Out of focus
When MTV’s fashion director Susan Bauer and her team of eight stylists trekked from New York for the runway shows this week, they were on a mission. New York fashion week, they decided, had gone too mainstream for their “Osbournes” and “Jackass”-loving audience. Bauer was in search of the edge, hoping that L.A. could be the inspiration for the next big style show. “I was anticipating different venues, paparazzi, rock stars instead of DJs playing live music maybe....To me, that’s L.A.,” she said.
What she found instead, she said, was poor fashion-show etiquette. “There were no seating charts, proper lighting or sound systems, people walked all over the runways. They didn’t darken the house before they brought the lights and music up, so there wasn’t any sense of excitement. And people seemed more into making fun of the models than critiquing the clothes....I was disappointed.”
But, she added, perhaps echoing what many are feeling: “There’s a lot of good talent out here. There is potential.”
Indeed there is. And once the shows get more organized, as they are sure to next April when 7th on Sixth blows into town from New York to impose some order on the local fashion chaos, the focus can be where it properly belongs: on the clothes.
The far-flung shows of L.A. fashion week, which began last Friday and ended Tuesday night, didn’t produce much in the way of spring trends, but there were flurries of inspiration.
One of the best designers at work in the city is Eduardo Lucero, who incorporates themes from his Mexican heritage. Lucero, who has dressed red carpet regulars for more than five years (Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez), presented his collection at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. This season, he delved into casual looks -- with a sexy black-and-white hibiscus-print minidress, a tangerine twill fitted jacket paired with tapered silk trousers in a jungle floral print, and an ivory crocheted blazer that put one in mind of a delicate mantilla. He also offered a head-turning red slip of a dress with hot-pink lace flower insets, and a naughty-but-nice blush beaded bikini top worn under a crocheted tank with a taffeta skirt.
Alicia Lawhon, who has not quite hit on a signature look, revisited high school for her show, even rounding up Marshall High School’s cheerleading squad for a finale. Cardigan sweaters, Oxford shirts and camisoles in pastel pinks, blues and yellows were accented with dangling satin ribbons. Cotton poplin miniskirts were decorated with yarn or pom-poms, evoking, in one case, the iconic poodle skirt of yore. The theme was well conceived, but Lawhon’s idea of home economics chic was a little too literal; some clothes looked almost threadbare.
Meanwhile, Freddie Rojas, who designs for the label Private, seems caught in variations of the same varsity punk theme. He offered low-slung jeans and off-the-shoulder tops in sweatshirt fabric, “I love Jesus” tank tops and the now-ubiquitous cargo pants for men and women. Technically, Rojas is a more than capable designer, but the mystery is why this mass-market-minded collection needs to be on the runway at all?
Since Jared Gold already showed his main collection in New York, he hosted a party at the Palace Theater downtown for his lower-priced line, complete with cakes he baked himself. (The food-averse fashion crowd was surprisingly indulgent, scarfing up the homemade goodies.) Gold showed his secondary line, Black Chandelier, on mannequins, instead of models. The clothes -- a silver glitter shirt jacket, a collarless white blouse with a Victorian shoe painted on the chest, and a black pantsuit with a scalloped hem jacket -- seemed to lack the verve of past seasons. After all, he is one of the few local designers who has been able to create a consistent style with Edward Gorey-like sketches of hot-air balloons, retro robots, Victorian bicyclists and this season’s shoes as recurring motifs.
Newcomer Susana Mercedes, a former model who has done custom work for private clients for two years, couldn’t have picked a more stunning spot for her runway debut than the 1926 Lloyd Wright-designed Sowden House in Los Feliz. In the courtyard, with dramatic Mayan arches on either side, models circled the swimming pool. The collection was dominated by evening wear in shades of red, black and cream -- silk charmeuse halter tops with ruffles running horizontally across the chest; mid-calf-length skirts with flamenco-like flounces; high-neck chiffon blouses with full, bishop sleeves; and silk jersey dresses with bell sleeves. Mercedes exhibited fine dressmaking skills, but the collection didn’t do much to distinguish itself from the evening wear offerings of established lines such as BCBG and Nicole Miller.
Goretti, a year-old line, had a more auspicious runway debut at Les Deux Cafes. There were buttery leather bomber jackets cut close to the body, and short silk “calla lily shorts” with icy blue piping around the legs. A champagne-colored silk charmeuse evening gown had a V-shaped back woven with a luxurious net of silk cord. The label is designed by Monica Behan, Desiree Kohan and Rebecca Broussard, one of Jack Nicholson’s former flames. Nicholson skipped both this show and his daughter Jennifer’s. Guess the front row at an L.A. fashion show just can’t compare to the Lakers. At least not yet.
