Palm Springs Visitors Guide
This week, Kate Buckley is delighted to feature a guest post by the iconic Susan Stein, Fashion Editor, Palm Springs Life Magazine and creative producer/director, Fashion Week El Paseo.
It’s that time of year again! From April 2-9, 2016, thousands of people will come to our community from near and far for the 11th annual Fashion Week El Paseo™ 2016, taking place at The Gardens on El Paseo at 73545 El Paseo in Palm Desert. As many of you know, Fashion Week El Paseo is the premier Greater Palm Springs fashion event – one of the largest of its kind on the West Coast – that features a star-studded line-up of top designers from across the country. The event has definitely put Palm Springs on the map as a signature fashion gathering spot for fashion lovers who want direct access and interaction with their favorite designers.
The schedule for this year’s event is better than ever! We’ll showcase the runway show debut of the Haute Couture Spring 2016 collections by world legend and icon Zandra Rhodes, Project Runway sensation and celebrity designer Michael Costello [pictured at left], and fashion’s answer to elegant yet avant-garde eveningwear, Marc Bouwer. And in keeping with Fashion Week El Paseo’s tradition of providing attendees with open access to the designers and fashions featured at the event, attendees will also be invited to go beyond the front row to revel in exclusive, straight-from-the-runway trunk show shopping events hosted by the designers.
Fashion Week El Paseo festivities will include the return of several famed annual events, including:
- The Le Chien canine couture runway show, accompanied by an elite cocktail hour and silent auction soiree to benefit the Humane Society of the Desert.
- The FIDM/Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising runway show [pictured at right], debuting a new guard of emerging fashion designers.
- The El Paseo Rocks event, presented by the Girlfriend Factor, the nonprofit organization devoted to providing education grants to women in need, with a spotlight on Palm Desert’s one-of-a-kind local luxury pieces. Ten of El Paseo’s most coveted shopping destinations – BBOne, Bikram Yoga, Blonde, Democracy, Diane’s Beachwear, Eileen Fisher, El Paseo Jeweler, Nina Maclemore, Out of Your Closet, and Tommy Bahama – will unveil Spring 2016 desert trends and debut an exclusive preview of Fall 2016’s up-and-coming styles.
In addition to Michael Costello, Fashion Week El Paseo will showcase a whos-who of Project Runway stars, including Anthony Ryan Auld, Peach Carr, Michael Costello, Jesus and Antonio Estrada, Mychael Knight, Justin Leblanc, Valerie Mayen, Kini Zamora, Christopher Michael Straub and Casanova. What a list!
The real reason attendees of all ages come back year after year is because of the unique experience they receive in connecting directly with a compelling group of designers from contemporary to couture. Cutting-edge designers constantly strive to feature their collections at our event because it provides them with an opportunity to speak openly with attendees about their lines at trunk shows following their runway presentations. Because of this truly unique experience, more than 100 local charities have benefited over the past decade, including Fashion Group International Inc., The Girlfriend Factor, Variety, The Children’s Charity, Junior League of Palm Springs Desert Communities, Desert Outreach and the Humane Society of the Desert.
When Palm Springs Life started Fashion Week El Paseo 11 years ago, I never dreamed it would become the one of the best-known fashion events on the West Coast – and a true training ground for the fashion world’s most promising rising stars. If you’ve joined us in the past, we hope to see you again, and if you haven’t yet, please try us out! For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.fashionweekelpaseo.com.
