Art & Fashion, Events
Jun 13, 2012

LA FASHION MARKET 2012

Five times a year, the LA Fashion Market attracts buyers from around the world to come and get an exclusive look at the latest collections. We were lucky enough to be able to roam around the showrooms and get an up close and personal look at all of the fabulous exhibits and pieces.

Held at the California Market Center in downtown Los Angeles, there are a plethora of accessories, shoes, clothes, gifts, home goods, and lifestyle items on display from June 11-14. The Market consists of hundreds of showrooms representing thousands of brands. There are five special show areas that are spotlighted at the tradeshow: Select (Contemporary Fashion); Transit (Footwear); Focus (Emerging apparel & accessories); Gift & Home Market (Lifestyle items) and LA Kids Market (Kids & Maternity).

We had the chance to chat with several exhibitors about the brands, the newest collections, prices and where we can find the pieces. There were several popular brands that are familiar to most, such as: 7 For All Mankind, Chinese Laundry, DKNY and Sam Edelman. We were more intrigued by the beautiful pieces from Boutique 9, Monserat De Lucca, Joy Han, ADA Collection, Streets Ahead, Inc. and Deepa Gurnani.

Here’s a breakdown of all of those collections:

Boutique 9: We were fascinated by the new Bollywood inspired collection from this popular footwear brand. The shoes consisted of heels, wedges and flats and came in bright colors with lots of embellishments. The brand is sold online, Nine West and major department stores.

Monserat De Lucca: The cool skull bracelet is what caught our eye in this collection. There were several unique pieces on display as well as chic leather handbags. The sister line, Remi & Reid consists of a vegan handbag collection. The items can be found online and in many retail stores such as Anthropologie and Calypso.

Joy Han: The Joy Han collection was broken up into three smaller apparel collections: VaVa (Embroidery, Lace, Embellishments); Voom (Brightly colored prints and silks) and James & Joy (Solid Colored Knits). All three lines were beautiful yet different and had different price points to suit everyone’s needs.

ADA Collection: The label is based in California but all of the handbags are made in Argentina using special Argentinean leather. This collection also has beautiful jewelry that is all handmade in the US, small leather accessories and belts. We love the fact that the belts come in one-size to make it versatile and cater to all women. The items are available in over 1500 specialty boutiques, domestic and international, major department stores and online.

Streets Ahead, Inc.: This Los Angeles-based company has been around for 30 years! They are a leather accessory brand specializing in handmade belts. We loved the gorgeous beaded bracelets that were on display also! They are in hundreds of stores and online and distributed in several foreign markets, including Dubai, Japan and Italy.

Deepa Gurnani: This was our personal favorite! We fell in love with the outstanding beadwork and embroidery on the clutches, jewelry and headbands. Everything is hand and custom made in India. All of the handbags are lined in leather. The detail and craftsmanship that went into making these handbags was extraordinary! The newly released jewelry line has already graced the inside of Elle Germany and Vogue Russia.

This event was definitely a fashion lover’s dream. It was also a great way to be introduced to new brands and to see what’s to come in the future of fashion. The hottest items at The Market usually dictate the trends for upcoming fashion seasons and we know we will be seeing celebrities rocking these looks at red carpets real soon!