Ever since latest owners took over last yr, Los Angeles Fashion Week has been going through an evolution.

Last October, a number of fashion shows, engaging seminars, educational talks, high-tech happenings and parties took place in Hollywood, whose geographic location lent a glamorous vibe to the events.  

But LAFW didn’t happen this past spring. As a substitute, the event’s organizers have been busy ensuring the autumn show is heading in the right direction to be greater and higher.

Ciarra Pardo, president of LAFW and cofounder and chief creative officer of N4XT Experiences, which bought LAFW last yr, said that Noah Kozlowski has been named vp, head of designer relations. He will probably be answerable for securing designers for partnerships with LAFW, which is able to happen Oct. 19-22. Most recently, he was director, global designer relations and development at IMG, where he worked for seven years.

“Noah brings a robust vision, strategy, unparalleled résumé of experience and deep relationships within the designer community,” Pardo said.

Kozlowski said he’s wanting to roll up his sleeves and begin work. “We’re having many exciting conversations about LAFW with designers and types across all categories from around the globe. We actually see this as a fun opportunity for them to indicate what they like and provides them a platform to launch it on,” he said. “We’re addressing all categories. We’re speaking with menswear brands, womenswear designers and with gender-fluid brands. We’re also speaking with accessories brands, jewelry designers after which some non-traditional fashion brands.”

Last fall, the brand new owners of LAFW reimagined the runway shows and added seminars on beauty, business and creativity. The style shows were held on the Lighthouse ArtSpace on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood that used to carry an Amoeba record store before the constructing was sold and used for immersive art installations about Vincent Van Gogh, King Tut and Frida Kahlo. Only about half the designers last October staged typical runway shows while others chosen to present their collections via immersive experiences and parties in the course of the four-day event.

As well as, seminars, fireside chats and panels were held at a close-by historic Art Deco constructing called Residents News, once the house of a newspaper before it was acquired by the Relevant Group and refurbished to its old Hollywood glory as an event space also housing the favored Mother Wolf restaurant. Other LAFW events were held at a West Hollywood hotel.

Sponsors were largely from the technology and sustainability worlds. Those included Logitech, Bolt, Ray-Ban Stories, Mercedes-Benz of Los Angeles, Red Bear Winery and wellness-meets-real estate company Delos.

For October, LAFW is moving just a few blocks away from its previous Hollywood locations to NYA Studios, formerly Goya Studios, which encompasses 55,000-square feet of space and can find a way to carry all events under one roof. “It has a roof deck that oversees Hollywood. It has a full business kitchen. It has an actual Dolby theater where we’re going to host some really fun fashion movies,” Pardo said.

Going forward, Los Angeles Fashion Week will host runway shows only in the autumn. Within the spring, runway shows will probably be replaced with fashion-related happenings. “We are able to never compete with the opposite fashion weeks. What we’re constructing in L.A. must be disruptive and a singular thing. Otherwise, it just won’t work,” Pardo explained. “We wish to maintain October focused on the celebration of fashion and the creatives the best way we did last yr. Spring will probably be focused on the b-to-b [business-to-business] version. How can we support these brands with solutions and talks of sustainability?  How can we introduce a few of these brands who’re looking to take a position?”

Along with LAFW, N4XT Experiences next yr will probably be introducing a beauty festival in Los Angeles and Latest York in addition to a gaming festival in Latest York.

Early last yr, N4XT Experiences paid an undisclosed sum to buy Los Angeles Fashion Week from Arthur Chipman, who trademarked the name Los Angeles Fashion Week and created a semi-annual, well-organized fashion event held since 2018 on the Petersen Automotive Museum.

But organizing an acclaimed Los Angeles Fashion Week with industry attendance has been hard as various versions of the event have come and gone. There have been indie fashion shows in offbeat locations organized by fashion designers in addition to a five-year coordinated partnership between Smashbox Studios and IMG that resulted in 2008.

The most recent LAFW organizers are hoping an updated and more tech-focused strategy will work for years to come back.