Kingsley Manor senior community hosts show for LA Fashion Week

Hollywood community plans rooftop fashion show with participant models aged 68 to 98

LOS ANGELES, March 18, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Kingsley Manor, a Front Porch retirement community in Los Angeles, is hosting its first fashion show on Thursday, March 21 from 5:30 to 8:30 pm in partnership with LA Fashion Week. The show highlights 10 resident participants ranging in age from 68 to 98 years old, walking the runway on Kingsley Manor’s rooftop patio, with a view of the Hollywood sign in the background.

Members of the public are invited to “See what’s new from up-and-coming designers with a fashion forward senior twist! Enjoy live music from L.A.’s best jazz & blues band – plus delicious hors d’oeuvres.” Seating is limited. Tickets can be reserved on Eventbrite.

Michael Essex, Life Enrichment Director, was inspired to create the fashion show after realizing how little the fashion industry includes older people. “When I get older and become an elder, I still want to be fashionable. I wanted to bring awareness to that because I believe that the elderly still have a voice in fashion,” he says.

Essex recruited 10 residents to participate in the show. For this initial event, the community purchased items from local department stores for residents to wear and recruited stylists to prepare them for the runway. In addition, an up-and-coming designer will present and highlight his clothing, but the pieces will be worn by dancers as part of the show. “Next time, I want to bring in designers to actually design something for residents,” he says.

Essex shares how important fashion is for people of all ages – as well as for the fashion industry. “When you dress up, it’s another way of making your life enjoyable and long-lasting. I think it would be important for people in the industry to realize, hey, you’re going to get older. But people are still fashionable.”

Essex hopes this is the first of many fashion shows to come. “This first one is just to give an awareness and let people know that this is something that residents would love to do. Hopefully next year, we could get more people to be involved.”

Front Porch is a dynamic not-for-profit organization, dedicated to empowering individuals to live connected and fulfilled lives through community and innovation. In support of this vision, Front Porch provides high quality, accessible and affordable human services through senior living communities, affordable housing communities and other programs and services throughout the United States.

Media Contact: Laura Darling, VP of Communications
[email protected]
818-482-7597

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SOURCE Front Porch