Whitley Kros Fall 2009 presentation

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Marissa Ribisi and Sophia Coloma presented their Fall ’09 collection in the form of a giant inspiration board. A photo studio psych covered with a winding collage made up of pieces from their collection, a video projection, look book photos, scribbled on Post-It notes, French business cards and candid Polaroids illustrated the mood and mind of their muse, the fictitious wandering gypsy, Whitley Kros.

“It’s like you’re walking into her wardrobe,” said Ribisi of the installation style setting. “We wanted people to understand the brand better by getting the feeling and essence of who Whitley Kros is, so we decided to create her environment. She’s the kind of girl who takes Polaroids and is always sticking things in notebooks.” She is also the kind of girl who travels -- a lot. Each season, the designers dream up their muse’s destinations and create the collection based on what she would carry in her suitcase. For fall she’s gone to Eastern Europe, then on to meet friends in the English countryside with a slight detour to London to shop-natch.

This meant a lot of eclectic pieces ranging from gray, turquoise and red harlequin print short dresses to red-and-black plaid biker jackets and shorts that looked like they came straight out of the early ‘90s grunge days. This collection also had more ethnic touches than seasons past. A red, orange and yellow squiggly horizontal stripe top was African influenced and a pair of black leggings with gold swirly embroidery down the leg looked like skinny matador pants.

The poster boy for skinny pants, Devendra Banhart was perusing the collection in stovepipe jeans and light pink Keds. Erika Christensen and Ribisi’s twin brother, Giovanni, also stopped by to check out the installation. The space and presentation allowed everyone to browse the line and details hanging on the wall all while mixing, mingling and drinking, proving that there may not be an official L.A. runway this season, but the show does go on.

-- Melissa Magsaysay

Photos of Whitley Kros Fall 2009 collection and installation. Credit: Melissa Magsaysay / Los Angeles Times