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ESCONDIDO: City's First Fashion Week coming in May

By: SHAYNA CHABNER - Staff Writer | Monday, March 24, 2008 12:02 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- After years of hosting hot rods and muscle cars on Grand Avenue, downtown Escondido merchants are getting ready to host models on the catwalk during the city's first-ever Fashion Week.

The event, set for May 5-10, aims to draw a new crop of people into the city by showcasing Escondido's art, fashion and local designers, said Debra Rosen, chief executive of the Downtown Business Association.

"The economy is bad right now and we need to do something strategically smart to bring people into the downtown," said Rosen. "We don't know of any other downtown in San Diego County that has done something like this."

The event will include clothing and home decor runway shows, a spa day and receptions inside the empty H. Johnston Furniture building and other downtown galleries, businesses and museums.

Some local designers will also be putting on special boutique runway shows. The designers will include Escondido's Ricky Lizalde, who is a former "Project Runway" contender, Escondido's Susanti and Valley Center's Miriam Splane.

The weeklong event, which has been in the works for the last six months, is being put together by the association and more than 70 volunteers.

Rosen, who said she got the inspiration for the event from a similar show held in Palm Desert each year, said that the city's Fashion Week has already started to create a lot of buzz. Word has spread into Los Angeles and the region's high-fashion community, she said.

The downtown business association has landed two dozen sponsors and has fielded calls from organizations such as the International Fashion Group, Women's Wear Daily and national media companies that are looking to get involved, she said.

Some of the main events generating curiosity are a fashion show featuring "environmentally-kind" clothes from recycled materials and a show that melds interior decorating and the runway by having models don furniture fabrics to match home displays.

"It's drawing a lot of attention, not only because it's fashion, but because it's unexpected of Escondido," said Jolyne Sevilla, an interior designer with Escondido's Unique Dimensions.

Sevilla and two of her colleagues will be transforming the inside of H. Johnston Furniture for the event. The building, Sevilla said, will be reminiscent of New York's Fashion Week with fabrics, a runway and other decor.

Escondido's Fashion Week will run in conjunction with Restaurant Week, which starts May 4 and ends May 16.

For more information about the event, tickets or to find out how to get involved, visit www.fashionweekdowntown.com.