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 Ahead of Sunday's Oscars ceremony, the most-watched
entertainment event around the world, Hollywood has been the
setting for numerous fashion events.
British designer Stella McCartney threw a party showcasing her
latest collection at famed music store Amoeba, Saint Laurent
Paris took over The Palladium music venue for its menswear show,
Gucci announced a celebrity ambassador and Kenzo debuted a new
short film.
"It just feels like a moment when music, film, fashion, the
arts, it's all just come together for LA," designer Stella
McCartney told Reuters at her presentation, attended by the
likes of Katy Perry and Gwyneth Paltrow.
Celebrities and fashion have long had a symbiotic relationship,
from Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy to Jennifer Lawrence
and Christian Dior.
But Los Angeles traditionally is not regarded as a trend-setting
city as the year-round sunny weather doesn't allow seasonal
clothing changes as much as fashion capitals New York, Milan,
Paris and London.
That notion is slowly changing. In 2012, Saint Laurent Paris
moved its Parisian label design studios to Los Angeles. Last
year, Tom Ford and Burberry presented star-studded runway shows
and Louis Vuitton held an exhibition in Hollywood.
The spotlight on Los Angeles comes at a time when brands are
rejigging the runway-to-retail model and making new fashion
available faster to customers.
"Runway shows don't have same impact as they once did, mainly
because there's so much of it and it's overcrowded," said Eric
Wilson, fashion news director of InStyle magazine.
The red carpet, however, is watched by the entire world.
"One red carpet hit at the Oscars is equivalent to a year's
worth of marketing for a designer," Wilson said.
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Tom Ford last year moved his London Fashion Week presentation,
scheduled for after the Oscars, to Los Angeles ahead of the Oscars.
He then dressed nominee Reese Witherspoon for film's biggest night.
"The world is even more obsessed with celebrities than ever before,"
Wilson said. "You'll see more big name designers who are based
elsewhere coming to Los Angeles to do events, for the proximity to
celebrities."
This year, McCartney has scored numerous hits on Hollywood's red
carpets; actress Lawrence donned a black pantsuit at the Oscar
nominees luncheon, singer Ellie Goulding wore a blush pink gown to
the Grammys and Taraji P. Henson wore a white strapless dress when
she won a Golden Globe for TV show "Empire."
At the Grammy awards, Justin Bieber and Beck wore Saint Laurent
Paris while British singer Florence Welch, Gucci's new celebrity
spokesperson, wore a blush pink dress by the brand on the red
carpet.
French brand Kenzo debuted short film "Snowbird" by filmmaker Sean
Baker featuring its spring-summer 2016 collection with model-actress
Abbey Lee Kershaw, who starred in the Oscar-nominated "Mad Max: Fury
Road."
"The weather, the rock and roll-ness of LA, it's an allure
especially for the European designers," Kenzo creative director
Humberto Leon told Reuters.
(Reporting by Piya Sinha-Roy; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Sandra
Maler)
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