For Immediate Release - June 17, 2025 - San Francisco, California
Written by Stylist & Fashion Blogger Jamie Lee Kendall
PR contact Jamie Lee Kendall 415-362-8300 or westcoastleathersf@gmail.com
West Coast Leather and designer Skip Pas will be producing a fashion show at Taormina Motorsports in Redwood City, California on July 12.
Address: 380 Convention Way, Redwood City, CA 94063
We will have approximately 20 models doing a fashion show wearing West Coast Leather's latest designs along with photographers and a videographer. We will also have model Jamie Lee Kendall doing interviews. In addition to the fashion show and interviews we will also have a photoshoot with the models.
Taormina Motorsports has inventory including Ferraris, Porsches, and vintage Corvettes.
Our photographers will be taking pictures of guests with models and cars and guests are encouraged to wear leather.
West Coast Leather will have the models displaying race-themed jackets and coats along with some of our hottest summer styles.
We did an interview with Taormina Motorsports owner Ted Taormina. In 2017, Ted broke the Cobra speed record with a speed of 201.1 mph. Because of his feat, it became the fastest Cobra ever. It took place at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California.
Q: How did you get involved with cars?
A: I started working on sports cars at an early age. All we did was Ferrari and Lamborghini since I was 18 so I became a V12 expert very early in life and the passion for racing started when we took one of the cars to Bonneville Salt Flats. My boss’s best friend was also a Bonneville racer so I was there with two different race teams going over 250 miles an hour. I got hooked on high speed driving. I was already in love with cars as a child. My dad wasn’t really into cars like that. Neither was my grandpa or my brothers. It was something I just did and wanted to do. I loved anything that had to do with driving.
Q: Tell us a little bit about your background.
A: My younger days of getting into this was importing Ferraris and Lamborghinis from Italy, modifying and selling them in the U.S. My background was Ferrari and Lamborghini sales, service, and restoration for 24 years. When my boss retired and we couldn’t come to terms on owning his 40 year old business that was in play, I started my own in 2010. I opened the business and started building Cobra replicas. A news station called me one day and asked me if I was the guy trying to break the world record in a Cobra. I said, “No, it’s not me,” but I said, “ I’m curious. What is the world record?” They said it was 198 miles an hour. I thought to myself, “Well, I think I have done that on the San Mateo Bridge myself.” I decided the Italian car I built wasn’t going to have a Ferrari engine in it and was going to have a Cobra engine in it. I was going to go after the world record myself in 2017.
Q: What has your experience been combining cars and fashion?
A: I think everybody that has something that’s fashionable like watches, wine, clothing or shoes – I think they all play a very common denominator in style. There are many, many cars that have beautiful style to them. Anytime someone is trying to market that product, they put fashion in with it – shoes, dresses, outfits, watches, hairstyles, or leather jackets in this case. Motorcycle fashion has their own type of fashion. There is motorsport fashion and I think they have been hand in hand for years. Similar to music. It tells a story. Cars tell a story and so does fashion. Cars and couture reflect a lot. Looking at some of the fashion shows, somehow there is a car in there. Somehow there is a watch. Somehow there is something in there besides just a piece of clothing, Something mechanical, that has eye appeal, something that attracts people. Car has an amazing thing. They are shiny, they look good, they feel good or both. Clothing too --the way it’s cut, the way it is shaped. Sometimes they use suede, sometimes leather. They tell a story.
If you are going out for the evening, the afternoon, or you are going out to a gala, the outfit tells a story about what you are all about. Especially when you personalize fashion and especially when you are going out. My mom always told me when you look at someone you look at their shoes and their watch. I’ve tested that theory many, many times on women and looking at their shoes. It goes right with their personality. Same with men. You’ve got your average guy always wearing an average all black shoe. Nothing stylish about it or whatever. And then you’ve got guys with camel-colored shoes or red shoes or yellow shoes that actually make a statement and it goes with their personality.
Q: What got you interested in doing a fashion show with West Coast Leather?
A: That’s an easy one. I was talking to somebody, being that I’m a car lover. We got on the subject of Ralph Lauren. This person has an absolutely amazing car collection – not all Ferraris or all Porsches. It’s very unique. He has a little bit of everything, limited edition cars. When we were looking at some of his collection I came across a Ralph Collection 2017 fashion show in his warehouse. It was probably a 75 foot long dinner table. Everybody in fashion – women, men, celebrities -- they all joined -- and it took place in New York. The models came out and walked down the runway. They were walking in between the cars. There were red Ferraris and models wearing red patent leather outfits to match the cars, then yellow patent leather to match Lamborghinis. The clothes represented the cars. He did a sit down dinner. This is where I got the idea. Car people are always looking for something cool to do. No one has done this and I thought Skip was the guy to do it with.
Q: What is your favorite kind of car?
A: My next car. Sometimes it’s a Ferrari, Lamborghini, Cobra, or a custom built car. I already designed and built my own car.
Q: What are some big things that you have planned for 2025 and 2026?
A: Finish building the super Cobra that I have and breaking another world record.
Q: What is something that car enthusiasts can look forward to in the future? What do you think is the coolest thing in cars that we will see someday in our lifetimes?
A: Probably we will see gas powered stick shift cars coming back. People are going to drive electric cars and they are going to be bored and then get back into an old stick shift car and remember why they liked cars in the first place and get crazy passionate about that. Because every time I get a customer with a car that is like a paddle shift car -- some of the newer technology that we have today -- and then get them back into an earlier sports car and I get them driving and shifting and clutching, they get a huge smile on their face. They come back because they are so excited. They like that they controlled the car. I can see it in their body language like they connected with the car and what a great experience they just had. I think the public is going to go back to that.
Taormina Motorsports owner Ted Taormina with some of his cars.
