Creative director Corinne Loperfido elaborates on working in the LA fashion industry

Los Angeles Fashion Week (LAFW) recently put on Reprise event which showcased emerging brands locally in the fashion industry. The event included a roster of brands including Triarchy and Cocodisco, combining music, art and fashion in one place. Taking place at the W Hotel, the event allowed for a mix of stylists, tastemakers, buyers, and industry insiders to connect through LAFW’s fashion presentation. FashionUnited chatted recently with Corinne Loperfido, the featured stylist and creative of the Reprise event, to get an insight on how these events help connect both locals and professionals in the industry.

What was your role in the Reprise event?

I worked with LAFW to style all the looks for the fashion element of the show and brought in my own personal collection of vintage and independent designer pieces as well as my own pieces to create the looks.

How do you think partaking in local events like these help expose your work?

You never know who will be at an event, especially with so many people involved in the production of the event. I have been an event producer for the last seven years and I know that you just never know who will show up and what it will lead to. The more chances for exposure and for networking with other designers, models, investors, bloggers, stylists, etc., the better [it is for your work].

How do you think these types of events help grow and connect the fashion industry?

Without local events like this people wouldn't know about local designers and new smaller companies or individuals who are doing things differently. These small made-to-order or small batch companies are the future of fashion - brands with a soul, who are not overproducing, and who are creating safe and fair conditions for their workers here in America.

What makes your work specifically unique?

I buy most of my clothing second hand and modify or style them in unique ways to fit my needs. It isn't about being cheap, it is about making a statement not to support corporate companies who do not care about their workers, the planet, the customers... nothing but their bottom line.The fashion industry is a brutal place of slave labor, fast fashion trends that result in overflowing landfills of textile waste and pollution, unsafe working conditions and unfair power structures. It not an industry that has a good environmental reputation whatsoever, so it is a mission of mine to push extremely hard for independent designers, especially those making things from repurposed materials.

As a featured stylist and general creative genius, how did you get your start in this line of work?

I have always made my own stuff and modified things because either A) I didn't see anything that really spoke to me or B) I couldn't afford the really good stuff by designers. For me label, price, trends--none of that means anything to me. I don't care what colors are "trending" or that somehow a baseball hat qualifies as "fashion.” I am about living my life vibrantly and my create medium of expression is personal style. I was living in New Orleans for several years and was deep in the costume culture there and took that spirit of radical self expression with me when I moved. Your outside is a reflection of your inside - I want people to know I am a joyful expressive ball of rainbow sunshine and tere are no "rules" in art and personal style is something anyone can have if they want to.

How do you see the fashion industry changing in Los Angeles?

I have only lived here for 1.5 years so I don't feel like I can answer that question [fully]. I hope we utilize our abundant resources of fabric, factories, and skilled workers that are right here in Los Angeles instead of designing a sample and shipping it overseas for production. I think the more small brands we have the more we will see a resurgence of personal style instead of continuing with the homogenization of fashion through insta celebs and tumblr trends. I hope people see that self expression is a radical act and fashion can be used for social change in so many ways.

In the future, what are some of the events in fashion you’re seeking to participate in the city?

I want to see a resurgence of personal style and ethical manufacturing in America. I want to see Los Angeles specifically take back the power over manufacturing and bring more and more brands back to the states for production. Less gas used, more jobs for Americans, closer contact with the factories to be able to make changes and upgrades in real time, and the ability to act quickly in response to the changing sociopolitical climate of our very unstable country. I do a wearable art event called NEXT LEVEL where I curate designers and performance artists together for a shop + showcase which brings artists and art lovers together. I'd love to see that event get bigger and reach a wider audience.

How do you think LA differs from New York City in terms of fashion?

I would love to see more adventurous street style here, and see people stop passing off trendy sweatpants and solid colored basics as "fashion". New York fashion has a edge, it has a pulse, and it is so culturally diverse. Also people walk there, so there just is more street style, which is where fashion comes from anyways. It is the individual taste makers that dare to do things differently, to pattern clash, to wear something "outdated" but mix it up and give it new life... these are the real people who influence fashion - the people who know how to work an outfit. Unfortunately most high fashion is out of the price range (and size range unless you are a thin "perfect" body type) for more people and I think in NYC people have to be so much more resourceful which makes them better artists. Comfort and money don't always lead to the best innovations, so I think NYC has a leg up because it is a more chaotic place and people are all living on top of one another. It is partly because of that that there is a lot of cross cultural influence and personal style that we simply don't see as much in LA because we aren't walking and we're generally more segregated by economic class.

What do you have planned for the immediate future for yourself?

I just started working for an 83-year-old woman who has been a women's health and sexuality advocate since the 1970's, so I am excited to bring my political work with women into the designing process and rethink what fashion is saying about us as women and our role in society. Why do women dress in imitation menswear in the "business" world? Why do women show off so much skin and wear shoes that hurt our feet? I am excited to examine all the ways fashion influences or perpetuates women's plight in this world and figure out how to design better and smarter to empower women and girls to feel strong and sexy and protected and respected and look amazing doing it.

Photo: Corinne Loperfido and LAFW