18_can102607lettersi.. - California Apparel News

LOS ANGELES FASHION WEEK SPRING 2008
Petro Zillia
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif., closed on a cheerful note thanks
to designer Nony Tochterman, who returned to the runway—and wholesale business—with a small collection
of dresses in a full spectrum of colors.
From the moment the first model walked down the runway, stopped and smiled sweetly for the bank of
photographers, Tochterman set the happy tone for the Oct. 18 show.
“The whole feeling was about L.A. and the L.A. girl—and she needs to be perky and happy,” said Tochterman,
who escorted the quintessential L.A. girl Paris Hilton to her seat minutes before the show started.
The show featured 21 looks: nine for daytime and 12 for evening. The candy colors on the runway echoed
those found on the packaging of the makeup line Tochterman recently launched in collaboration with Smashbox
cosmetics. Indeed, Tochterman said, the show was the result of several collaborations: Fred Segal Beauty
did the hair and Smashbox did the makeup using Tochterman’s new line. Brazilian shoe line Gracienne
created gold sandals for the show, the belts were by Spear, and jewelry line Noir created oversize hoop and
heart earrings.
The collection marks a return to the wholesale side of the business for Tochterman, who scaled back her
business when she opened her store, House of Petro Zillia, on Los Angeles’ West Third Street last year.
Runway looks included a strapless short jumper in cheery yellow sateen and both long and short ruffled
dresses in lipstick red, canary yellow and coral. A strapless jumper in fuchsia satin was also worn by Hilton in turquoise,
while a dramatic floor-length vest in gold Lurex was paired with a high-waist hot short in gold.—A.A.N.
Candice Held
For Candice Held, scarves are not an accessory—they are the entire
outfit. Since 2004, Held has found success fashioning vintage scarves
into dresses and tops. At her Spring 2008 fashion show, held Oct. 18 at
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.,
Held proved she has an eye for designing prints, as well.
“They are like little paintings,” said Held of the centerpiece scarf-like
print of her dresses that “tell a story.” This season, the story was a whimsical
summer in an original silk “summer sky” hot air–balloon print and an
original floral “rose garden” print.
She continued to offer the one-of-a-kind mismatched charm of her vintage
scarf designs in the new styles through vintage-inspired color combinations
and mixing a number of prints on one piece. Held expanded her
range to a point, while staying true to the line’s roots. A group of cotton
“dish towel” dresses was based on a dress Held constructed out of actual
dish towels for a trip to Mexico. Another dress featured cotton handkerchiefs
patched together like a quilt.—R.C.
20 CALIFORNIA APPAREL NEWS OCTOBER 26–NOVEMBER 1, 2007
VOLKER CORELL
JESSICA SILVERSTEIN
Voom by Joy Han
Los Angeles designer Joy Han is taking a break from her playful silk
baby dolls and moving into more-streamlined silhouettes and even bolder
prints featuring eye-popping colors and graphics gleaned from Roy Lichtenstein’s
pop art as well as ’60s mod and ’80s funk for Spring ’08. Han’s
Voom by Joy Han fashion show was presented Oct. 17 at Mercedes-Benz
Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
The designer’s line has steadily evolved, and the Spring collection is
more runway-friendly and tailored than ever before.
High waistlines and collars blended with more-traditional silhouettes for
a ranging yet focused collection. Han’s graphic checkerboard prints on silk
pieces coupled with stark yellows, fuschias and purples on patent leather
were offset by more neutral plaids, stripes and polka dots on woven materials.
Featured pieces included bolero jackets, puff-sleeve tops, and long and
cropped patent jackets along with tube and bikini tops and kimonos.
—R.M.
Samora
Designer Samora Olayan has been making pretty dresses and separates for her contemporary
collection, Samora, since 2002. This season, the designer wanted to highlight strength
alongside beauty and chose Bellona, the Roman goddess of war, as her muse. Olayan’s
Spring 2008 collection debuted on the runway Oct. 18 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at
Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
“This collection is about celebrating women’s femininity and their strength,” she said.
Women always have to balance both in these times.” To show that balance, the designer
blended military details such as epaulettes with draped dresses worn with gold metallic sandals.
She incorporated several asymmetrical details, including one-shoulder and one-sleeve
silhouettes. Olayan extended the concept to a piece she called the “should wrap,” a ruffled
wrap that covers one arm.
A pretty chocolate-brown taffeta dress trimmed in aqua was more “Roman Holiday” than
Roman goddess of war. Day dresses in a pinched floral fabric were picnic-ready, while a natural-colored
dress with rough black stitching provided an earthy balance to Olayan’s gowns,
which were lean columns of frothy silk and chiffon.
This was Olayan’s ninth season at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. “I love the solidness of
it. I wish everybody would stick to it and join hands under one umbrella,” she said. “I like that
they bring attention to Los Angeles designers.”—A.A.N.
VOLKER CORELL
JOHN ECKMIER