L.A. Fashion Week Spring '06: Carlos Rosario
Los Angeles designer Carlos Rosario had a high-profile debut last season when Vogue editrix Anna Wintour sat in on his show at Smashbox Studios. This season, Rosario took a low-key approach, hosting a fashion installation in an art space in the Higgins Building in downtown Los Angeles.
The presentation, which included two installations with models, as well as an exhibition of Rosario’s sketches and several of his styles on dress forms, was inspired by the designer’s childhood summers spent in Majorca, Spain.
Rosario, who is of Spanish decent but was raised in France, drew on his mother’s sense of style to create a modern take on 1940s fashion. The designer used a photo of his mother on her wedding day as inspiration for a T-shirt graphic made from 6,000 crystals provided by sponsor Swarovski.
Models were arranged either in a Spanish parlor, complete with paintings depicting dancers and bullfighters, or in a nautical-themed scene. In context, a black lace dress recalled a flamenco dancer’s ensemble or a demure mantilla. Away from the nostalgic setting, the clothing looked fresh and sophisticated. Delicate details included the top-stitched pintucking on a two-piece ensemble and the layered ruffles on the sleeves of his cropped jackets. —Alison A. Nieder
