L.A. Fashion Week Spring '06: Antik Denim
Co-designers Alexandre Caugant and Philippe Naouri proved that the Antik Denim girl isn’t afraid to show some skin or be the center of attention. The mob of guests clamoring to enter the tent for the Antik Denim runway show at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios on Oct. 18 saw a racy presentation of washboard stomachs, peek-a-boo breasts and mile-long legs.
“We’re from Europe,” said Naouri, a native of France. “In Europe, girlshellip; feel comfortable with their sexuality, and we want it very sexy and liberated.”
Los Angeles–based Antik Denim, owned by denim veteran Paul Guez, is known for Western-style jeans with a whipstitched hem and signature embroidered back pockets. Antik’s newest designs retained the cowboy aesthetic but were styled with a global flair that brought out eclectic details in the jeans such as crochet patches, hippie-floral embroidery and rows of rickrack ribbon.
Other styles included denim and long camouflage-print prairie skirts, a loosefitting khaki cargo pant with brass studded pockets and overalls.
Antik topped off the night with graphic exhibitionism: Beefcake men rolled out a nearly nude model rocking her hips on a mechanical bull as the scantily clad male and female models cheered her on. —Rhea Cortado
