Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring '05: Kate O' Connor
Kate O’Connor returned to the runway after a two-season hiatus to show her Spring/Summer ’05 collection on Oct. 26 at Mercedes- Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. The designer, who kicked off a trend with her chic knit ponchos, delivered a modern, yet timeless collection of hand-loomed knit dresses, wrap tops, bandeaus, sweaters, culottes, shorts, leggings, ponchos and jumpsuits.
The collection featured a palette of teal, turquoise, plum, lavender, peach, cream, gold, black and white in solids, stripes and metallics. The styling and lines of the clothing were sexy, yet clean and refined.
O’Connor said she really wanted to emphasize other silhouettes besides the poncho. She experimented with metallics and a new bamboo fabrication that she used in several dresses for its great hand and amazing draping abilities.
“My inspiration behind every collection is always the process and the craft,” the designer explained. “It’s very rarely about an image that I saw or a person or a place. It’s a lot about the fabrics and the texture and the fall and drape and where I am in pattern-making.” —N.J.S.
