The West Coast Fashion Scene Fully Turned Up to the Book Launch of Fashion in L.A.

“Los Angeles is a city that attracts designers because they can be really creative,” said editor and founder of Fashion Trust Tania Fares as she surveyed the scene at the launch party of her latest project: Fashion in L.A., a lush tome profiling 41 L.A.-based designers. “It’s a constant source of inspiration that manifests itself in everything from eveningwear and denim, to hat and jewelry design. Putting the book together was an amazing journey of discovery.”

The event, which took place at the Laurel Canyon home of interior designer Brigette Romanek and was hosted by Moda Operandi and fellow editor Krista Smith, certainly reflected the mix—glamor and laid-back, beach and mountains, movies and art—that the city is known for. Guests including Demi Moore, stylist Sophie Lopez, Paris Hilton, and Maye Musk, mingled with Rodarte’s Laura Mulleavy, Oliver Peoples’s Larry Leight, FreeCity’s Nina Garduno, and The Elder Statesman’s Greg Chait chatted over Champagne and canapés.

“Los Angeles has always been considered an unlikely fashion capital, so it’s gratifying to see the city’s design talent receive the recognition they deserve,” said writer Alexis Brunswick, who profiled many of the L.A.-based fashion designers featured in the lavishly produced coffee table book, the design of which took inspiration from the city’s iconic graphic design and work of L.A. artists Ed Ruscha, Alex Israel, and Craig Kauffman.

Among the featured designers in attendance were Andrea Lieberman of A.L.C., Kristopher Brock, Juan Carlos Obando, Stephanie Danan and Justin Kern of Co, Clare Vivier, and jeweler Jacquie Aiche; a crowd that reflected the diverse mix of brands who have put 21st-century Los Angeles on the world’s fashion map. “The whole ethos of Los Angeles is that everyone feels so creatively free and it makes designing fearless and fun,” said the Great’s Meritt Elliott, as she toasted her partner Emily Current. “It’s fostered an amazing design community who all speak to different parts of the city.”

As the party moved out onto the starlit terrace overlooking the iconic Hollywood Hills, Krista Smith mused, “California is the last stop on the bus. You literally can’t go any further. People come here to fulfill their dreams. It’s how the movie business was founded, it’s how Silicon Valley was founded, and now we are seeing that in fashion.”