L.A. Fashion Week Far Less Than Fabulous

Last week was fashion week in Los Angeles, and no one in the industry cared, an article in today's Women's Wear Daily reported. And why should they have? New York, Paris and Milan fashion weeks were long over, and Hollywood's finest didn't even show up for shows:

This being the center of the film world, was there an Uma? A Nicole? A Julia Roberts?

No. But there was Cat Deeley, the host of "So You Think You Can Dance" …Then there was "The Hoff" himself: David Hasselhoff made the show rounds during the week, leading one Web commentator to say he was "almost a daily fixture"...

Ouch. But wait, it gets worse. No big-name Los Angeles-based designers showcased their duds at the event. Max Azria, Monique Lhuillier, Jenni Kayne and Rodarte all had shows in New York last month.

Major retailers did not support the Week—Saks skipped out, and Pete Nordstrom only attended a T-shirt launch party before flying out to Denver. Ron Herman's women's fashion vp said the shows were so painful he'd have to be paid to sit through another one (I guess the Hoff's beautiful face just wasn't enough!). And his high-end boutique is said to support local design talent!

The further I read in this story, the worse it got. WWD reported the clothes the no-name designers sent down the runway were recycled versions of things editors already saw at previous fashion weeks. To add insult to injury, they were also poorly made and sloppy.

So why is there an L.A. fashion week at all? The talent is questionable, the clothes lack inspiration and no major buyers attend, apparently. It doesn't sound like a very sound business decision to me, especially when you throw in this quote as a kicker:

While Bloomingdale's sent a team of buyers to the L.A. shows, industry sources close to IMG said profits for the event are marginal, at best. The marketing company declined to discuss financial details.

Besides, Fern Mallis, IMG Fashion's senior vice president, said, the shows are mainly about generating press.

I'm sorry-- but what? This makes no sense. The press generated from L.A. Fashion Week was negative. WWD is the fashion industry's Bible-- if you get a bad wrap in it, you're basically screwed, and everyone knows it.

Here's the bottom line: if major fashion designers, retailers and celebrities don't care enough about Los Angeles Fashion Week, why should anyone else? It seems to me that it's a waste of money, time and "emerging" talent.