Golden State Today

Governor Gavin Newsom has announced the hosting of this year's Vogue World event in Hollywood, alongside Anna Wintour, Vogue's Editor-in-Chief and Global Chief Content Editor of Conde Nast. The event, scheduled for October, will highlight California's creative economy and promote a proposal to expand the state's Film and Television Tax Credit Program.

Governor Newsom emphasized California's leading role in entertainment: “California is the entertainment capital of the world – and we’re committed to ensuring we stay that way. Fashion and film go hand in hand, helping to express characters, capture eras in time, and reflect cultural movements. We’re honored to welcome Vogue World Hollywood to the Golden State to help us spotlight California’s creative economy and the thousands of talented workers and businesses who support it.”

Anna Wintour described the upcoming event as a unique showcase: “Vogue World: Hollywood will be a one-night-only show with a huge cast of models and actors, dancers, musicians and surprises, and it will set great film costumes next to brilliant fashion collections… By mixing fashion with the arts and culture in the center of a city, and by raising funds for a cause, Vogue World has become a runway show-as-rallying cry, a way to fix the attention of a huge global audience, to bring awareness, and sound an unmistakable note of positivity, creativity, and hope.”

The Film & Television Tax Credit Program has significantly contributed to California's economy since 2009. It has generated over $26 billion in economic activity while supporting more than 197,000 jobs across the state. However, due to high demand exceeding current funding limits, many productions have been unable to secure tax credits. Between 2020-2024 alone, California lost substantial production spending as projects moved out-of-state due to limited funding.

To address these challenges and enhance competitiveness against other states offering incentives for production companies, Governor Newsom proposes increasing annual allocations from $330 million to $750 million under this program.

In addition to being home base for 220 thousand creative economy positions—representing one-quarter nationwide—the average salary paid within this sector reached $160k during last year; significantly higher than statewide averages overall ($160K vs ~50%).

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