Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Collection Bebe
The much-anticipated show of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios teamed fashion designer David Cardona with costume designer and stylist Arianne Phillips and Bebe Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Manny Mashouf.
The collaboration resulted in a sophisticated new collection called Collection Bebe, an aspirational collection of ready-to-wear and red carpet evening gowns. The March 23 finale show at Smashbox drew a star-studded front row, including La Toya Jackson; Anjelica Huston; Courtney Love and daughter Francis Bean Cobain; and actress Mischa Barton, who will soon appear in Bebe’s ad campaign.
The collection was inspired by the tulip, and featured clean lines, luxurious fabrics, modern silhouettes and voluminous shapes. “It had to be elegant and it had to be what people perceive as elegant,” said Cardona, who made the collection with such luxurious fabrics as silk taffeta, silk charmeuse and crepe-back satin for gowns; Italian wools for suits; suede and leather for coats. The palette in moonbeam, noir, charcoal, crimson and concord emphasized a cool sophistication styled with cropped leggings and accessorized with patent leather belts, gloves and purses. Stand-out pieces included a duchess satin strapless tulip dress, a quilted taffeta jacket with a satin bouquet skirt, skinny pants paired with a shearling harness coat and a stunning, silk satin drop-waist gown with a bouquet skirt. —N. Jayne Seward
