Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring '05: MartinMartin
MartinMartin designers Eric and Diane Martin have flirted with color before, but this season they took it up a notch by injecting their Japanese-inspired minimalist collection with bright turquoise, fuchsia and red shades.
The runway show, held Oct. 29 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, started off with the designers’ usual black-and-white palette and familiar aesthetic: intricately folded and gathered accents on otherwise beautifully tailored, simple pieces. When they turned on the color, the effect was a refreshment and update of their signature style.
The color introduced a touch of whimsy to the collection, as well. A turquoise shirt had an oversize ruffled tuxedo front, and a fuchsia jersey top had heavily gathered details on each shoulder that looked like organic epaulettes. The designers even added a few pieces in a soft ballet pink, including a slouchy sweater worn over a gathered short skirt with a raw-edged hem.
The Martins said their Spring ’05 collection was inspired by Russian filmmaker Aleksandr Sokurov, widely known for his 2002 film, “Russian Ark,” but better known in independent film circles for his avant-garde films “Confession,” “Man’s Lonely Voice” and “Mother and Son.” The designers said they were drawn to Sokurov’s “death-haunted portraits of figures, both real and fictional, who are, in some ways, isolated from the world.” —Alison A. Nieder
