Los Angeles has slowly and steadfastly been nurturing talent of its own

When we think of Fashion Week, other major metropolitan cities like Milan, Paris, London, and NYC immediately come to mind. It's because those cities feature the biggest names in fashion; the moneymakers, the labels that everyone knows. Think Chanel, Versace, Marc Jacobs, Stella McCartney.

Over the years, Los Angeles has slowly and steadfastly been nurturing talent of its own. LA has served as a launching pad for the careers of many designers and while it may not feature the heavy hitters, it does boast talent like Rodarte, Trina Turk, C&C, and serves as home to uber-hipster retailer American Apparel.

And as any underdog does, the city fights on to gain national and worldwide respect in its industry. Each year has seen gains and losses, fueled by a partnership from IMG and Smashbox that ended in October of 2008. With another momentary set-back after major supporter GenArt officially closed shop, LAFW has faced obstacles in securing sponsors to run a well-produced, highly-anticipated week-long run of fashion.