Cate Blanchett lovely in lace by L.A. designer Raquel Allegra
Now that Paris Fashion Week is over, it’s time for Los Angeles Fashion Market. Showrooms in downtown L.A. open for business Oct. 13, with buyers from around the globe coming to place orders.
One of my stops will be to see Los Angeles designer Raquel Allegra, who got a major boost this week when Cate Blanchett wore one of her dresses to a “Blue Jasmine” event in New York.
The lace dress is part of Allegra’s pre-spring 2014 collection. Allegra has been a fan of Blanchett, one of the great style icons of our day, for some time. Apparently, she sent a box of clothes to the actress last week through a friend of a friend. Low and behold, Blanchett chose to wear one of the pieces, which goes to show you should never say never. Kate Moss was also recently photographed in Ibiza wearing one of the designer’s tie-dye pieces.
Allegra made a name for herself back in 2006, turning reclaimed L.A. County Jail tees into one-of-a-kind shirts with her signature shredding and tie-dye technique. Those edgy, cocoon-shaped tees found a following with the skinny-jeans-wearing, young Hollywood set (Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Richie, Penélope Cruz) and sold to stores worldwide, including Netaporter.com and Barneys New York.
Since then, Allegra’s look has evolved somewhat, and she’s had a lot of success working in lace, to which she lends a light, almost sportswear-like touch. (I recently bought one of her lace sweat shirts.)
More good news for fans of Allegra? The designer now has her own e-commerce at RaquelAllegra.com.
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