California Apparel News

Trasteverine’s vintage-inspired women’s clothing eschews frills, busy prints and fussiness in favor of subtle, compelling design. Co-designers Michalyn Andrews and Brian Frank’s elegant pieces are cut in lush silk fabric in core classic colors—black and creamy white—to complement the clothing’s clean lines. “We’re trying to find as much drama as we can in the simplicity of the clothing,” Andrews said.

In lieu of a seasonal distinction such as Spring 2006, the designers named the current collection “Silk Power” after the silk crepe, silk gabardine, silk charmeuse and silk velvet fabrications used for all items in the line except for one pair of black cotton denim jeans.

“For our first season, we wanted to do something simple, that was a blank slate, where we would not be lumped into any particular category,” said Frank, whose eclectic background defies categorization as well. Before meeting Andrews, Frank was a Hare Krishna monk in India for six years. He moved to New York and studied fashion design at the Parsons School of Design but dropped out after one year and moved to San Diego to follow his own creative path.

Andrews also has a cosmopolitan background. The San Diego native named the line after the Trastevere historical district in Rome, where she spent a number of years making experimental films. She channeled into the collection the sensibility of the neighborhood, which she described as “the old Peasantsville of Rome.” “[The girls] are very chic, but they still have a bohemian air,” Andrews said.

Andrews and Frank debuted Los Angeles–based Trasteverine to an intimate party of friends and former colleagues at The Mercer Hotel in New York during New York Fashion Week in September. An eclectic mix of musicians, artists, designers and buyers turned out for the viewing, including Miho Aoki, from clothing line United Bamboo; Kim Gordon, of the band Sonic Youth; representatives of the Japanese showroom Diptrics; and representatives of the boutique Ghost Town in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood.

Doris Raymond, the owner of the Los Angeles boutique The Way We Wore, was among the visitors at Trasteverine’s debut viewing. “They really tapped into an aesthetic where their designs are timeless,” said Raymond, noting that Andrews and Frank are regular customers at her vintage and designer-vintage boutique.

“It’s an easy line to wear and I think it’s one that will last—a good worthwhile investment,” she said.

The designs focus on basic items in fashion-forward silhouettes such as a silk crepe high-waisted skirt with a mermaid flared bottom, a silk jersey hoodie, cuffed trouser shorts in long and short lengths, and dresses with billowy draping on the sleeves and hip. Wholesale price points range from $70 for a silk jersey with cotton rib tank top to $310 for a three-quarter-sleeve black velvet jacket and $425 for a crepe-back satin dress layered with silk chiffon.

Eventually, Frank plans to add a sophisticated menswear collection to Trasteverine.

For more information, visit www.trasteverine.com, or call (323) 665-0108. —Rhea Cortado