Fashion week is returning to Los Angeles with the help of N4XT Experiences, a global event experience company that recently acquired Los Angeles Fashion Week (LAFW) to produce the fall 2022 physical and digital fashion experiences taking place October 6-9, 2022 with a focus on innovation, technology, sustainably and inclusion.

Joining the week are CFDA member brands AnOnlyChild by Maxwell Osbourne, Sami Miro Vintage, and Fleur du Mal by Jennifer Zuccarini, among other designer showcases including Gypsy Sport by Rio Uribe. Apart from the collections, experiences like pop-ups, panels, fireside chats, masterclasses and other activations will take place throughout the city.

“The new direction of LA Fashion Week is impressive. It is exciting to see the high caliber of shows and events on the schedule. I’ve spent time meeting with Ciarra Pardo and Imad Izemrane, and I am aligned with their vision. I appreciate the respect they have for CFDA, and we are pleased that LAFW is using CFDA’s Fashion Calendar in organizing and presenting its schedule,” said CFDA CEO Steven Kolb.

Ahead of next week’s launch, the CFDA caught up with Ciarra Pardo, President of Los Angeles Fashion Week Enterprises (and former Chief Creative Officer of FENTY), to chat about what to expect in this new and exciting chapter for LAFW.

Why did you decide to bring back LA Fashion Week?
With LA becoming this hub of creativity and innovation, and of course being a major player in the tech and entertainment industry, it feels like a natural progression that LA too should have their own place to celebrate their creators, artists and designers. This cultural renaissance has had homegrown LA brands making an impact in the industry, beginning to paint Los Angeles through a new lens. We wanted to take this creativity, partnered with the innovations in tech, beauty and sustainability, to celebrate the different elements that make LA this exciting and abundant place.

How is this fashion week going to be different and a departure from past LA fashion weeks?
Since my partners and I at N4XT Experiences acquired LAFW earlier this year, our hope is that the new LAFW will offer a playground for designers in which the possibilities for their creativity is limitless. The notion of breaking the traditional boundaries of showing fashion can allow us to open a new creative lane that encourages interdisciplinary innovation within Fashion, Beauty, Tech and Sustainability.

How has the fashion scene in LA evolved in the last few years and certainly during the pandemic?
After such a global seismic shift, it was inevitable that creators and innovators would be charged to go above and beyond. There is a collective desire to express and create as a reaction to being limited and constrained. People are taking advantage of their resources and developing new ways of doing things. Times of hardship often lead to the best innovations which has resulted in creators exploring new pathways through tech, this has been both in developing garments, as well as in shows. Some of the exciting designers we have showing with us this season include Fleur du Mal, Gypsy Sport and Sami Miro, all who represent this new wave of creativity.

How does LA fashion creativity stand apart from NY and other fashion capitals?
As a city that is relatively new to the global fashion industry, the LA fashion scene is not dictated by any rules or notions of traditional showing. It’s an environment with a mix of different cultures and creative sensibilities that can expand alongside tech, beauty and other booming industries, something that we can create with notions of sustainability and inclusivity that historically had not been at the forefront of fashion.

What should we look forward to? What do you expect to see in terms of trends?
We hope that the possibilities offered by LAFW in terms of projection mapping, immersive experiences, panels and event based showing will encourage people to see fashion within different verticals, daring people to be disruptive with the possibility of creating something new. With sustainability being a part of our collective ambition and our consequent collaboration with Eco-age, we have an event that requires each brand, partner, designer to have an intention towards sustainability. Of course the goal is that the entire fashion industry can continue to adopt more sustainable practices.

How do you envision the future of the week?
A week that will continue to cultivate and celebrate emerging designers and brands, both from LA and further a field. Offering bespoke event opportunities in a season-less environment that rejects restricting designers into traditional ways of showing, while still paying homage to the richness in the fashion industry’s legacy. This alongside a continuation of building relationships with more established brands that want to explore new possibilities that combining tech, beauty, fashion, sustainability and the entertainment industry can hold. Beyond that, the goal would be that this reimagined experience would grow legs, and that this festival experience can take place all over the world, combining our pillars for a new future of fashion.