The Shows: L.A. in N.Y.C.
It's not over, but most Los Angeles-based designers who show their collections at New York Fashion Week are already packing up their thimbles and heading home. And for Spring 2011, the Left Coasters represented in high style — cleaving to their respective (and wildly divergent) styles, while managing to show us a new thing or two.
Below, a recap of how a handful of our hometowners fared in the Big Apple.
BCBG founder Maz Azria and his wife, co-designer Lubov Azria, ditched all the tiny details this season in favor of sweeping silhouettes and a sumptuous palette of neutral tones that moved from light ivory to black over the course of the show. Long, loose dresses and swooshy pants affected a nonchalance we only wish we could capture in our daily lives. And the no-fuss silhouettes encapsulate fashion's new buzz words: "simple" and "Minimalist."
Former Chanel apprentice Kimberly Ovitz continued her love affair with black and white, but showed us a punkier, spunkier side this Spring — offering pieces that flirted with gothiness and an L.E.S.-80s-club-kid vibe. There were a handful of simple black frocks (surefire bestsellers at Barneys, etc.), but we're more enthralled with her experimental pieces, like the strangely beautiful black-and-white shirty-dress (see above, middle photo). Ignore the bike shorts and imagine wearing it with black skinny jeans and high heels. Oh, the intrigue.
Gregory Parkinson, a newbie to New York Fashion Week but a 16-year veteran of the L.A. fashion scene, came on strong with a collection full of boldly printed separates — meant to be mixed and matched. The stand-out silhouette, a ruffled, knee-length skirt shown in various incarnations, embodies L.A.'s sunstreaked, multi-culti soul.
Juan Carlos Obando lives for fine, hand-sewn detailing. But for his Spring collection, the focus fell more on the designer's penchant for strong, powerful shapes — a plunging neckline, a minidress boasting a sculptural ruffle — than on up-close craftsmanship. The result: a lineup of luxe evening wear that might as well be bullet-proof, it's so slick.
Ah, romance. Monique Lhuillier does it so well. And this season, she made no apologies for being in the minxy mood. One floral, ballgown-skirted dress sailed down after another, reminding us how very gratifying true grandeur can be. She cut the sugar rush with a shot of glittery streamlined gowns and career-girl separates that will easily transition from day into night. We're feeling the love.