashion-week events, he’s quick to draw a distinction between his event and other Los Angeles Fashion Week producers.
“We don’t want to compete with that,” he said. “We do our shows in a nightclub in one night.”—Alison A. Nieder
