Preparations underway for Fashion Week El Paseo

The tents are up on El Paseo, and that can only mean one thing: Fashion Week El Paseo is here. The 12th annual event shines a spotlight on the shopping center and brings visitors from around the world here to the valley.

We’re giving you a behind-the-scenes-look at the setup process with Creative Producer and Director Susan Stein.

“What looks like five little tents and all the technical parts of the sound, the lighting, the visuals, the signs, the 150 to 200 models,” Stein said.

By Saturday this entire place will be transformed for opening night. The event has grown significantly since its inception, starting with three shows and a couple hundred people, now eight shows bringing in 13,000 people. The show’s worldwide attention is great for the entire valley.

“Whether it’s customer spending across the street for shopping and dining and even the PR that comes along with having an event like Fashion Week and Palm Desert Food and Wine Festival taking place is huge for the Coachella Valley as a whole,” said Mahasti Islami, the marketing sponsorship director for The Gardens on El Paseo.

Fashion Week officials said the economic impact to the greater Palm Springs area for last year’s event was nearly $3 million. Many of the shows benefit local charities like the Girlfriend Factor and the Humane Society.

And if you think Stein gets to rest once all this is over, think again.

“We start immediately after. I’m already booking talent for next year,” Stein said.

Fashion Week kicks off this Saturday featuring designers from all over the world. It continues all next week and wraps up next Saturday.