Fashion Week LA Kicks Off With Driven By Design Showcase

Rising to the glamorous heights associated with fashion weeks in Paris and New York, Los Angeles is amping up the style glitz with a new fashion and design event to kick off Fashion Week LA.

Driven by Design will feature a full fashion runway showcasing both fashion and jewelry designers, VIP style lounges and a boutique hotel atmosphere created by interior designers - all with roots in Los Angeles.

Encompassing 40,000 sq. feet at the LA Mart, designer installations including fashion, jewelry, furniture, interior designers and hair and makeup will be displayed for insiders from the fashion, beauty and entertainment industries, as well as 300 tickets for the public.

"This is a community-driven event for people who love fashion and style," said Lela Christine, co-producer of the event and creative director of Driven by Design LA. "It will be a diverse crowd that brings together interior designers, fashion designers and artists of all kinds."

The runway fashion show will feature the spring/summer 2014 collections of five prominent LA-based designers, including Thai Nguyen, Brian "BK" Phillips, Dena Burton Collection and jewelry designers Karla Lopez for Karlita Design and Sara Horne Jewelry.

Lori Neal, event co-producer and principal designer at Diamond Interiors LA, has created the decor and visual aesthetic for the entire Driven by Design experience. "LA, unfortunately, doesn't have the kind of buzz that New York and Paris (fashion weeks) have, so we have designed this to coincide every six months with LA fashion week. We have hundreds of accomplished designers right here in our own backyard."

Adding to the glitz, Porsche, a sponsor, will have three luxury cars staged at the event.

The public is invited to purchase a limited number of tickets to the event, which begins with designer installations from 3 to 5 p.m. and the runway fashion show from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 4, at the LA Mart at 1933 S. Broadway, Los Angeles, 90007. To purchase tickets for $15 each, email requests to info@drivenbydesigners.com.

Gated, all-day parking at the LA Mart is $10. Dress code is suits for men, dresses for women.

Driven by Design

LA Mart
1933 S. Broadway
Los Angeles, 90007
Fri., Oct. 4, 2013
Designer installations, 3 to 5 p.m.
Runway fashion show, 6 to 9 p.m.
RSVP by Tuesday Oct. 1
www.drivenbydesignla.com

Amy Raisin Darvish loved the action as a newspaper journalist before trading the adrenaline rush for babies. She survived the bottles-and-diapers stretch of motherhood and is now back at the keyboard, juggling freelance writing with laughable attempts at cooking and treasuring the time she spends with her family. Amy lives in the San Fernando Valley, where she was born and raised.