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Fashion Diary: Destination Los Angeles

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Los Angeles may be far away from European fashion capitals, but for designers, it’s always near -- whether they be inspired by Hollywood or the open road.

This week, I write about 12 of London’s top designers who plan to hit the road next month, bringing their clothes to Los Angeles in a bid for red carpet stardom. Speaking of hitting the road, Miuccia Prada seemed to have Ed “Big Daddy” Roth, Kustom Kulture and Hollywood hot rods in mind when she designed her spring 2012 collection shown in Milan last week.

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Many years ago, Coco Chanel was also lured to Los Angeles, not by its street culture or red carpet, but by studio head Samuel Goldwyn, who orchestrated the ultimate publicity coup in 1931 by paying Chanel $1 million to design film costumes during the depths of the Depression.

I chatted with Justine Picardie about Chanel’s time here, and other things. Picardie wrote “Coco Chanel: The Legend and the Life,” originally published in 2010, with a new edition out now with drawings by Chanel creative director Karl Lagerfeld.

The book was feted Thursday night in Los Angeles at a dinner hosted by the French fashion house and Liz Goldwyn, who said the last memory her grandfather had of Chanel’s fabulous film costumes for Gloria Swanson, Ina Claire and others was seeing them in garbage bags on the loading dock at the studio. What a pity.

-- Booth Moore

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Photos, from top: The iconic Hollywood sign. Credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images.

Justine Picardie, left, and Liz Goldwyn at the Chanel dinner Thursday at West Hollywood’s Soho House. Charley Gallay/Getty Images for Chanel.

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