Fashion's Second Spin
The Eveline Morel fashion label was introduced in Spring 2004 with bright bohemian looks and vivacious velvet fabrics. For 2005, designer Eveline Morel vowed to turn her initial inspirations upside down.
She worked with neutral shades of beige and ivory and with materials she found in vintage shops to construct her second line, EM Reconstructed. More than 100 people browsed her creations July 21 at the Late Bloomer boutique in Los Angeles.
One EM Reconstructed piece, the “Holly Hobie” dress ($180 retail), displays her vision for the label. She found a dress inspired by the plain style of the 19th century American West and cut it for today’s art-obsessed woman. She made this transformation with a little tailoring, moving up the waist of the dress, cutting the dress’s hemlines shorter in front and trashing the original piece’s puffed sleeves.
Morel became one of the four partner/designers of Late Bloomer in April 2005. Other Late Bloomer designers include Amy Buhler of Seed Clothing, Sarah Sztykiel of Mushka Designs and Jennifer Miller of Hair Flowers. The partners pay rent, mind the store and sell their designs as well as fashions by Anja Flint and Mara Hoffman.
The store often stays open past midnight, hence inspiring the name Late Bloomer. Since April, the store has also kept afternoon hours, opening at 1 p.m. Morel said that business has increased 20 percent each month since the shop started making a practice of being an early riser. —Andrew Asch
