L.A. Fashion Week Fall '05: Magda Berliner
After a two-season hiatus, Magda Berliner revealed her 12-piece collection on March 18 during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. The designer once again showed her designs in an installation.
“It’s a viewing, and it’s simpler. It’s easy,” she said of the format. “You get to see the merchandise. I like doing it.”
Models stood among rounded silver bubbles that were placed on the floor and roped off with yellow caution tape, as “Beowulf” was recited against a backdrop of musical accompaniment. But despite the art-installation trappings, Berliner was pragmatic about the collection.“I wouldn’t say it’s art—it’s clothes,” she said. “I am a person who makes clothes for people to wear, and these are pretty girls wearing nice clothes in a room.” She went on to explain that the bubbles represented reflection.
Berliner created a gypsy theme for this collection, which was a progression of her last showing. She expanded on her use of lace, incorporating it into much of the collection, and continued to mix chain mail into her looks. She also used lamb’s wool in a capelet that had a texture resembling the knots found on the Irish lace used elsewhere in her collection. She added a buffalo-plaid jacket and cropped pants for an earthy look, as well as leaf and flower prints in wool that complemented the vintage feeling of the line. —N. Jayne Seward
