You might think the words “Los Angeles” and “Fashion Week” don’t go together, and you might even be right. You might also think that “Los Angeles Fashion Week” is really code for “Ed Hardy.” But apparently Los Angeles is angling so hard for a part in the fashion world that the city is essentially opening up its showrooms and runways for the whole month of October. This week it really started in earnest, with Downtown LA Fashion Week on Tuesday, featuring emerging designers and others such as Julia Y Renata and Michel Berandi.

The madness continues over the weekend through next week, notably with Downtown still in the game for “Market Week,” which is a trade show held at various locations downtown.

Cerre, Seth Wellington, and tabloid fave and handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff are among the designers showing today; Morgan LeFay and TenOverSix are both having in-stores tomorrow. Note to Elmer Ave: you can’t have “a secret show” and then announce it. On Monday, there’s a brainy-for-fashion week chat, hosted by Otis College of Art and Design and Teen Vogue EIC Amy Astley, dubbed “The Teen Vogue Handbook: An Insider’s Guide to Careers in Fashion.” To get a full list of events, go here.

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