Amid the Chaos, Fresh Ideas

Elaborate runway shows may be the engine for promoting and selling fashion in New York and Europe, but in L.A., they've played a more sporadic role. Even so, there are designers who still crave the legitimacy they believe runway shows can bring. So more than 30 designers will show their fall collections in L.A.'s scaled-down version of fashion week, which began Wednesday.

Not everyone thinks the shows are necessary. The clothes that will be seen on runways, after all, represent only a fraction of the $30 billion California garment industry. And with such magazines as Lucky and In Style eager to feature the newest labels, especially if there's a celebrity tie-in, California clothing is already getting more exposure than ever.

Companies such as Juicy Couture, Frankie B, Seven jeans, Mon Petit Oiseau and Trina Turk create modern interpretations of California staples such as the baby tee, the low-riding jean and the resort-style palazzo pant. They sell plenty of clothes, and they do it without runway shows.

"You can have a successful business without having to participate in a fashion week," said Turk, who has never had a runway show. "There's a lot of that kind of business done in California."

L.A.'s fashion shows are not nearly as extravagant as those in other cities, nor as organized. This season, guests will travel from a Culver City warehouse to the Star Shoes bar on Hollywood Boulevard for fashion shows-cum-mixers.

The calendar is in such disarray that several events overlap. And the public relations firm SPR, which created a six-designer group show last season that was considered the most cohesive event in recent memory, was unable to secure funding to bring it back.

In short, things are a mess.

And yet there's more interest in L.A. than ever because California still represents what it always has in the fashion world: new ideas.

"Everything is brand new in L.A.," said Toby Tucker, a fashion editor at In Style magazine, who plans to attend the shows here this week. "If you are big enough to come to New York, I've probably already heard of you. But if you are small and celebs are going crazy over you, I want to know about it."

Another part of the attraction is California's distance and difference from Seventh Avenue.

"Designers in L.A. seem to have a more casual attitude. They are more free to explore their own ideas, rather than feeling like they have to follow a trend. You can really tell the difference," said Gina Maher, fashion news editor for Lucky magazine, who also plans to attend the shows.