The event, slated for March 27-29, will not go on, though Vegan Fashion Week has confirmed it will still take place in April.
Los Angeles Fashion Week will be rescheduled for a later date.
The local style event, running March 27 to 29, has been postponed due to the spread of the coronavirus. Designers to show collections would have included Elie Madi, Nicholas Mayfield, Gypsy Sport, Xiao Fen, Giannina Azar, CD Greene and Silent Panda across streetwear and couture.
"We have officially postponed L.A. Fashion Week due the the effects of the coronavirus as the health and safety of our designers, guests and staff are paramount over everything else. Like many other organizations we will seek to reevaluate the situation as things progress in the coming weeks," says a rep in a statement to The Hollywood Reporter.
Last year, Naeem Khan and Walter Collection helped kick off L.A. Fashion Week, which still doesn't have the global reach or impact of its counterparts in New York, London, Milan and Paris. Prior attendees of L.A. Fashion Week, founded in 2010, include Britney Spears, Paris Hilton and Taye Diggs.
This year during New York Fashion Week, by comparison, Tom Ford brought his fall 2020 collection presentation to L.A. two days before the Oscars, drawing stars including Jennifer Lopez, Renée Zellweger, Kylie Jenner, Lil Nas X and Jeff Bezos to the front row.
Despite several cancellations due to coronavirus this week, Vegan Fashion Week is full steam ahead in L.A. on April 3-4. "The leading ethical fashion movement decided the Fall 2020 show must go on," reads a press release titled "Vegan Fashion Week Returns to Los Angeles Despite Coronavirus Outbreak."
Vegan Fashion Week creator Emmanuelle Rienda added in a statement on Thursday, “Now is a very important time to share our message and draw connections between sustainability and ethics. Animal exploitation is directly linked to the virus outbreak, the Australian bushfires, the Amazonian forest fires and our current global environmental crisis. I want to inspire positive change and elevate the conversation through fashion, because fashion is activism.” It will feature showcases of 20 designers.
Top fashion houses — Armani, Gucci, Max Mara, Hermes, Ralph Lauren, Versace, Chanel, Prada and Burberry — have all changed plans for upcoming runway shows by pushing them back to a later date or cancelling them altogether.
Los Angeles County has reported more than 20 coronavirus cases including one death. On Thursday, L.A. mayor Eric Garcetti limited public gatherings to those with less than 50 people.
