It’s always sweet when a father acknowledges a daughter before a crowd. But for L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, when time came last night to give props to his 14-year-old daughter Natalie Fe for her push to host the FutureFashion event at their official home, it was the one moment in the evening when he didn’t sound like the career politician or even slightly awkward addressing the fashion industry crowd.
Nearly 300 of the city’s most influential players in one of the city’s top industries turned out Thursday night at the Getty House, the official mayoral residence just outside Hancock Park, for a bash showcasing eco-friendly fashion by 17 worthy Los Angeles designers. With the guidance of co-host Earth Pledge, whose Future Fashion initiative partners with businesses and government to step up the adoption of eco-minded sustainable practices, designers such as Deborah Lindquist, Hazel Brown, Rozae Nichols, Stewart+Brown, Tree and The Strongohold created beautiful, wearable women’s wear.
“We can’t leave until I see everything,” insisted Julie Gilhart of Barneys New York as she headed toward the mannequins positioned around the pelican sculpture fountain at the sunset garden party. With key buyers such as Gilhart there, as well stylist Arianne Phillips and a host of national magazine editors, this was undeniably a highlight of fashion week here. The seal of support of event co-host Council of Fashion Designers of America only added to its relevance. While CFDA prez Diane Von Furstenberg was a no-show, exec director Stephen Kolb addressed the crowd following Villaraigosa and fellow co-hosts Ed Mandelbaum and Barbara Kramer (a green activist who actually initiated the partnership with Earth Pledge).
The Los Angeles Times Magazine and Image section also shared billing, prompting Villaraigosa to joke of the usually strained relationship between the publication and him.
With local CFDA members Magda Berliner, Rozae Nichols, Trina Turk, VPL and Trovata also providing looks, there was a general hope that this would not only encourage greater involvement by the New York-based organization in Los Angeles fashion, but that the event could signal a desperately needed shift in fashion week in this city. For Villaraigosa, who described his young daughter as a “fashionista” and whose 30-year-old daughter Prisila Villar-Contreras is a student at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, it’s evidently only the start. With the assistance of D&A’s Kramer and others, he’s already begun a task force. And like a consummate politician, as he shook guests’ hands while firmly holding their elbow each time, he repeated his night’s mantra: “You should call my office and get involved.”