Q and A with: Los Angeles Fashion Week Founder Ciarra Pardo
New York, London, Milan, and Paris are some of the top fashion weeks.
What about L.A. The president of Los Angeles Fashion Week is trying to make the city a global fashion capital. After working in finance at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter, Pardo moved to L.A.
LA Fashion Week becoming the most respected
She was a consulting creative director for Geffen Records. After founding her own production company, Les Enfants Terribles, she launched her second company, the creative services agency GraviteCreative, where she worked with some of the biggest names in music.
The rise of Fenty, the billion-dollar fashion and beauty brand created by Ri-ri, was aided by the work of Pardo, who helped make the singer one of the wealthiest people in entertainment and fashion.
The Fenty fashion house closed in 2011.
The Los Angeles Fashion Week, which took place in October, is powered by N4xt Experiences, a firm co-founded by Pardo.
The secrets of building a fashion brand, working with RiR, and what excited her about L.A. style are some of the things that Pardo talks about in her interview.
PENTA: How did you get into fashion?
I came from the direction world. I have been blessed to play in a lot of different things. I've seen the power of integration. I talk a lot about the launch of the new beauty product. It led to a pop-up shop in Brooklyn. I wanted to bring that same energy to LAFW. We have beauty, technology, and sustainable practices.
What do you think about sustainable living?
Eco-age is a creative agency that helps brands become sustainable. The capital of the country is L.A.. If we don't have sustainable efforts, we're going down the wrong path. We are partnering with Eco-Age to teach them how to do things in a more eco-friendly way.
What does L.A. mean when it comes to fashion?
How did you get to LA?
I have lived in L.A. for 20 years and have seen the changes in the industry. Silicon Valley is no longer the place to be for technology. It isn't the same to me. The reimagined concept of L.A. fashion week is offered by us. We cannot compete with other fashion weeks, but what we are creating is sexy enough for brands to want to show with us.
What does L.A. mean when it comes to fashion?
The capital of the casual cool is L.A. There are a lot of other things that come out of it. There are small brands that are competitive. Fear of God is one of the cool L.Brands. During the day, I still wear heels.
Are you going to walk in your heels?
I talk on my phone. The New Yorker in me wants to go somewhere.
There is an idea of what L.A. is, but it has changed a lot.
What area of L.A. do you like the most?
There are a lot of cool things in downtown L.A. Hollywood is becoming cooler. Venice in the west side is incredible, from farm to table foods, to housewares and style, and it is not my preference to be there.
What was it like to work with Ri-ri Fashion?
I was her artistic director. I didn't know what to expect when I started Fenty. I didn't think it would do so well as soon as it did. When I decided to go in-house, I worked with the singer from the perspective of my own agency. I said I would have five years to do this. I don't know how to work for another person.
It took less than five years for it to get a name. I used to have a beautiful tool, a beautiful face, sex appeal, grace, talent, and translation into beauty, perfume, and fashion. It wasn't as easy as it looked. I learned a lot in beauty, fashion and fashion.
Size-inclusive fashion and virtual runway shows were what Fenty was known for.
We were the first athletic brand to show in fashion weeks. We brought a high-end, high scale moment to it when we took what was considered athleisure. We were doing both Dior and Puma at the same time. I was fortunate to partner with her. She is a person of many different colors. The process depends on her work ethic and commitment.
What brands caught your attention at LAFW?
The fashion collection was so exciting that it came from a time when he worked for the fashion brand Public School. He is creating sustainable fashion that is cool and beautiful and he is a brand that is doing it right.
The brand is so exciting because it goes beyond the sexiness of lingerie to more of an empowering collection that is sex-appeal-focused, and moving into ready-to-wear. She makes a loud noise. I am a huge fan of LatinX designers and I have a lot of pieces from Gypsy Sport. In between the intersection of sexiness and sexiness is something cool. She wanted to present the brand in a private environment. I think she's doing a good job. That is sustainable.
Why is it necessary to support women fashion designers?
We are female-founded and female-led. It's important to stay true to diversity, it can be used too many times and it means so much.
What is the future of cutting-edge fashion in the years to come?
I think it's time to be comfortable with fashion. Doing what you think you have to do in order to be sexy is no longer possible. A lot of legacy brands are changing their ways. What is clear for our voice and comfortable are some of the things that have been shifted for women. The mindset is shifting right now. It is being seen in a lot of things.
The interview has been edited to make it clearer.
Keywords: fashion, Los Angeles Fashion, Rihanna,Pardo
Source: www.barrons.com
