2008 L.A Fashion Week Recap Los Angeles Fashion Week stunned observers by delivering colored and black and white looks with wearable finesse but street edge. Hair was blown out fantasy style, no more layered shags and adult film tresses. Hollywood glamor with a wearable edge drove most original runway looks. Where to wear them? |
New designers were amply featured this year as LA Fashion week showed confidence in its young designers instead of just the tried and true big names. Hollywood glamor and reminescence of things past surfaced in collection after collection. Street casual is out, the LA woman must dress to kill. | 
  An Embarrassment of Riches The style grapes for this year's Fashion Week were so good something must be in the water in New York, the designs are so amazingly wearable and the depth of quality of color and style across all types of designer is so strong. The mouth-watering displays made the celebration of Olympus fashion week a real delight this year, instead of just another round of retail-happy designers hoping against hope the desperation won't show through. Black and white Black and white has usually been the province of one fashion house and one alone: Chanel. Chanel launched a brilliant collection in Paris, complete with the red hunting influences, millinery statements, and razor-sharp glamor Mademoiselle would have approved of. The little glazed silk hat in black is a must-have.
But class is making a comeback all over and the design trend in black and white was present at almost every single designer's show. Everyone can make black and white fresh and work for them. But each designer made the black and white elements their own, instead of generating a grimly received set of Chanel style copies. This was true from Betsey Johnson, whose stunning polka dots looked fun and wearable, to Jeremy Scott, who had Lydia Hearst toting a machine gun with a patriotic red white and blue swimsuit. Lacoste showed some laser-sharp black and white mod tennis wear. |