A Model of Style and Substance : Designer: Miriam Parkes uses only dynamic, luxurious fabrics in body-conscious collection.
Miriam Parkes, the Beverly Hills socialite-turned-designer, prefers slow recognition to instant impact. “It’s not necessary to walk into a room and immediately shock everyone. I’d rather be discovered,” says the glamorous grandmother, who aims for “understated elegance” in her designs.
Parkes, who readily admits to using the services of her plastic surgeon husband, Morey, says the age range of her customers is hard to pinpoint. “It’s very difficult these days to say who is what, unless I see their birth certificates.” She guesstimates she now has “younger customers who are around 30. My original age group was 40 and up.”
The original set started buying her Maruscha label six years ago after it was introduced in stores such as Lina Lee on Rodeo Drive and Neiman Marcus. Her switch from “housewife,” as she calls her former self, to couture-level designer seems charmed. Lee not only encouraged Parkes but also spread the word about her “restaurant suits” and other special-occasion garments--all made from luxurious European fabrics and finished by hand. Not long after, a Neiman Marcus executive approached Parkes at a party and invited her to bring in samples. Since then I. Magnin has added her line.
Her latest collection, priced from $1,100 to $4,000 at Neiman’s, reflects her shift toward body-conscious clothing. Skirts, jackets, pants, blouses and dresses are shapely but still have an easy swing.
Among the outstanding pieces are a gold-brocade cape and matching chemise with black lace sleeves that tie at the wrist with gold-brocade ribbons.
Because her fabrics are so dynamic, Parkes says, there is “no need for any kind of gimmicks.”
And as a former model, she has the inside track on details that can make women, especially older women, appear taller and leaner. These include hemlines that dip in back, contoured waistlines, set-in sleeves (rather than dolman or raglan), long jackets, no silhouette that is too snug and no skirt shorter than mid-knee.
