CONCEPT Makes New York Fashion Week Debut at the Audi Forum Presented by TONI&GUY and Announces Third Season of Los Angeles Fashion Week to be Hosted with ACE Gallery

Los Angeles, CA, February 05, 2011 --(PR.com)-- CONCEPT makes New York Fashion Week debut February 14th, 2011 at the Audi Forum presented by TONI&GUY and announces third season of Los Angeles Fashion Week to be hosted with ACE Gallery Los Angeles, March 11th-13th, 2011.

For its third season, CONCEPT Fashion Week will showcase more than 30 designers over five days at two new venues provided by two new sponsors. The Fall/Winter 2011 - 2012 runway shows and designer installations will be hosted firstly at the prestigious Audi Forum on Park Avenue in Manhattan, followed by the Los Angeles presentation at the internationally renowned ACE Gallery.

"Our decision to expand to New York comes at a time when Los Angeles designers are looking to reach new markets and want to showcase their collections to larger audiences. With the generous support of Audi and TONI&GUY we have taken a formula that we have developed here in Los Angeles and can now apply it in New York for the world to see." -Mike Vensel (CONCEPT founder)

CONCEPT Los Angeles also continues its Los Angeles expansion and proudly announces its new sponsor - ACE Gallery - an institution in the contemporary art world for 50 years that has shown legendary artists from Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg to emerging contemporary artists, as well as exhibitions by fashion icons Comme des Garçons and Issey Miyake, and has also hosted major couture fashion shows at Ace Gallery New York during New York fashion week. Ace Gallery’s mid-Wilshire location will host international designers alongside local southern California innovators converting the galleries into fashion runways day into evening.

“Having access to 15,000 square feet space at the ACE Gallery will give designers the opportunity to create custom runway shows in pristine museum-sized galleries, develop collaborations with major contemporary visual, video or musical artists or design a strikingly simple elegant installation - all at affordable fees due to ACE’s generosity.”-Brady Westwater (CONCEPT founder)

This comes at a time when Los Angeles is going through a revolution in the art world with artists designing clothes and designers making art and Museum of Contemporary Art director Jeffrey Deitch announcing an exhibition of Rodarte's "State of Matter” at MOCA’s Pacific Design Center while the Los Angeles County Museum of Art’s Michael Govan and Costume Council are dramatically expanding LACMA’s fashion collection.

In addition to hosting CONCEPT LA Fashion Week, Ace Gallery will open a permanent project space dedicated to innovations in contemporary fashion design with a Wilshire Boulevard storefront space dedicated to showcasing emerging and established local and international designers. The storefront will also host ongoing exhibitions and collaborations between contemporary artists and fashion designers in its attached gallery space creating a unique fusion of art and design.

TONI&GUY Presents CONCEPT New York Fashion Week at the Audi Forum
February 14th
Audi Forum New York City
250 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

CONCEPT Los Angeles Fashion Week at ACE Gallery
March 11th - 13th
Ace Gallery Los Angeles
5514 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

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