S.F. International Fashion Week Postponed
Organizers of San Francisco International Fashion Week have postponed their debut event until next spring due to the ongoing hotel workers’ strike in the city.
The strike has been in effect since late September, when negotiations between hotel and apparel workers’ union UNITE HERE Local 2 and the San Francisco Multi-Employer Group broke down.
The fledgling event, planned for Oct. 21–23 at Pier 48 on the San Francisco waterfront, was to include such prominent designers as Stephen Burrows, Lloyd Klein, Esteban Cortazar and Zang Toi.
Roxanne Hawkins with Marketing Link International, publicists for the event, said a “major sponsor” had withdrawn its support, saying it would not cross picket lines. She declined to name the sponsor.
Show organizer Jacinta Productions San Francisco had lined up Bentley San Francisco, W Hotels San Francisco, Dare to Wear cosmetics, Dittie feminine products and Benefit Cosmetics as sponsors as well as several media outlets including L’Officiel magazine, 7x7 magazine, Lucire magazine and KDFC Classical radio station.
This was to be the city’s second large-scale fashion event in two months. In late August, San Francisco–based event organizer Mystery Girl Productions hosted San Francisco Fashion Week with a slate of 14 designers including Los Angeles–based Rock and Republic and Italian label Fornarina as well as San Francisco lines Hieros, Colleen Quen Couture, Besnik and others.
—Alison A. Nieder
