Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was in his favorite milieu today, among flashbulbs and models. At a Beverly Center event, he announced two new programs, “Fashion's Night Out” and “Shop LA,” initiatives intended to spur L.A.'s economy and thus generate revenue for the city.

At the press conference, the mayor was flanked by Lisa Love, senior west coast editor for Vogue; renowned designer Randolph Duke; Al Abrams, who is the president of L.A City Board of Neighborhood Commissioners; as well as local L.A. designers and models.

“Jobs creation has to be the crux of everything we do,” Mayor Villaraigosa said, as the cameras flashed. “The event will be a platform to increase revenue for our city.”

As the mayor was talking, attractive young model types, clutching their designer purses and iPhones, looked as if they were concentrating hard as Villaraigosa used a few multi-syllabic words.

Fashion Night Out is a 2009 Vogue initiative intended to boost the economy — but most of all, let's face it, Vogue — through fashion. The event will be held September 10, with more than 300 participating L.A. retail stores. Activities will include in-house fashion shows intended to entice shoppers to spend.

The mayor also touted “Shop LA,” a program designed to encourage Angelenos to spend more money in the city. The mayor said that sales tax makes up a huge portion of the city's revenue. For every $10 generated from the sales tax, one dollar goes to fund services such as public safety, animal shelters and public libraries. (Speaking of libraries, maybe the city can use some of that revenue to reopen the city libraries closed on Sundays and Mondays.)

“The concept of Shop LA is brilliantly simple: It's really about slightly changing your habits,” Villaraigosa said in statement. “This small change will have large implications for our city's revenue.”

Uh, not really, but no doubt the mayor enjoyed himself today, so that's good.

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