Where does the time go??  It seems like we just finished up the last runway show a few months ago at the 8th Annual Fashion Week yet here we are, choosing our outfits and making plans for the 9th Annual Fashion Week El Paseo.  What WILL we wear, since there are over 15 events??

The first Fashion Week, which was a germ of an idea by then PSL-marketing director, Kelly Thorsden, seemed very grand at the time.  A staggering 3 Fashion shows, 40 in-store events and a Big White Tent!  Wow, we were all pretty impressed with ourselves.  Kelly formed a committee made up of Palm Springs Life staff, City of Palm Desert personnel, the FG Creative team (advertising, PR and coordination of the in-store events), and a few key managers from El Paseo stores. This ragtag committee jumped in with both feet, and yes, we pulled it off!  The El Paseo stores that participated in the runway show reported huge leaps in sales, and traffic, and general buzz.  What a great first year!

Well then it really took off…  PSL embraced the event, promising to make it bigger, better and badder (in the good sense!) and the City of Palm Desert saw the vision and jumped on board.  More sponsors were found, the Merchant’s board adopted it as a main event to support and promote, and the rest is history.

Each year, there are more shows, more designers, more in-store events and more people attending!  The buzz is world-wide, and other cities with shopping districts keep trying to copy Fashion Week El Paseo, mostly to no avail.  This year, with the smoking hot Michael Costello leading the Project Runway night, the FIDM event, the introduction of a new designer and Zang Toi… it just can’t get much better! The camaraderie and teamwork that goes into putting this event on, all led by Palm Springs Life, is unstoppable and unbeatable.  With the addition of Food & Wine a fews years ago, the event topped the ranks as a must-visit event in the month of March for the region.

But back to the main issue… what will we wear??

Luckily, we can visit El Paseo and find some amazing fashions and shoes and accessories and, and, and.   As one of the entities that assist each year, the FGC team takes this seriously and we want to be fashion-forward and on-trend, of course!  We’ll post photos here, but seriously, if you like fashion, or food, or just attending great events, this is for you.  Tickets at www.FashionWeekElPaseo.com and more info at www.ShopElPaseoPalmDesert.com.  We had to throw a little sales pitch in at some point, right?

See you at Fashion Week… Mar 16-22.  Don’t miss it.