Charity Program Has L.A. Fashion District Beginning

“How many say shopping is their favorite hobby?” publicist Carrie Gilbreth yelled out in front of the Guess? Outlet store at the Cooper Design Space in downtown Los Angeles.

Her audience, 14 foster kids, eagerly raised their hands.

The Los Angeles Fashion District sponsored a holiday shopping spree on Dec. 7 for teenagers living in group homes managed by Olive Crest, a Santa Ana, Calif.–based nonprofit serving abused children.

The Fashion District gave eight girls and six boys $125 to shop for clothes. It was a fortune, said Jen Fernholz, marketing manager for Olive Crest.

“It’s a brand-new thing for us,” Fernholz said. “Our budget for clothes is somewhere around $50 each month for each kid.”

Christine Silvestri, owner of Urban Shopping Adventures, based in downtown Los Angeles, guided the shopping spree. She took the boys to the store Most Wanted to get hip-hop–inspired apparel. The girls went to Los Angeles Street to shop at Fashion World, Le Petit Paris, Image Outlet and Belle GG.

They later spent the afternoon browsing apparel in Santee Alley and ate a big lunch at El Salvador Cafeacute;. The kids were given discounts at every establishment they visited.

Kent Smith, executive director of the Los Angeles Fashion District, said he hopes the shopping spree will become an annual tradition.

“We wanted to do something that captured the holiday spirit,” Smith said. “We wanted to find teen-agers for it because the Fashion District is Nirvana for them. There’s a huge amount of choice here.” —Andrew Asch