GLAMOROUS TENSION
NEW YORK — Just 1 1⁄2 years after its launch, interior decorator-designer Kelly Wearstler’s fashion line is really coming into its own. She brought her eclectic L.A. sense of glam to New York Fashion Week, presenting her fall-winter 2013 collection in her showroom off 12th Avenue, an expansive view of the Hudson outside the window. The look
1980s glam rock, but with a comfortable L.A. spin. The colors — hues of plum, turquoise, indigo — were incredible. And so was her new foray into denim. Standout pieces included an electric blue mohair tweed jacket with silver embroidery on the shoulders; a cozy, purple mohair sweater with leather and velvet accents; a mixed-media lacquered leather and tweed dress; a pony hair T-shirt; geometric print silk pants; and destroyed boyfriend-style jeans with gold threads in the knee holes.
“When I was starting in fashion, I had difficulty translating the rawness of my [interior] work, the vintage furniture with the rock crystal chandelier, for example,” Wearstler said. “I found denim is the perfect material because it’s raw and refined. And that tension is what I love.”
All the jean styles are named after L.A. streets, including Sunset and Hollywood.
Wearstler’s accessories collection is developing nicely too, including leather pouches and belts with raw stone accents. The inspiration
Italian architect Ettore Sottsass and his Memphis Group of design, known for its squiggly lines and off-kilter geometric shapes. The news
Wearstler is introducing fine jewelry for fall, including pendants and rings with confetti-like semiprecious stones and cuffs with sculptural slabs of agate, quartz, pyrite and lapis. It’s been a year since her store opened on Melrose Avenue in L.A., and Wearstler said she is scouting space for a second store in New York’s SoHo. The verdict
The best collection yet from Wearstler with tons of covetable, wearable pieces. She has finally figured out how to bring her aesthetic to clothing without the textures and colors feeling too artsy-craftsy.
booth.moore@latimes.com