L.A. Fashion Week Spring '09: Elmer Ave.
Despite their outsider approach to fashion, the designers of Elmer Ave. found themselves at the center of an appreciative crowd for their Oct. 13 presentation at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif. For their Spring 2009 collection, the Burbank, Calif.–based collective of Collin Pulsipher, Jonny Day, Ward Robinson and Sean Murphy offered up their trademark dark dandy aesthetic. Crisply tailored vests and blazers were paired with slim tuxedo pants and super- skinny trousers. Classic fabrics—houndstooth, striped suiting, black wool and starched cotton—got the Elmer Ave. treatment, coming down the runway as skinny cut-off shorts, shrunken peacoats, skintight suits and pants that hovered above the ankles. As ever, every piece seemed steeped in rock ’n’ roll—a nod to the brand’s designers, who are also musicians. The brand, which is predominantly a menswear brand, also showed pieces for women. Limited to shrunken schoolboy blazers and fitted vests, Elmer Ave.’swomenswear captured the brand’s aesthetic and added a dose of sex appeal. —Erin Barajas
