Fashion on Broadway Throws Hat into Fashion Week Ring

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

As if the LA Fashion Week schedule weren't packed enough, another group has declared its intent to host an event in October—Fashion on Broadway, an initiative supported by the Broadway Theatre Group, the LA Fashion District, the Downtown Fashion Walk, the LA Department of Public Works, and the Bringing Back Broadway organization (phew). The event is slated for October 12-15, and designer David Alexander has already signed on.

We chatted with executive producer Lasia Casil, who produced four of the last five BOXEight fashion week events, and she stressed that the event is aiming to make it as easy for designers to participate in Fashion Week as possible. First of all, the shows will take place at the Los Angeles Theater—the site of last year's BOXEight presentations—which already includes everything needed to put on a production, from the lights to the chairs, keeping costs to a designer low (the group is striving to keep rates below $5,000, while we've heard that several other Fashion Week event promoters are charging upwards of $10,000). What's more, the Fashion District's backing means access to their wide network of buyers and press, including the 50,000-strong mailing list for the California Mart. The organizers are also trying to put a focus on emerging talent, offering the option of static presentations (more cost-effective than a runway show) and an all-day event dedicated solely to designers whose labels are less than two years old.

The group will be hosting an Open House for interested designers on Monday, August 24, from 4pm-8pm, during which designers will be able to tour the four different show spaces and foster dialogue about the upcoming Fashion Week in general. "We want it to be a jumpstart, kind of like what MAC is doing with Milk Studios in New York," says Casil, referring to the shows that are taking place away from the flashbulbs and craziness of the Bryant Park tents. "After all, we want this to be all about the designers."
· All LA Fashion Week Coverage [Racked]