Piccone, Anne Honored at Gala Ending of Mart Event
Robin Piccone, who turned swimwear around three years ago with sexy neoprene swimsuits for Body Glove, emerged Tuesday night as the California Designer of the Year.
Piccone, wearing a Piccone-designed black chiffon duster and spaghetti-strap evening dress, thanked the audience of about 600--gathered in Santa Monica’s Museum of Flying--for the honor, which some industry observers thought was long overdue.
In a light-handed reference to the fact she failed to win the honor last year, the internationally recognized queen of neoprene and head of a $10-million Los Angeles company said she had wondered if she might “always be a bridesmaid.”
There were no such fears expressed by Lisa Anne, winner of this year’s Rising Star award. Just one year after launching her first collection, she took honors for a spring line dominated by well-structured linen blazers worn with flowing chiffon pants, either printed or pleated.
The gala event marked the end of two days of nonstop fashion organized by the California Mart. Starting out at the Museum of Flying and then moving (via an endless flow of chartered buses) to a dramatic setting within the cavernous Gunnell Aviation hangar, the awards dinner was a $250-per-person affair to benefit the American Cancer Society.
Among the celebrities present were Shari Belafonte-Harper, almost unrecognizable in a curly, long blond wig, and Jodie Foster, both of whom took to the podium to help honor the honorees, who included fashion photographer Matthew Rolston. A Lifetime Achievement award went to Levi Strauss and Co. executives Peter and Walter Hass.
Earlier in the day, designers of surf- and swimwear had a chance to shine (even if the sun didn’t) poolside at the Sheraton Grande Hotel.
In a showing of predominantly junior-oriented beachwear, companies such as Catalina, Cole, Beach Front Property, Jimmy’Z, Raisins and Take Cover indicated the shoreline next summer will be dotted with creative twists, including desert- and ethnic-inspired prints mixed with neon lime and pink.
Among the more head-turning suits were Beten Gav’s leather and pony-skin bikinis. Brenda Welch used gold coins, a shiny gold fabric decorated with black fleur-de-lis and crystals as decoration for a collection of outstanding maillots and bikinis.
