L.A. Fashion Week highlights tension between celeb-turned-designers and fashion mainstays

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Just as L.A. Fashion Week took a step forward, the celeb-as-designer trend seems to have sent it two steps back.

Though the presence of bigger and more legitimate designers has grown over the past few years, fashion regulars Sue Wong, Kevan Hall and Ed Hardy are not showing Fall 2008 collections at Culver City's Smashbox photo studios next week.

"I don't believe in reality TV stars turning into designers or a music mogul or a flash-in-the-pan turning into a designer," Wong said, acknowledging lines by Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jennifer Lopez. "It's all about merchandizing and them trying to capitalize on their 15 minutes of fame. I don't think those kind of houses can be taken seriously. What can be taken seriously is a real, bona fide talent."

Factor, though, gushed that he has always wanted to bring entertainment and music to L.A. Fashion Week, and emphasized that "the fashion we steer to our event is all very serious."

"A lot of what I see these celebrities doing, like Gwen Stefani with L.A.M.B., they're also passionate about designing. ... I would like to see more celebrities showing in Los Angeles," he said.
The season's designer-light schedule had other factors, according to Factor.
"The Hollywood writers strike affected the season 25 percent. More of the designers are watching their money. Sales are down. Fashion shows are expensive. And many designers don't have collections ready yet," Factor said.
But for Whitley Kros, named after a fictional jet-setting gal who is a "mixture of sophistication, rock 'and' roll and poetry," Los Angeles is still a glam destination for fashion designers, regardless of celebrity status, said the label's Coloma.
Her advice?
"Go for it. At the end of the day, there's room for everyone," she said.
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