L.A. Fashion Week Spring '06: Louis Verdad
If L.A. designers are measured by their star power, then Louis Verdad is approaching a 10.
Sitting in the front row, waiting to see his Spring ’06 collection, were Paris Hilton, Lucy Liu, Gina Gershon and Carla Gugino. Veteran L.A. designer Richard Tyler took a post in the front row close to where the models entered the runway at the Oct. 16 show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
This season, Verdad took his inspiration from the days when women were more prone to wear tailored clothing than blue jeans. “I just wanted to go back to femininity, to good times, to give people an idea to be in another place,” he said. “It’s a little of the 1940s and 1950s. It’s Katharine Hepburn meets Barbara Stanwyck.”
Fabrics varied from silk shantungs and stretch poplins to floral jacquards and black Swiss polka dots on white cotton.
“The main standing of this collection is the summer dress,” Verdad said, noting he would like to see more dresses on the red carpet.
His dresses came in fitted waists with wide belts. An empire yolk dress had shirred button sleeves, and a sweetheart dress in a black-and-white plisse glen plaid had puff sleeves and a patent-leather belt. Evening gowns were elegant, with a black-and-white-striped silk charmeuse that flowed evenly down the runway. —Deborah Belgum
