Beverly Hills Fashion Week Cancels - Downtown's Spring Arts Tower Show Expands To Meet Need

The last minute postponement of the new Beverly Hills Fashion Week - which was last year's Downtown Fashion Week at MOCA - has abruptly left many designers with no place to show at a time when fewer venues than normal were already scheduled to hold runway shows.  


Luckily, that pre-existing shortage had already caused the Spring Arts Tower owner, Paul Su, to make his just restored 8,000 foot 1914 Citizen's Bank space at 5th and Spring - with over 20 foot ceilings - available to the Downtown Fashion Walk to host runway shows by designers who did not have a place to show - or who could not afford to pay the fees to show elsewhere.


That space will now host multiple major designer shows on not just one day, but on two or more days of Los Angeles Fashion Week, depending on the need.  Showings of the space to designers for runway shows or other installations will be taking place all this weekend by appointment.  Other producers are also encouraged to participate in using the space during Fashion Week.


To see the space or get more information - call Brady Westwater at 213-804-8396.

SRO Housing To Replace Art Gallery With Chain Stores At 5th & Main And Then Evict Local Residents

At today's meeting with SRO Housing about their purchase of the Roslyn Hotel (where Bert Green opened the first new gallery in the then new Gallery Row), representatives of the low-income housing group announced there were going to replace art galleries, with what they call 'real retail' - such as a Coffee Bean and a Staples Office Supply Store.

So not only are they opposed to art galleries in their buildings - but when it comes to 'real' retail the only two examples that could come up with were two corporate owned, out of area chain stores - and none any of the many locally owned stores we have brought into the neighborhood.  And then they told us they expect to get funding from the CRA to screw over our neighborhood.

They also started off with a promise to preserve the existing low income, working class residents unless, they then added,  they got funding to redo the whole building at one time in which case- everyone would be evicted, making their first promise totally worthless.

And - as usual - it is our city officials who are leading this attack on both our neighborhood businesses and our neighborhood residents while using out tax dollars to do so.   And yet they wonder why this city is going broke.

Fashion Week Sneak Preview, Millinery Guild Hat Extravaganza, Thirty Stores And Galleries Open - And Much More This Thursday At Downtown Fashion Walk!

On this Thursday’s February 18th Fashion Walk, our venues will include boutiques, solo designer stores; vintage clothing, furniture & book stores; art galleries & art installations; jewelers; contemporary furniture stores; and eclectic design shops – plus one big, one night only event.


First, the Millinery Guild of Southern California will showcase their hat designers in the grandeur of the old banking space in the Spring Arts Tower at 5th & Spring. They will also graciously host other leading LA hat designers inside the historic 8,000 foot space – under the just restored 20 foot 1914 ceiling - along with a dozen established and upcoming designers of all types –  and art installations by POP LOCK.


Elmer Ave will also have an excellent selection of their current collection that will be purchasable either at the Spring Arts Tower  - or at their store, just a block away - Elmer Ave will also preview a few pieces of their new collection that will be shown during the March Fashion Week.


There will also be a selection of items from leading Fashion Walk stores along Main and Spring and Sixth and Seventh – at 5th and Spring to expose other designers to a wider audience and to let you know why Fashion Walk is never over until you have seen all the Fashion Walk neighborhood has to offer.


Also open that night will be the adjoining art spaces – POP LOCK, the Deborah Martin Gallery and the new CB1 Gallery – which was called (repeatedly) one of the most beautiful spaces to show art in LA when Clyde Beswick opened it last Saturday with solo shows by HK Zamani aka Habib Kheradyar and Daniel Aksten.


Then, after a night of fashion and art, only a couple hundred feet away - you can retire to the elegance of the marble walls, wood paneling, Batchelder tile floors – and antique bank vault private rooms - of the Crocker Club – or you can enjoy the neighborhood feel and spacious outdoor patio of the Down and Out, or you can take in the warm ‘everyone knows your name’ atmosphere of The Must, where food and drink are equal priorities.


Or you can savor your meal at the long time local favorite - The Ensenada Mexican Restaurant - that now draws customers from all over Los Angeles or dine at the recently opened Gorbals which just received an enthusiastic review by Pulitzer prize winning critic Jonathan Gold of the LA Weekly of its highly adventuresome menu and a glowing review from the LA Time’s own S. Irene Virbila about her only in Downtown culinary and sensory experience of every kind when she described how she woke up in her bed the morning after – and wondered if the night before had all just been a dream.


And all this is available for you to sample within a couple hundred feet of the venue.


But before tackling all that wining and dining there is still more art and fashion to see – over a couple dozen more stores to visit along Main and Spring between 4th and 7th – with each store’s hours to be announced by Wednesday night when the official Fashion Walk map goes on-line.

It's Art Walk Night - And All The Fashion Stores Will Be Open - Plus Special Installations!

It's the second Thursday of the month - February 11th, 2010 - one week before the THIRD Thursday of the month Fashion Walk of February 18, 2010.  But the good news is you don't have to wait to get Valentine's Day fashion gifts.

The map of all tonight's fashion events will be up on the website – www.downtownfashionwalk.com - by 6 PM tonight or you can pick up a copy of the Fashion map after 6 PM  tonight - along with the Art Walk map  - at the Art Walk Lounge just off 5th and Main at 114 W. 5th Street.

Tonight's Art/Fashion Walk includes two special installations at 4th and Spring - starting at the Banco Popular Building on the NE corner where -  Little Tokyo Invades Art Walk!  Tonight only there will be selections - and sale items - from Little Tokyo’s leading clothing boutiques & art galleries such Archrival, Hold Up Art, RIF LA, NO. A & plus a non-Little Tokyo special guest, Rized Mental Couture.  

Next, across the street,  the new Pop-Lock Gallery just opened at 5^th and Spring, will have an installation at the Continental Gallery on the SE corner of 4th and Spring until February 22nd.  And tonight - there will also be the Live Screen Printing of T-shirts.

Then, just down the street at 125 W 4th Street, between Spring and Main, the hit of last year's runway shows, Skingraft, will have a storewide 15% off sale - plus selected items at 35% off - on all men's and women's designs.  Also showing will be artists Adrian Gilliland & Jeremy Friend.

Also at 125 4th Street,  BLENDS will have the latest in limited edition sneakers – many of them ust unpacked today!, urban clothing lines - and some ... amazing... art up on their walls.

Across the street, at 120 W. 4th Street, Elmer Ave will feature not just their newest line of formal and semi-formal men’s and women's clothing - but also a great selection of men's ties, hats, hoodie sweatshirts, T-shirts - and a selection of limited edition designer skateboards.

Then at 430 S. Main Street, Stella Dottir, winner of best store awards from both the Downtown News and the LA Weekly, has her usual wide selection of one of a kind vintage and classic designed clothes, hats, gloves and other accessories and then down the street at 5^th and Main the hot, hip new furniture and accessory store  - (Sub)Urban -  will also feature two of LA’s hottest upcoming artists.

Next at 5^th & Spring, Spring Arts Tower hosts the opening of the CB1 Art Gallery, a show by Deborah Martin at 209 W. 5^th Street and the Pop Lock Gallery at 211 W. 5th will besides its usual art and photography – have a special selection of limited edition sneakers.

And cross the street, at 460 S. Spring, the brand new old school men’s barber shop – Bolt Barbers – will feature its own clothing line for sale

Just block away, Sixth Street’s upcoming Fashion Row begins with New York Hats just west of Spring Street at 217 W. 6^th  (closes at 6 PM, though) and Crack Gallery’s Pop Art & cool clothing at 204 W. 6^th St. 

Then, just east of Spring and before Main on the north side of the street, are KAPSOULT’s contemporary & vintage clothes along with sunglasses and dozens of other gift items; next is Flea’s extensive selection of  clothes, vintage & contemporary furniture, books, contemporary art, hats and many other things you’ll wish you owned; and finally the one-of-a-kind clothing store Apliiq where you can buy one of a kind garments – or design your own clothes by having rare and unique textiles applied to everyday garments.

Lastly, on the final block of this three block district, between Main and Los Angeles Streets, are Pussy and Pooch at 564 S. Main where you can always find the finest in pet couture and accessories (as well as grooming), just before you reach Upper Playground’s fusion of fashion with fine art by locally and nationally known artists – and its separate art gallery at both at 125 E. 6^th Street.  And next door to them are Mr. Cartoon’s Tattoo Shop and his adjacent clothing shop, The Last Laugh, where artist designed clothes, sneakers – and specialty items, including one of a kind toys – can be found.,

Lastly, saving some of the best for last – there’s Downtown’s newest Fashion Corner at 7^th and Main where the NW corner already has five fashion destinations and is about to add at least two more destinations, including the expanded store of Fremont. 

Already open on the Main Street side is Symbiotic Form, a multi-designer boutique of vintage inspired woman’s hand bags – at amazingly low prices, hats, and clothes, along with many unique gift items and jewelry.  

Next, a few doors down is 1-Man’s Trash  - a line of vintage inspired and remade vintage for men, women and children that includes runway fashion.  Also in that store, is an extensive collection of carefully curated vintage fashions for those who are looking for only the best.

Finally, on the 7^th street side of 7^th and Main, just before where Fremont is about to open, is the Z Loft Boutique which features not just vintage clothing of every kind and every price from around the world - but also a wide assortment of accessories and other designer items that meet every taste and pocket book.

Give me Dopamine or give me death

Not that I have any choice

Dueling Headline at Los Angeles Times website

The below two headlines were by each other on the Wednesday night LA Times website.  Clearly - though - both statements can not be true at the same time.

L.A.council delays decision on 1,000 job cuts

Brains of vegetative patients show life