First Fashon Week Review For Downtown Shows!

So what happens when four Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council Board members decide to go where others downtown have feared to venture - Fashion Week's catwalks - and in just seven weeks put on five nights of shows in two different venues... helping to bring back Fashion Week from Culver City to Downtown Los Angeles?

Well, below is our first review:



Hollywood Today
Film-Star Fashion Week Explodes on L.A.’s Indie Catwalks
Sunday, March 18th, 2007

Red carpet gowns and film-inspired designs the rage at Downtown alternative Fashion Weeks
By Michelle Foody
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Fashion Week

HOLLYWOOD, CA (Hollywood Today) 3/18/07 — On the eve of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week, rebel fashion folks flocked to Kitten Fashion Week and BOXeight Saturday night for a slew of alternative shows. The hip Standard Downtown Hotel played host to newbie designers like Lorun and Battalion, along with the always popular KushCush. A few blocks down, the restored Los Angeles Theatre teemed with L.A.’s trendiest for a peek at the Eduardo Lucero Fall 2007 Collection, presented by BOXeight.

But Los Angeles, above all else, is a company town for film & television —a fact inescapable for designers who call sunny California home. Eye-catching, paparazzi perfect gowns slinked down the catwalk at Eduardo Lucero. The designer is fast becoming a favorite with red carpet starlets in need of a gown that unites sex appeal with cutting-edge chic.

The show paid homage to the insanity of a film premier, with the audience on bleachers hooting and hollering, and the models energetically (yes, with emotion and all!) posing for eager photographers. The Saturday night, laid back mood made for a rowdy, engaged group of spectators dappled with famous faces: front row sat Tia and Tamara Mowry and Ugly Betty star Ana Oritz. Even the clothes themselves had energy: highlights included reflective sequins, light-catching metallics, and even LCD screen accessories.

Hollywood Today caught up with Lucero backstage, only moments after taking his bow to a genuinely appreciative crowd. Clad in chucky white New Balance sneakers, and jeans—not distressed demin—just jeans, the designer was startlingly down to earth.

“I’m interested in pushing the envelope, because even fashion gets stale. I want women to have an actual desire to wear the clothing, not just shop for shopping’s sake”, insisted Lucero, clearly aware of the modern world’s hyperactive attention-span.

As far as the flashing lights and eye-popping metallic accents:

“Technology should catch up with clothing. I believe women need to stop wearing what could be from the 1940’s and start dressing like its 2007. Most importantly though, the clothes should look ‘now,’ but not like a costume”.

Lucero’s practical blend of trends and flattering designs make him a favorite among the rich, famous, and photographed. Starlets going for the look-at-me look are eating up his gowns. Lime-light lovers such as Cameron Diaz, Jennifer Lopez, and Carmen Electra are all fans.

The film industry oozed its way into Saturday night’s Kitten Week shows at the ultra-trendy Standard Downtown. The collections were shown on a floor-level catwalk running the length of one of the hotel’s small conference rooms, under florescent lights—oh-so-guerilla. Despite its grass roots, L.A.-based Battalion, from sisters Chrys and Linda Wong, took their inspiration directly from the movies.

As Chrys explained backstage to Hollywood Today, “We tried to imagine Sherlock Holmes traveling in time to investigate the mysteries of Edgar Allen Poe’s works. Its actually an idea we had based upon a film from 1968, by Fellini—“Spirits of the Dead”.

A far cry from un-wearable fashion world couture, the sisters have made a point to go as green as possible, using anti-microbial bamboo fabric. Their clothes were beautiful and body-conscious, and could actually be worn without appearing cartoonish.

Organic clothes, film noir inspirations, and celebrity fans—high fashion and Hollywood go together like lights, camera and action,

This entry was posted on Sunday, March 18th, 2007 at 4:22 pm