San Francisco is about to get just a little bit more fashionable, or at least, a lot more attention from the fashion world for a day.
Vogue announced on Aug. 6 that Vogue World, its traveling celebration of fashion, music and culture, will come to San Francisco in 2027. The event is expected to take place in early fall, though a venue, theme and lineup are yet to be announced.
Vogue World began in 2022 as a live fashion and cultural event celebrating the magazine’s 130th anniversary. The first edition took over New York City’s Meatpacking District, bringing together designers, models, athletes and performers for a runway show that incorporated elements from the city. There were collaborations between brands like Michael Kors with Katz’s Delicatessen and Banana Republic with Magnolia Bakery, all while Fendi handed out fresh baguettes.
In following years, Vogue World similarly referenced connections to their host cities; Vogue World moved to London in 2023, Paris in 2024 and Los Angeles in 2025, with each event incorporating local designers, performers and cultural references into the spectacle. San Francisco’s appeal as a host city, therefore, lies in its creative identity.
“Vogue believes in celebrating cities, and San Francisco is a city like none other,” Anna Wintour, Vogue’s global editorial director, told Vogue.
Wintour cited the city’s diverse communities, arts scene, rebellious history and culture of innovation.
Mayor Daniel Lurie told Vogue that “creativity and free expression have been the engine of San Francisco for generations.” He believes the event will highlight the city’s artists, designers and small businesses.
The choice of San Francisco, following the event’s previous stop in Los Angeles, surprised some fashion observers. The city has a reputation for black puffers and practical shoes, a wardrobe shaped in part by its large tech industry and famously unpredictable weather. A 2024 article from Bay Area fashion publication Byline described the city as caught between a “tech-induced economic surge and a creative crisis,” pointing to the influence of Silicon Valley on both the city’s economy and fashion aesthetic.
Yet reducing San Francisco fashion to tech-bro uniforms misses what is happening beyond the city’s startup culture. Byline’s further exploration of San Francisco fashion found a city whose style cannot just be defined by its stereotypes because it is so fragmented by different subcultures. Vintage stores, punk influences, streetwear and workwear are just some of the many different styles that contribute to the city’s fashion identity.
One San Francisco Reddit user admitted they had “no idea what Vogue World is,” but said “anything that gets people’s brains out of tech monoculture” would be a positive.
The San Francisco Chronicle traced the city’s fashion identity beyond its modern tech reputation, pointing to a history shaped by counterculture, independent designers and changing ideas of what San Francisco style can look like. Together, those influences have created what the newspaper calls a “diverse fashion history and present.”
Unlike Los Angeles or Paris, where fashion is closely tied to established luxury houses and major fashion weeks, San Francisco’s style developed more organically through individual expression. The city’s fashion history stretches back decades, from the bohemian styles of North Beach and the counterculture of the 1960s, to the punk, streetwear and vintage communities that followed.
There is a long existing history of fashion innovation in San Francisco, with brands such as Levi Strauss & Co. and Gap originating in the Bay Area.
With all of this in mind, it will be exciting to see how Vogue incorporates San Francisco’s distinct culture, history and style into the show. Vogue World 2027 could give the city a chance to show the fashion world what makes its style uniquely San Franciscan.
Kayla Luke Colon is an Arts & Entertainment Staff Writer. She can be reached at klukecol@uci.edu.
Edited by Corinna Chin and Elizabeth Gregg.
Kayla Luke Colon is a student at the University of California, Irvine, double majoring in Literary Journalism and Criminology, Law and Society. Originally from O’ahu, Hawai’i, she is interested in storytelling, media, and law. Outside of school, she runs a vintage thrift business, Trashy Fashion, and enjoys hot yoga and listening to The Beatles, Lana Del Rey, and Radiohead.