Los Angeles Times

L.A. looks sharp

- By Tara Paniogue, Marques Harper and Adam Tschorn marques.harper@latimes.com adam.tschorn@latimes.com

Paris Fashion Week was still in full swing when Los Angeles’ many and varied versions kicked off with LA Fashion Week’s four-day run at the Hollywood Athletic Club that began Sept. 29. That was followed in short order by Art Hearts Fashion’s four-day slate at the Beverly Hilton and Style Fashion Week’s sophomore outing at the Pacific Design Center. Highlights from some of those events are included below, but this roundup is by no means comprehens­ive. That’s partly because Los Angeles Fashion Week(s) is far from over, with Fashion Week Los Angeles’ two-day stand (Monday and Tuesday) and Fashion Business Internatio­nal’s All Aboard! fundraiser at Union Station (Tuesday) yet to unspool.

LA Fashion Week

A third season meant a third venue for the peripateti­c LAFW, which moved just down Sunset Boulevard from last season’s Columbia Square space to the Hollywood Athletic Club. Here, the big take-away was acknowledg­ing the industry’s effect on the world around it, with multiple designers stating that their commitment to environmen­tally conscious clothing lines were influenced by the 2015 documentar­y “The True Cost” by Andrew Morgan. This film is a feature-length documentar­y that explores the effect of the fashion industry on people and the planet. Two labels in particular, Irishlatin­a and Rinda Salmun, presented strong collection­s that left an impression because of their environmen­tal/eco-conscious approach.

The Waste Not collection by Irishlatin­a was made entirely of secondhand garments. Label founder Rebecca Rivera notes that the fashion industry is the secondbigg­est polluter in the world and that only 10% of donated clothes end up in a new home. Waste Not is her response; a high-style-meetsthe-street mix of hip-hop, skate and street culture. The runway was adorned with rainbow camouflage-painted towers, chain-link fences, picket fences and abstract structures. All the models wore knee-high gym socks, sneakers, chokers and outfits made from old sports jerseys and T-shirts. The whole collection had an urban ’90s vibe that was bold and playful.

Rinda Salmun is a women’s fashion ready-to-wear label based in Jakarta, Indonesia. This brother-and-sister design team first came onto the fashion scene in 2010, with a strong focus on nontoxic and eco-friendly materials sourced locally from their home in West Java, Indonesia.

The spring/summer 2017 collection titled Wearable Art contained garments with structural, almost sculptural silhouette­s, strong, bold lines and colorful mixed panels of fabrics/patterns. After the show, we spoke with the design duo, who explained that their main objective was to literally create wearable art, using clothing as the medium for experiment­ation and playing with different art forms in a way that unites fine art and fashion.

As a spectator, you could easily understand their creative vision and the emphasis on fine arts within their collection because even the background that was projected onto a screen during the runway show was essentiall­y geometric sketches from their mood board set in motion. Overall, this LAFW trend take-away will allow consumers to indulge — but still breathe easy — when thinking about the true cost of fashion.

While there were plenty of ecoconcern­ed collection­s at LAFW, other collection­s stuck to modern exploratio­ns of femininity through color and storytelli­ng. Designer Cindy Wei Zhang, for example, mixed media and fashion to tell part of her journey as well as that of an ancient monk. Zhang, who started her label in 2013, worked with fabrics such as organza, chiffon and satin to create a striking, feminine collection of mostly ivory and shades of blue dresses and pencil skirts (many displaying prints and artwork) and peplum tops.

In her research, Zhang also became fascinated with the ancient Buddhist monk and translator Xuanzang, whose challengin­g quest from Asia to India is said to be the inspiratio­n for the novel “Journey to the West.” The show concluded with a short film showing Zheng and her team shooting the collection’s look book in the Gobi desert. It all seemed fitting of the times, capturing a female protagonis­t on a desert pilgrimage while showing the softer aspects of Zheng’s collection juxtaposed with the tough realities of the desert.

Designer Nonita Respati, founder of the Indonesian label Purana started in 2008, showed a dazzling and über-colorful display of batik and tie-dyed designs in sherbet hues. The shirtdress­es, maxi dresses, cheery tops and pants were loose-fitting or had ruched hemlines. The drapey and layered looks were intriguing to watch on the runway, but it ultimately was Respati’s heavy use of color — we’re talking tangy oranges, bright pinks and touches of vibrant greens — and prints that grabbed us.

One standout look, a belted, floor-length, orange-and-green, robe-style dress, seemed ideal for our current loungewear-as-daytime mood. And though batik designs are worn for weddings, funerals, graduation­s and other occasions, the collection Respati showed only made us long for the promises of a colorful spring.

Art Hearts Fashion

Art Hearts Fashion, which had held its local shows at the Taglyan Cultural Complex in Hollywood for the last several seasons, headed for the hills — Beverly Hills, that is — presenting four days of runway shows at the Beverly Hilton starting Oct. 9. L.A.-based brand Hale Bob actually went further afield — to the Greek island of Mykonos to be precise — for a 20-piece cruise/ spring 2017 runway collection that came down the catwalk Oct. 10.

Daniel Bohbot, the brand’s owner and founder, said he had been inspired by Mediterran­ean influences and the light, carefree lifestyle of the Greek isles. These influences could be seen in a color palette rooted in blue and white (inspired by the iconic white walls and blue roofs of the buildings there) and mosaic tile prints on a range of long, breezy dresses, beach-appropriat­e caftans, shoulder-baring tunics and short rompers.

Another L.A.-based label hitting the runway that night was Siwy Denim, which presented its spring/summer 2017 offering in what owner Kris Park told us was just the second runway show in the 11-year-old brand’s history.

The vibe was too cool for school, thanks to a range of varsity jackets and collegiate sweaters festooned with patches, embroidere­d appliqués and classic school pins. There was a vintage feel to the collection, thanks in part to white and red ringer T-shirts with faded screen prints straight out of the ’70s (one bore the photo and name of St. Louis Cardinal Lou Brock along with his nickname, “The Base Burglar”; another referenced fellow Cardinal Al “The Mad Hungarian” Hrabosky).

Staying true to the brand’s denim roots, the aforementi­oned pieces were mixed in with faded denim work shirts, second-skin skinny jeans (some with tuxedolike side stripes, others with zippers up the front of each leg), and an assortment of cutoff jean shorts with frayed hems that ranged from barely below the zipper pull to just above the knee.

The big take-away at LA Fashion Week was about acknowledg­ing the industry’s effect on the world around it.

 ??  ??
 ?? Manny Llanura ?? THE RINDA SALMUN collection at LAFW takes its title, Wearable Art, to heart, delivering sculptural silhouette­s.
Manny Llanura THE RINDA SALMUN collection at LAFW takes its title, Wearable Art, to heart, delivering sculptural silhouette­s.
 ?? Arun Nevader Getty Images for Art Hearts ?? A TRIP to Greece for Hale Bob at Art Hearts Fashion.
Arun Nevader Getty Images for Art Hearts A TRIP to Greece for Hale Bob at Art Hearts Fashion.
 ?? Manny Llanura ?? THE COLORFUL collection from Purana brightens LAFW.
Manny Llanura THE COLORFUL collection from Purana brightens LAFW.
 ?? Arun Nevader Getty Images for Art Hearts ?? SIWY DENIM rocks a vintage vibe at Art Hearts Fashion.
Arun Nevader Getty Images for Art Hearts SIWY DENIM rocks a vintage vibe at Art Hearts Fashion.
 ?? Manny Llanura ?? IVORY stands out in the Cindy Wei Zhang line at LAFW.
Manny Llanura IVORY stands out in the Cindy Wei Zhang line at LAFW.
 ?? Manny Llanura ?? IRISHLATIN­A makes a sec ondhand statement at LAFW.
Manny Llanura IRISHLATIN­A makes a sec ondhand statement at LAFW.
 ?? Manny Llanura ?? P U R A NA gets into the tie-dye spirit with style at LAFW.
Manny Llanura P U R A NA gets into the tie-dye spirit with style at LAFW.

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