Fashion: FALL ISSUE : RUNWAY TO RETAIL : Customer-izing the New Looks

What top designers show on the runway is not always what Los Angeles buyers order from them. Buyers select only what suits their store’s image and the tastes of their customers.

For Maxfield in West Hollywood, buyer Mindy Laudahn chose items from the Dolce & Gabbana fall line, but not as the designers showed them. For runway drama they had strapped a black leather bra over a body-gripping black jumpsuit and added a poufy taffeta coat worn like a dress. Laudahn didn’t order the bra. “Our customers are so body conscious. They don’t want any extra clothing on top of something that will show it off,” she explains. Although Maxfield carries the silk cocoon coat in various colors, it is suggested as a wrap. The jumpsuit is $560. The coat is $830.

At London designer Vivienne Westwood’s cheeky show, one model wore a painted leather corset with matching bikini bottom. Her faux leopard Davy Crockett cap had an 8-foot tail. The outfit created quite a sensation, but for the Comme des Fous boutique on Melrose Avenue, store owner Darleen Whaley put together a tamer version. She ordered the corset in a rose-print cotton, priced at $525. Instead of the leather bikini, she selected Westwood’s black velveteen hot pants with faux fur trim for $195.