That’s a wrap
It started with a couple of guys looking for action. With slick hair, black pants and tank tops that had pinstriped corsets buttoned over them, they took their places at a cafe table to ogle, flirt and chase models around the runway as accordion-tinged tango music played.
It was all a set piece for Louis Verdad’s show, the grand finale of L.A. Fashion Week. “I was thinking about the corners of the world where people sit and drink and look at women, especially in the 1940s,” L.A.’s latest up-and-comer said.
As events came to a close at Smashbox Studios on Friday night, all eyes were on Verdad. He secured the largest runway, installing an old-fashioned lamppost and drawing a crowd of 600. There were a number of celebrities -- not Madonna or Cate Blanchett, whom he has most famously dressed, but the lower tier: Angie Harmon, Alexis Bledel, Paula Abdul, China Chow and “The L Word’s” Karina Lombard, who spent a good 10 minutes slithering around the table, posing for the paparazzi.
New York designer Michael Kors, who was in town shooting the fall ad campaign for his celebrity-meets-the-paparazzi collection with Mario Testino, even stopped by to see Verdad.
Unfortunately, the staged show was too much, combined with Verdad’s clothes, many of which were costumey or overly literal in their vintage references (a wine-colored plaid wool gown with a hobble skirt and ruffles around the hem, and a military short jacket worn with red plaid high-waist short shorts could have been something out of central casting). One also wondered why he decided so soon to give up on what were becoming his signatures. As he dabbled in androgyny, he softened many of his typically iceberg-peaked shoulders and lost some of the details -- sexy leg slits, for example -- that made his designs exciting to the eye. What was left were awkward, oversize fabric-covered buttons on a fuchsia pinstripe jacket and epaulets on a black-and-gold pinstripe jacket that looked Mack Daddy. The colors were off too.
Instead of suits, Verdad said he wanted to offer ponchos, one in brown tweed with a vintage fur collar. But he might have left the exercise to someone without his cutting skills. The designer’s best pieces were the ones that were most sharply tailored and most simple -- a navy silk satin gown slit high, with strong shoulders and a wide belt that brought to mind the ravishing milky white gown with cap sleeves and a plunging neckline that Maria Bello wore to the Golden Globes -- pure Hollywood glamour, no props needed.
Elsewhere on the runways, Corey Lynn Calter showed the collection that may catapult her to the next level, full of ladylike pieces with a sense of humor, including a silk wrap top in a jaunty “chicken print” that she and her fiance, artist Glenn Kaino, designed on a computer, and another brown and orange “car print” that they found and fashioned into a chic rain slicker.
A wool circle skirt in a bold, watercolor-like floral was gorgeous, paired with a feminine black velvet jacket and a peach bow blouse; while checked pants topped with a sweater vest that had a Southwestern-style eagle on the front were fun for the office. For evening, a black, sleeveless silk chiffon dress was dotted around the neckline and hem with silk ribbon flower appliques; another style dripped silver beads down the front. The accessories were notable too: Peter Pan-shaped pearl collars that buttoned on; a chiffon capelet embroidered with rosettes; and Calter’s new C-label line of shoes, many in the same prints as her clothes.
Knitwear by Nigerian-born designer Christopher Enuke for Oligo Tissew was among the week’s most creative offerings -- nubby, floor-grazing sweater coats in vibrant shades of purple or red, with contrasting bands of color and rolled edges; and long-sleeve sweater dresses with asymmetrical hems, worn with loose-knit scarves, chunky fire coral or turquoise necklaces by Gabriela Artigas, and suede boots. Enuke, a graduate of L.A.’s Otis College of Art and Design, also did some exciting work in denim, including a coat inset with patches of short red fur, paired with a long skirt, that had an intriguing rock crystal wallet chain attached.
In Richard Tyler’s lower-price Tyler collection, it was refreshing to see high-waist pants in mocha or cream, worn with men’s shirts, that brought to mind the style icon Katharine Hepburn. They weren’t the only looks for can-do working girls. A pink and burgundy houndstooth A-line skirt, worn under a faux-shearling coat with a boomerang-shaped collar, would leave an impression on the boss too. For evening, Tyler’s black, mocha and blush color-blocked, cross-back silk camisole was sexy and well-made for what will no doubt be a reasonable price. One hopes the line has future success at the cash register. Saks Fifth Avenue carried it for the first two seasons but dropped it because it didn’t sell well.
Being in red carpet central, it’s no surprise that many designers last week focused on eveningwear. Eduardo Lucero, who has a store on Beverly Boulevard, has been designing dresses for several years now. His offerings didn’t disappoint, including an olive-green macrame gown with a plunging neckline, and a plum, off-the-shoulder gown with a tie at the hip. A mocha lace dress with a zigzag neckline and hem had a mature sophistication. Lucero did make a few mistakes: a yellow beaded floral skirt carved out at the hips was wasted on a model with a boyish figure and a terrible walk; and the fabric on a black shimmer gown wasn’t up to par.
Susana Mercedes is also on her way to becoming a local source for cocktail looks. A chocolate-brown rayon dress with ivory mohair lace panels that crossed in the front and back and ran down the sides was inventive, while a yellow lace coat and a black tulip skirt embroidered with loops of lace were soft and sweet. However, one has to wonder why, when it was time for the prettiest clothes to come out, she let loose an aural assault of the loudest, most obscene punk rock. It didn’t leave the crowd in the mood for romance.
Single, designed by Galina and Michael Sobolov, offered mosaic print dresses in sunset shades and silver-and-gold brocade pants and skirts that would satisfy one’s desire to tap into fall’s luxe trend.
Joe’s Jeans staged a surprisingly cool show that involved a hairless Japanese dancer in a loincloth writhing around in a fetal position as guests arrived, then moving trance-like as models crisscrossed in a heavily choreographed procession. The clothes were weekend city chic -- peach cords and a jean jacket with a spread, button-down collar. Despite feeling like it was something one might experience at the end of a hookah, rather than on a fashion runway, it proved one thing: If you have to show jeans, you might as well do it creatively.
Most attendees of the newly combined fashion week at Smashbox Studios agreed that it was a success. “The fact that they got together brought things up a notch, and that’s what they needed,” said celebrity stylist Vincent Boucher.
But bumping into designer Bao Tranchi in the audience at shows was a reminder of one of the problems facing organizers: inconsistency. Several of L.A.’s talented designers are not showing every season for a variety of reasons, one being that they cannot afford to. Tranchi had one of the most promising shows last season, before Smashbox Studios and 7th on Sixth joined to form one event. Tranchi said she was worried that if she showed again this season, she would not be able to fulfill orders from stores and could earn a bad reputation in the industry. So she’s sitting this one out. So are several other great L.A. names, including Alicia Lawhon, Grey Ant, Cynthia Vincent, Magda Berliner and David Cardona, who has left the Italian house of Cerruti and returned to L.A..
Fern Mallis, executive director of New York fashion week’s production arm 7th on Sixth and vice president of IMG, the entertainment and sports marketing giant that owns it, agreed that that was something to work on for next season. She’s also been battling to keep designers, including Berliner, who said she may show in Paris next season. “The industry here is not as focused as in New York,” she said. “The designers, the modeling agencies, they are all growing up with the business.”
Mallis said she was satisfied with this season’s event and her partnership with brothers Dean and Davis Factor, even though after three seasons of her organization’s participation here, the top editors from magazines in New York have yet to attend. “They are sending their market editors, and I’m fine with that,” she said.
“Now, these shows are for the city of L.A. In the long run, as long as we keep doing our jobs, they will come. If this becomes the hottest thing here, the rest will fall into place. People will want to be here and cover it, the audience will shift and designers will stop having to invite their friends and family.”
