**This post contains both the Vlog and photos from the Autofashion VIP Festival**

I’ve been a long-time supporter of Autofashion USA. Freddie, Elroy, and I all grew-up in San Diego, California. I’ve since moved to Los Angeles but I am still very much rooted in San Diego. It’s a place that I thoroughly enjoyed growing up in and when I first started getting into cars, Freddie was already building Hondas of his own. He and his crew have remained in San Diego over the years and the Autofashion USA name has grown into a household presence in the import automotive community. Freddie eventually moved on to building Japanese VIP cars but his love for Hondas has never changed. The Autofashion crew has built multiple SEMA show cars, built many cars that have been in a plethora of magazines, but everyone still seems very grounded and humble. I started hanging out with Freddie around 2005ish when I had my Honda Accord. They were already deep into building crazy VIP-style vehicles but had always welcomed me with open arms. I would show my Honda with their group of luxury cars and though I didn’t necessarily fit in, everyone was always very welcoming. As time went on, we’ve always been loyal supporters of one another and every year around this time, no matter how busy they are, the Autofashion crew comes out to my anniversary event to show their support by providing the entertainment…

Every year after the SEMA Show, the Autofashion VIP Festival takes place in the city where they started. It is mainly an event dedicated to Japanese VIP-styled cars, but Autofashion has such a strong name in our industry that cars and people from all over come to show respect to them. People from Japan fly overseas to check it out, cars of all makes, models, and styles, come out to show off their builds, and it becomes a massive car gathering. This event always has a very unique feel to it because everyone is generally so tired from the SEMA event that everyone just goes to the VIP Festival to relax. The environment is very chill and no one takes themselves too seriously. People just have a good time and enjoy one another’s company. They decided to change venues this year and held their event at a huge brewery in San Diego. Beautiful cars were parked in the lot of Green Flash Brewery, and also in the adajacent lot. Those who chose to have some drinks were welcomed inside and everyone else was welcome to check out all the great cars that fit within the venue. In this short Vlog, we give you a glimpse of our afternoon of shenanigans along with a look at some of the cars…

I am actually super stoked about how the photos came out. These might actually be one of my favorite photo sets of the year. Something about how the day looked as a whole and shooting just at the right time with a relaxed environment just made for great shots…

Thanks to Freddie Fernandez and everyone from the Autofashion USA crew for having us and congrats on another successful year…

After you watch the Vlog, make sure to check out the photos below!…

My boy David has been trying to work on his LS430 for the longest time now but was always on the fence about getting a kit for his car. The body was in great shape, he was using the car as a daily, and it looked great on just the wheels and air suspension. A golden opportunity came up for him to acquire a Mode Parfume kit and it was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. The kit came in from Japan and David sent his car off to Premier Autobody to get installed. Edson from Premier did a fantastic job of respraying the entire car and we picked David’s LS up just a day before the Autofashion VIP Festival. He brought the car over to our new HQ straight from the body shop and re-installed his wheels and did some light clean-up. The result was way better than we expected and David couldn’t be happier…

David went from being on the fence about doing anything to this car to having a complete Mode Parfume Phantom Gamu Regala kit. Crazy how things work out sometimes, haha…

Autofashion did a great job this year of selecting Green Flash Brewery as the venue. It provided a great backdrop for the cars and the lighting was just on point that afternoon. I spent most of the day hanging out and chatting with people, waiting for the sun to set before I started shooting. Above is the RHD EF Civic from Southside Auto Customs Japan and the Mode Parfume widebody Prius owned by Marshall from Airrex USA. One came by air, the other came by boat, both were on display right up front at the Autofashion VIP Festival…

My Raw Heart brethren, Yogi Kruthanooch and David Andrade…

Not a whole lot of changes for Yogi’s 3GS…not quite yet anyway… I don’t know if its a well-kept secret or not but some major changes are coming for this car in the near future….

A better look at David’s new Phantom Gamu-kitted LS430 on Superstart Leon Hardiritt Ordens…

Another car that recently went through a slight overhaul was Steve Wong’s LS400. He also recently acquired a Mode Parfume aero kit and a new set of SSR Professoer TF1 wheels. Steve’s LS is one of my all-time favorites and I’m really digging how it looks now with the new set-up…

Steve’s SSR Professor TF1 wrapped in Falken rubber…

Next on the list of Mode Parfume overhauls was JC’s 2GS. He’s had his GS for what seems like forever now and decided it was time for a big change. He had a Mode Parfume Phantom Gamu kit installed and then the guys from Buddha Concept Designs re-sprayed the entire car in this new gray tone…

Contrasting the gray paint are signature teal Project Mu big brakes (front and back), along with SSR Professor SP3 wheels with black faces…

Lexus 3GS featuring an Aimgain aero kit, Lexon Japan over fenders, Mode Parfume rear spoiler, and WEDS Kranze LXZs…

Junction Produce-equipped LS430 on WEDS Kranze Bazreia…

Old&New Japan slant-nose Porsche 997 built by IDL Design USA and owned by Phaze2 HeyMikeyyyy…

Since there were so many guests in town from Japan, Freddie had all of them help out with the judging of the event since Autofashion had a variety of awards for everyone to compete for. Hiro as always, was all smiles and more than willing to lend a helping hand…

Tiffanie Marie helping me out with some photos and looking fantastic as usual…

Yasu from Exceed Japan hanging out with his favorite drink and some leftover Mexican food…

James Oliver Taroc’s custom Mode Parfume Lexus SC430 on WEDS Kranze wheels…

Paint and custom bodywork all performed by Buddha Concept Designs…

Widened K-Break-equipped Lexus LS460 on massive Infinitewerks wheels…

Yogi doing things…

2GS with some retrofitted over fenders and custom hood vents with spiked hardware…

Endless Projects member Nat’s HKS-supercharged Black Pearl Complete Lexus LS460L redressed in Candy Brandywine paint and VIP Modular wheels…

A front view of the LS460L where you can see the front-mounted intercooler along with the custom dimple-die metal engine covers…

Candy red Lexus GS wearing K-Break aero and aggressive Work Emitz wheels…

Jason from Endless Projects’ Job Design Lexus LS430 on Work Zistance wheels…

Wald Black Bison Mercedes Benz W204 also on Work Wheels owned by Joe of Endless Projects…

At the front of the Endless Projects line-up at VIP Festival was this Junction Produce Lexus GS300…

Mickey Andrade’s custom Liberty Walk-fitted BMW 3-series wagon on HRE wheels…

Mode Parfume Regalia Infiniti Y51 M on Leon Hardiritt Ordens…

Central Pine brought out a pretty solid line-up of VIP builds including this UCF30 wearing K-Break aero and SSR Professor SP4 wheels…

Central Pine’s T-Demand USA demo GS…

Y33 from Central Pine with custom retrofitted L.E.D. headlights and JDM GT front bumper…

This LS400 has seen a significant amount of bodywork with the entire doors and handles shaved smooth along with custom rear wheel arches and front fenders…

Ojay Bayang’s K-Break LS430 complete with K-Break brakes and Hybreed Fivesta wheels…

Chrispy’s Mode Parfume Phantom Gamu LS430 looking fantastic in white…

Stuffed under the fenders are SSR Professor SP1 wheels with custom brushed silver faces…

Aimgain Jun SC430 on VIP Modular wheels from the Lowballers crew…

Aimgain Smartline LS430 on Superstar wheels…

Candy Brandywine Lexus 3GS running Aimgain Jun VIP GT aero paired with Aimgain G2M wheels…

Aimgain Cygnus Infiniti F50 hoodless displaying custom painted engine covers…

Andrew from Lowballers’ UCF20 LS…

Lexus IS350 F-Sport wearing Aimgain Jun VIP EXE aero…

Drew Meyer’s 3IS, also wearing Aimgain Jun VIP EXE aero but with over-fenders to fit SSR Executor CV01 wheels…

Raymond from Royal Flush’s Aimgain Euro Lexus GS400 always looking good…

Squad One always brings out some of the best VIP builds in the country, including this bright red 2GS on Leon Hardiritt Beils with a rare L-Sportline kit…

Sometimes the guys from Squad One work on other cars for fun as well. This old Chevy van looked like it came straight out of “Who’s the Boss?” (Old person reference) but in a much cleaner state. If you have kids who accept candy from strangers, at least you’ll know that they’ll be eating super clean candy when they step into this van…

Absolutely love the stock body lines of the Y51 Ms….

Lexus GS looking like it came straight out of a T-Demand Japan catalog, complete with SSR Executor wheels…

Chuck the deuce…

Yogi undressing you with his eyes…

The forever classic SSR MKII wheel complete with original caps on the Southside Auto Custom RHD EF…

Closing out the 2016 VIP Festival with some late night shots of Mikey’s Porsche 997 as we waited for all the cars to leave the venue…

Thanks for looking and congrats to Autofashion USA on another spectacular event. Cheers and here is to many, many, more…