Move Over, New York...

Brace yourself, much-beloved sister publication Gotham magazine. Los Angeles just may be the new US fashion capital. While the entertainment business is known as LA’s bread and butter, California’s apparel and textile industry is booming, and—incredibly—it actually employs more people than New York’s, according to last year’s County Business Patterns report.

Proof positive of the power of this market is the number of luxury brands establishing West Coast offices in the last few years. They are discovering what locally based design houses Monique Lhuillier, Trina Turk, Rodarte, Juan Carlos Obando and Riser Goodwyn have known for a while: The celebrity laden, red-carpet, sun-kissed lifestyle can build a brand quicker than you can say “Katie Holmes.”

While the LA fashion scene may not carry the longstanding pedigree of other cities’, our Wild West “no rules, no seasons” attitude has launched many fashion firsts, including the modern swimsuit, the strapless bra, shoulder pads and the omnipresent force that is the Hollywood stylist.

Similarly, several inventive brands have made Los Angeles the denim capital of the world: We’re home to True Religion Brand Jeans, Guess, 7 For All Mankind, J Brand, Rock & Republic and many others. LA’s Bebe and BCBGMaxAzria are the perfect complement to this denim-as-uniform culture. And Los Angeles fashionistas are at the green-revolution forefront, embracing the “shop local and repurpose” mantra by supporting our world-class vintage stores, such as The Way We Wore and Shareen Vintage.

And so, my fellow SoCal dwellers, celebrate this important industry in our city and head to one of our countless shopping meccas—whether it’s the legendary Rodeo Drive or sprawling South Coast Plaza—for your fall-fashion needs. So what’s on my shopping list this season? A neutral overcoat, a piece in fur or leather, something military-inspired and suede thigh-high boots. And if you need some guidance on your own must-buy list, don’t miss the spring 2011 collections during Los Angeles Fashion Week, October 13–20.

Here’s to a fashionable fall,

ALISON MILLER
GROUP PUBLISHER

FROM TOP: Alison Miller with Venus Williams and Faye Washington at Williams’ Come to Win book launch at Geisha House; Angelika and Andreas Cerny; Maverick Carter and Keith Estabrook; Jason Binn with Cindi Berger; Jeremy Renner goes to Washington, DC, with his dad