California Apparel News

Couture with an edge—that’s the look of Michel Berandi.

The designer, who entered the fashion world as a partner of Cosa Nostra, has since launched his eponymous men’s and women’s collection. The line, which bowed in October 2005, is a mix of avant-garde rock ’n’ roll and high-end luxury.

Los Angeles retailer Maxfield was the first to carry the line last March. The collection has since been picked up by Harvey Nichols in Hong Kong, Stacey Todd in the Los Angeles area, and Royal Flash, Isatan and Beams in Japan.

Berandi’s line is a departure from the dark rock ’n’ roll edge of Cosa Nostra. For his own collection, Berandi has taken a more conceptual approach.

“I wanted to do something different, more feminine, more elegant, switching to something more couture,” he said.

For Michel Berandi, the designer combined the shapes of insects and skeletons with the silhouettes of couture collections. “The idea was to take the Prada look and see what would happen if Prada started to decay,” the designer said. Leather trench coats and blazers are cut to the curves of the body with seaming that mimics the skeletal shape, fabrics that are distressed and weathered for a decayed feeling, and hems that take on the natural, uneven shape of the leather skin. The color palette includes subtle, muted colors such as taupe, aubergine, ash, brown, gray, white and black.

Berandi’s first collection was experimental. The T-shirts were made of reworked American Apparel tanks and tees that were overdyed, stenciled, pieced, refitted and decorated with chiffon. The designer now manufactures his T-shirts, creating his own structural “skeletal” shapes with fewer embellishments.

For Fall, the line is more focused and stronger in design, according to Berandi, who said he used high-quality Italian fabrics, less decoration and a more cohesive design concept.

As a result, the collection has a more universal look.

“I would really like everybody to wear it— it’s something I am really aiming at,” Berandi said. “I really want to reach all women everywhere.”

For example, an elegant silk chiffon dress has intricate stitching around the midriff for a sexy fit, and a zipper sewn on the outside of the back of the dress gives it an edgy finish. The dress is lined in jersey for comfort and fits like a glove with a flattering flow to the skirt.

“The women I was picturing were actually women who really know who they are, who are strong, but are fairylike and very gentle conceptually,” the designer said. “They know what they want, they know what to wear, and they know who they are—they don’t need to prove anything to anybody.”

If Berandi’s women are fairylike, his men are meant to look like superheroes. The men’s collection contains many pieces that correspond to and complement the women’s collection, including tank tops, jackets and a sweatshirt hoodie with leather pockets and details.

Wholesale prices for the women’s line are $150–$350 for dresses, $80–$130 for embellished tanks and long-sleeve tees, $375–$975 for hoodies and leather jackets, and $160 for jeans. For men, wholesale prices are $70–$80 for babyrib tanks, $125 for jersey and long-sleeve shirts, $80–$140 for wool and cashmere sweaters, $150–$225 for wool dress pants and jeans, $450–$900 for handknitted wool and leather jackets and leather blazers, and $1,500 for a leather trench coat with cashmere lining.

Accessories are equally luxe, including items such as a gray leather bag with mink lining, wholesale-priced at $325. Hand-knitted wool and mohair scarves begin at $75, and belts are wholesale-priced at $25–$325.

Berandi also is making a couture jewelry collection out of fur, gold and diamonds.

Michel Berandi is carried in the Hatch showroom in The Bank at The New Mart in Los Angeles. For more information, call (213) 532-8818. —N. Jayne Seward