Paris, Milan, Cannes — and La Jolla. As the first American fashion film festival, following in the footsteps of Paris and Milan, La Jolla Cove will be transformed this April into a haven for designers and fashion elites. The La Jolla Fashion Film Festival is the latest fashion-film union, set to emerge in San Diego’s own affluent harbors with top industry professionals and local designers gallivanting among informal runway shows, parties, informational seminars and cinema. The stage is set for April 23-24, formerly introducing La Jolla as a powerhouse in the world of fashion and film. Scheduled to be hosted at the Contemporary Fine Arts Gallery and La Jolla Bridge Club, this fashion for- ward extravaganza will open up to a series of activities that fuse a new design regime. For La Jolla Fashion Film Festival producer and CEO of San Diego Model Management Fred Sweet, this is a long-awaited opportunity to showcase the intermingling worlds of the Internet, fashion and film. Inspired by Paris’ own traveling version of fashion houses’ annual short films, Sweet took the inspiration of the art form and turned it American. After more than a year of planning, this multi-media engagement will arrive — marrying the brand so many fashion aficionados are familiar with: freelance directors, branders and the elite. The result will promote culture and knowledge — with fashion film shorts, educational blogging seminars and informal modeling, Sweet said. Internationally-recognized fashion powerhouses, directors and professionals are already confirmed for the event, both to attend and to contribute — from Karl Lagerfeld (Fendi, Chanel) to Michael Haussman (Levis, Yves Saint Laurent), Marisa Crawford (Italian Vogue, Vanity Fair) and others. As Sweet explained, branding has changed drastically since couture houses first streamlined their fashion shows online. Today, consumers purchase differently, designers develop with a collective aesthetic and brands are created to please by way of a direct path. “It’s human nature to be more engaged with something that has more linear logic to it,” Sweet said. “Today, companies don’t just sell the products, but must draw people into their brand “with more of an emotional appeal,” he said. “The moving image is starting to take over the still image … it’s changing so many industries and it’s also changing the way fashion is distributed.” Binding the community with this event’s design, the atmosphere is positioned to be spontaneously friendly and open, Sweet said. “We want to make it fresh, new and exciting … and a community event,” he said.