Doing What Comes Naturally

Budding designer Gelila Assefa, or simply Gelila, as she likes to be called, has yet to march to the conformity drum. Maybe it was those Catholic school reprimands for embroidering her grade school uniform back in her hometown of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that indicated early signs of career epiphany. But Gelila’s mission has always been clear: “to focus on detail and artful mixes of fabric.”

“This has not been an overnight success. I still have a long, long way to go,” she shyly admits. “But I’ve never been afraid of hard work.” One of the first in L.A. to work with pashmina in early 1996, Gelila gradually cultivated a loyal word-of-mouth clientele that flocks to her tiny West Hollywood boutique to sift through racks of exquisitely beaded and embroidered pashmina pieces, ranging from shawls to pajamas. In addition to her signature pashmina line, Gelila has a couture collection of hand-sewn skirts and bustiers that are at once edgy and sophisticated, reflecting distinctively African influences played out in geometric patterns on hand-woven silks. The bold color schemes are her picks, and she oversees the weaving in Ethiopia. “The entire process is like conceiving a child and giving birth to it.”

While Gelila’s style is uniquely her own, she readily concedes that mentor and friend James Galanos influenced her in her passionate attention to detail and nuance in cut. “He inspires me to the point where I can’t verbally express it. The quality of his work, the detailing, is so amazing that you could wear any of his garments inside-out and you wouldn’t know the difference. Personally and professionally, he’s my idol.”

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Hair and makeup: Debra Ferullo/Artists; model: Jessica Hopper/Elite, L.A.