Posts Tagged ‘Downtown LA Fashion Week’

Days of Wine and Roses-Femme Noir at LA Fashion Week

Friday, October 30th, 2009
Dress Name

Forget-me-not

S + and I were so lucky to attend 3 of the 4 days of Downtown LA Fashion Week. We are definitely fashion lovers and are just over the moon at slowly becoming fashion bloggers.  Shows never get old. Even when the clothes are bizarre or unrelatable, there is something magic about the lights, the energy, the music and the creative genius it takes to design an entire collection. I don’t have to like the garments to be  in awe of the designers, creators, artists. Thank you for being gifted, for never giving up on the creative life and for sharing it with us.

Anyway, sometimes it’s hard to recap a collection. Not being a professional fashion journalist we can only talk in layman terms about what we see and what we like/don’t like. However, in the case of Femme Noir by Phong Hong, we can’t stop talking. The collection was breathtaking. From the beautiful shape of the dresses to the abundant details, it is clear designer Phong has loads of talent and an incredible grasp of how to make a woman look beautiful. The rich wine color is one of my favs and the petal soft nude is so feminine without being too sugary. The whole collection translates to restrained decadence.

We would wear every single piece in the collection (of course a 44″ inseam like some of the models would make it even easier to wear these dresses but still) and I am certain we will have that opportunity soon enough. No doubt Femme Noir is going to be seen on runways, red carpets and in retail for a long time to come.

Dress Name

Belladonna

Dress Name

Black Orchid

Dress Name

Lily of the Valley

Dress Name

Violet Ivy

Dress Name

Bouquet of Roses

Dress Name

Sweet Magnolia

The Finale Piece: Dark Violet Chiffon pleated bodice and skirt filled with hand-twisted raw-edged roses. Dress Name

Heirloom Rose

Close up shot by Wandering Chopsticks

Close up shot by Wandering Chopsticks

The finale dress was literally breathtaking, you could hear the audible gasps over the pulsing music. Impeccable detail.

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You can read more coverage on the Femme Noir show at Wandering Chopsticks(Phong’s cousin + a fab food blogger in her own right!).

All of our photos above were provided courtesy of our good friend and rockstar photog, Quoc Ngo.

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LA Fashion Week: Sjobeck – Back to the Beach

Monday, October 12th, 2009

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{Back to the Beach - Also the name of S's favorite movie!)

Well, LA Fashion Week is here and we’re so excited to get a little taste of the action. We ventured out to our first show Saturday night for Sjobeck’s Back to the Beach Spring/Summer 2010 show at Live! On Sunset. It was the perfect way to kick off the week. Staying true to their laid back-beach vibe Sjobeck sent gorgeous, comfortable and totally wearable pieces down the sand covered runway.

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Models had the luxury of walking barefoot to the accompaniment of a real live Surf Band (check out the cheeky Beach Toys tribute band.) Super soft maxi dresses, vintage surf trunks for guys and big, gorgeous hats were the standouts but cropped, wide leg pants and plaid surf betty button-ups definitely looked like summertime staples.

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The whole things made us long for brunch at Geoffrey’s and a summer share on Carbon Beach. We had to write our name in the runway sand just for old times sake.

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{Petunia was here!}

Spotted in the crowd was LC (Designer (?!) and formerly of The Hills) and bf Kyle Howard (Brothers & Sisters) and loads of be-jeweled fashion types (clearly sequins are big big big this season.) We saw this fab little feather skirt from Sjobeck’s current line and it was a sassy reminder that these beach loving designers can give you a little Hollywood glam too.

ostrich skirt

{Shake your tail feather Sjobeck style}

Aside, from feeling like we’d pretty much wear all of this collection, we felt like the fab foursome from Sjobeck are someone we’d grab a drink with. Smart, socially conscious and fun sounds exactly like the kind of people we want around. Check out their story here.

See Sjobeck’s current line here on their website or pop over to Ron Herman (one of the best edited shops ever who happen to be having a massive sale right now) or click here to find a boutique stocking Sjobeck in your area.

s + c

s + c

We’ll be at tons more shows this week and promise to blog all of the highlights.

*sorry for the crappy photos. our little camera was not working so well. (or rather it was the user)*

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Le Weekend

Friday, October 9th, 2009

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{Photo credit: Alexander Gnadinger: 100 Girls on Polaroid}

It’s Friday. The sun is peaking through those crisp fall clouds, it’s cool enough to warrant a sweater but not cold enough to require a jacket. S’s big party is tonight, the Dodgers won, and my sweet J is celebrating his birthday today. So, I’m going to say today is a good day. 

Paisley Petunia will be soaking up all the DTLAFW  fun the next week or so and while some of the NY bloggers feel like picking on LA, we are excited for the shows and proud of the people working so hard to make it happen.

Enjoy the weekend~ go kiss someone you love.

c-signatureps: how gorgeous is that polaroid. It’s taken by a German photog who published a book of beautiful girls in polaroids. They are breathtaking.

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Fresh Faces in Fashion – LAFW

Thursday, October 8th, 2009

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So you might have heard it was Fashion Week recently – in New York, London, Milan and Paris?

Well our own little sunny metropolis here in Southern California has a little Fashion Week too. Actually its more like a month of events, mostly in the evening, and its very different from the other Fashion Weeks. We do not have delusions of grandeur that we can compete with them. Some can be very critical of our fashion events here in LA, but I am choosing to ignore them and am instead looking forward to some fashion filled events over the next few weeks. LA is home to many a talented designer and trends do emerge from style forward Angelenos. However, we are not NYC, we know that. And we aren’t trying to be.

So without further ado, some of the shows and designers I am most looking forward to:

SkinGraft: “an emerging LA-based design house exploring the balance between raw underground fashion and sleek, high-end couture.”

Harness by SkinGraft

Harness by SkinGraft

Ever since I saw this harness piece, I have been fascinated. It is a lot more edgy than I normally do. Who am I kidding I am so far from edgy. But it just looks so cool, and to pair it with a feminine top? Love.

And the classic romantic looks of Kelly Bergin:

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There isn’t much to be found online, but I can’t wait to see her looks for Spring 2010.

And from Erik Hart‘s Morphine Generation, the MG Black label, part of Gen Art’s Fresh Faces of Fashion (see below):

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MG Black Label

And the highlight is always the Gen Art Show – “Fresh Faces in Fashion” – which offers a great platform for young, emerging designers. C and I went in February and wrote about it here.

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Fresh Faces in Fashion

Fresh Faces in Fashion is Gen Art’s anchor fashion event which showcases 5 emerging womenswear and menswear designers on the runway. It was named by WWD as one of the 5 shows to watch during LAFW!

Participating Designers:
Womenswear:
Leyendecker
Rory Beca
Seneca Rising

Menswear:
MG Black

Accessories:
CC Skye (bags)
The Generic Man (men’s and women’s shoes)
Ludevine (fine jewelry)
Stampd L.A. (sneakers).

For more information and a calendar of events, visit http://fashionweekla.com/ and http://downtownlafashionweek.com/

Check back on Paisley Petunia for the next few weeks as we cover LAFW for you! xoxo

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