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Romantics at heart

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Times Staff Writer

SILICONE-ENHANCED models on the runway, drag queens and C-grade celebrities in the front row, stylists sporting handgun-shaped belt buckles, sticky tequila nights and days of empty seats ... it must be Los Angeles Fashion Week again.

But as crass as the off-the-runway scene can be, on the runway the word was romance, a through line that continued from the collections in New York, Milan and Paris. Color palettes were softer and designers emphasized airy volumes. And in this capital of denim, it is dresses, not jeans, that are emerging as the must-have item for spring.

Although L.A. may not be the place to look to for design inspiration, the runways here do offer a dose of reality after four weeks of out-of-reach luxury, showcasing more of the clothes that will actually end up on the racks -- the $200 dresses, the $150 bikinis -- instead of just in glossy magazine pages. The styling is more interesting too, with designers taking their cues from the street and the beach. So instead of $2,000 “it” bags designed with a luxury firm’s bottom line in mind, you will see the return of the fanny pack!

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The runway shows at Smashbox Studios kicked off Sunday in Culver City, but it was the Gen Art Fresh Faces in Fashion event Friday night that felt more creatively charged, partially because designers were forced to show tighter collections of just a few pieces. Eight up-and-coming talents showed at Barker Hangar in Santa Monica, the highlight being Katy Rodriguez, who opened the vintage store Resurrection in 1996, and first collaborated on a collection with Mark Haddaway and Raymond Pettibon in 2000.

This was her first outing on her own and what a great start it was. From the navy silk linen strapless cocktail dress with a sculpted balloon hem, to the cross-front baby doll in a watercolor floral peau de soie, Rodriguez knows that for spring the dress is king. She worked with volume, another watchword for the season, in a unique and elegant way on a navy strapless dress with a skirt that looked as if it had been swept to the side by a summer night’s breeze. And her sashed navy silk dress with three-fourths sleeves and a turned-under hem was an instant classic. It was also nice to see L.D. Tuttle shoes on display, designed by Tiffany Tuttle and her partner Richard L.D. Feminine but edgy, the brand features the Lochness high-heel bootie with a flirty ankle strap, and the Phantom silk pump with unexpected raised ovals adding texture to the sides.

At Smashbox, there were several collections that never should have seen the light of the runway -- Kushcush by Kerry Cushman, a Roller Girl-meets-Paris Hilton ride through the junior sportswear department with striped onesies, star print jeans and ice cream cone necklaces, and Balans by Alison Zimmerman, an excruciatingly long run of gauzy bikini tops and silk underwear with next to no design, matched only by the soft porn video that introduced the show, in which the designer grinds against a mattress spring.

You’d think after this many seasons the organizers could get the selection process together. Luckily, there was enough elsewhere on the runways to keep the event from being a total joke. Louis Verdad sent out a nice collection of sexy, slim separates, including a black short-sleeve jacket with khaki piping and a ruffle detail at the shoulders belted over skinny black trousers, and thigh-skimming brown hounds tooth shorts worn with a crescent sleeved jacket. But overall, the palette was lighter with this season’s favorite creams, khakis and dove grays. A tall drink of a column dress with flag-like cutouts at the shoulders and pink piping screamed screen siren, as did the finale gown in cream cashmere and wool knit, with a low back and sexy train.

Verdad’s tailoring expertise was put to good use on a fabulous white shirtdress with illusion fabric at the shoulders, and on a pair of cute cropped high waist khaki trousers. A garden stripe lady coat was pretty, as was a chemise with a lemon yellow picnic plaid bib. But they seemed out of step with Verdad’s sexier beginning. Ill-fitting bob wigs and other nods to mod were distracting, as were wide belts with horseshoe-shaped buckles that looked a little too much like Fendi. Verdad has so many ideas of his own, the last thing he needs is someone else’s.

Corey Lynn Calter returned to the runway after a few seasons on hiatus, bringing spring’s romantic theme to a younger customer in a collection titled “Pretty Baby.” A fence print trapeze tunic, black cotton shorts with rose embroidery and a blush pink bed jacket were boudoir sweet, worn with anklets and high heels. A lavender jumper with lace ribbon down the back looked cute over point d’esprit leggings, as did a crochet tunic top. But the real star was a high waist pleated peg skirt in a navy and white clover print, paired with a doodle print voile blouse -- just the kind of woman/girl look Calter does best.

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Harp solo aside, Sue Wong ratcheted down the theatrics and let the clothes speak for themselves. It was a good move, since this was one of her strongest collections -- less a laundry list of themes and more a thoughtful journey from the Edwardian embroidery on a white dress with a softly ruffled hem and pintucked detail, to the yellow linen baby doll with doily insets evoking early Americana. Then her mind wandered to Mexican embroidery, resulting in a delightful tiered turquoise sundress with a rainbow of folkloric stitching on the front, and another in black and white with vintage yarn embroidery.

Ethnic to hippie wasn’t much of a stretch with a pinwheel print silk dress with a shirred bodice and beaded trim evoking 1960s Talitha Getty chic. Then, after a quick turn to the primitive on a paisley and leopard print dress that captured the sexiness of Roberto Cavalli at a quarter of the price, she landed in Hollywood with a twinkling beige illusion back gown, just the kind of elegant red carpet look her starlet fans look to her for.

Meghan Fabulous took a trip through Vacation Land, with ethnic tunic tops with dangling horn embellishments, slip dresses with glittering sea glass at the neckline, and hand-painted kimonos belted over shorts, all worn with touristy beer can bucket hats. A pink and gray striped polo dress was quirky cute with mismatched buttons, while the designer’s playing card and bottle cap dresses brought a dose of humor to the shows. Candice Held took a similarly lighthearted approach using new and vintage scarves to craft tunics and sundresses. The fun scarfy silk or cotton dishtowel looks, featuring tropical flora and fauna or preppy nautical prints, were enough to make me want to sew all my old scarves together.

Swimwear is Shay Todd’s specialty so she showed lots of bikinis in colorful paisleys held to the body with chunky gold chains, and one-pieces scooped out at the sides, the best in navy with white ruffles at the neckline. The cover-ups were beachy cool too, especially the pink and white shell print tunic worn with a pink metallic fanny pack. That’s right, they’re back.

At Morphine Generation, musician and graphic artist Erik Hart made an effort to take his line away from skull print hoodies and T-shirts and into the realm of fashion. The result was a cleaner collection in neutral colors with more of an emphasis on tailoring and a hint of Gothic romance. Graphics were kept to a minimum with a tiny crest screen printed on a shrunken blazer and a woman’s face on an anorak. A “blond” linen hooded trench coat was roughed up with raw seams, and a gray pinstripe shirtdress with a deconstructed ruffled collar. There were some nice pieces here, but Hart could have used a few more ideas. Now that he’s hired Constance Astbury, formerly of Miu Miu and Lanvin, to help him design, perhaps he will get them.

Frankie B’s Daniella Clark gave spring’s fling with romance the rock ‘n’ roll treatment, fashioning cap sleeve bow blouses out of denim or Swiss dot, and pairing them with metallic skinny jeans. A fuchsia eyelet baby doll dress turned edgy with a black leather yoke, while another version came in zebra print with black eyelet at the shoulders. But the biggest surprise from this godmother of the super low-rise were high-waist jeans coated in glam sparkles for a new spin on an old look.

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booth.moore@latimes.com

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