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L.A. Fashion Week

© Anne Paxton

Most often when people think of cities with fashion influence they think of Paris, London, Milan and New York. Very few people, however, ever think of putting Los Angeles on that list. Once upon a time, though, in the heady days of the studios in the '30's and 40's Los Angeles-or more accurately Hollywood-was a major fashion influence in America. Studio designers like Adrian, Helen Rose and Edith Head created the looks and trends that were advertised in fashion and movie magazines and the American public went wild for them. Time has passed, however, and with the influx of European designers and New York City now considered the Mecca of American fashion, Los Angeles has faded into the background.

Los Angeles has always been a fashionable town. Television more than anything has influenced Americans in the most recent years. Anyone who ever wore a shoulder-padded, rhinestone evening gown like Alexis on "Dynasty" or got the Rachel haircut from "Friends" can attest to that. Lately, however, it seems like the only fashion influence L.A. has to offer are Juicy jeans and swim trunks. Yet the "City of Angels" is trying to change all that with the start of "L.A. Fashion Week."

L.A. Fashion Week has only been around a few years and has not made the mark that the cities mentioned above do. Yet. While fashion in L.A. is as unstable as the ground, we have a lot going for us too. Unlike the specific, understated look of New York, Los Angeles is anything but formulaic. The word "eclectic" doesn't even begin to describe the mixture of thrift stores, Rodeo Drive and ethnic influences that L.A. boasts about. It is really this diversified fashion that is both appealing and puzzling about L.A. The main problem is that not one kind of fashion can be pinned on our sunny city. While designers like Chanel, Herrera, and Valentino make one think of New York City or jet-setting off to Milan, there isn't a profound name coming out of L.A.

Hopefully, some of the names like Eduardo Lucero, Jared Gold or Edith Palm will strike a nerve with the public. The key is to not just focus on the clothes, but on the designers too. The more people create name recognition with the designer the more influence the designer will have with clothes. If L.A. Fashion Week can start that recognition then maybe Manhattan won't be the fashion pilgrimage for much longer.

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