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Los Angeles Fashion Defines West Coast Style Trends


Worlds away from formal New York fashion houses, Los Angeles, California, takes its design cues from West Coast lifestyle trends, favoring fresh, youthful looks. Fashion careers in LA give designers the ability to push the boundaries of eternal youth. The hottest LA designers might end up designing Hollywood costumes or dressing celebrities for the red carpet.

Los Angeles, CA, is a fashion destination that, along with New York, defines the American sense of style. Industry leaders across the world look to LA for design trends that capture the magic of Hollywood and the casual decadence of the West Coast. Los Angeles Fashion Week gives the city yet another chance to shine on an international stage.

For fashion career hopefuls, Los Angeles fashion schools cater to a range of interests. Fashion schools offer degree programs in fashion design, merchandising, and retail management, giving students the career training they need to break into the LA fashion industry. No career training program can guarantee employment, but in this competitive industry, education can pay off as you build your portfolio.

LA Fashion: West Coast Heritage

The fashion scene in Los Angeles began with the rise of the motion picture industry. Hollywood stars such as Rita Hayworth and Greta Garbo were some of the first celebrities to exemplify the distinctive trends of the time. Modernity and the ready-to-wear craze hit Los Angeles in the '60s, epitomized by designers such as Rudi Gernreich, who turned heads with his miniskirt and monokini.

Hollywood's glamorous influence continued to keep Los Angeles on the fashion map. Celebrities set the trends for local designers, as Lauren Bacall and Elizabeth Taylor wore Halston in the '70s, and designers such as Nolan Miller rose to fame designing outrageous costumes for '80s television shows like Dynasty and Charlie's Angels.

Today, Los Angeles fashion is celebrated during the LA Fashion Awards, a ceremony that caps Fashion Week and brings designers, retailers, and celebrities together to honor the best in the business.

Los Angeles, California Fashion: Fast Facts

  • Los Angeles is home to the largest fashion district in the country
  • Industry buyers enjoy convenient trade from the city's Port of Los Angeles, encompassing 7,500 acres and connecting buyers and designers to the rest of the world
  • Los Angeles, CA, median household income was $47,781, in 2007
  • The Los Angeles fashion business is a $24.3 billion industry

Top Los Angeles Fashion Careers

Check out a few of Los Angeles' hottest fashion industry careers:

Fashion designers: These trained professionals create the face of LA fashion, from high-art couture to ready-to-wear collections. Career training programs in fashion design emphasize courses in the history of fashion, pattern making, and styling with current trends.

Fashion merchandisers: Fashion buyers are responsible for finding new and exciting ways to bring fashion to a wide range of consumers. LA fashion schools teach fashion merchandise professionals classes in textiles, promotion, and manufacturing.

Retail managers: At the front lines of the Los Angeles, California, fashion industry are retail managers, professionals who outfit the shopping public with the latest trends. Careers in LA retail management can be found for those with career training and experience.

LA's Hottest Design Trend Setters

Take a look at a few Los Angeles designers turning heads with their fresh, intriguing styles:

  • Rozae Nichols: Born in Los Angeles, Rozae Nichols established her design career in Hong Kong and Paris before returning to LA to start her own clothing line, with designs featuring extensive hand finishing and surface detailing
  • Arianne Philips: Arianne Philips hails from New York and puts her costume design skill to use in Los Angeles, gaining international acclaim as personal stylist for Madonna's last three world tours
  • Max Azria: The acclaimed designer behind BCBG opened his high-end Max Azria boutique on Los Angeles' Melrose Avenue.
  • Monique Lhuillier: Known internationally as an eveningwear and bridal designer, Monique Lhuillier has used her hand-beaded laces and exquisite embroideries to dress Jennifer Lopez, Angelina Jolie, and Halle Berry
  • Corinne Grassini: As the creative mind behind the popular clothing line Society for Rational Dress, Corinne Grassini completed design school in LA and is one of the fashion scene's rising stars

So much talent, such great weather, and so many celebrities! Los Angeles is a paradise for fashion design education.


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