California Apparel News

A week before Los Angeles Fashion Week, bikini designer Ashley Paige is busy readying her Spring 2007 offerings for the runway, and her Hollywood-based studio/retail boutique is buzzing with activity. Skimpy knit swimsuits in psychedelic colors and nebulous galaxy-inspired patterns that remind the designer of Woodstock flower children await finishing touches. Amid the flurry, a rescued tomcat lounges on a worktable next to a busy seamstress, and Janis Joplin, Paige’s muse for the season, wails from the stereo. The scene is typical—save for the new face in the studio.

Sportswear designer Coco Kliks has joined the team to whip up a collection of knit dresses for the Ashley Paige Spring line. Kliks, who folded her eponymous line of pretty dresses and separates in April, said she has always been a fan of Paige.

“We have always wanted to work together, but there was no time,” Kliks said. “Now, having closed my business, I have the flexibility and time to collaborate with friends like Ashley.”

The timing couldn’t have been better for Paige, who had begun to offer knit separates in past seasons and wanted to expand beyond swimwear.

“I’m a bikini designer—that’s my thing,” Paige said. “If someone says ’make a dress,’ I pass out. But in order to grow as a brand, I have to offer clothes and dresses—so I needed to partner with a strong designer like Coco Kliks.”

Paige isn’t alone in wanting to vault from swimwear to apparel. At the Sunglass Hut Swim Shows Miami Presented by Lycra in July, Los Angeles–based designer Shay Todd’s eponymous line was packed with pretty dresses and sportswear perfect for an evening out. Eventually, the line will split into Shay Todd Swim and Shay Todd Resort, said Shiro Todd, president of the company. Santa Monica, Calif.–based designer Kerry Cushman, whose line of contemporary swimwear Kushcush debuted in 2004 as part of Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion show, returns this month to Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios with a full ready-towear collection.

The result of the Paige-Kliks collaboration is a collection of 16 knit dresses that complement the line’s vintage-inspired swimwear. Lace doilies that could have been salvaged from a grandmother’s linen cabinet are linked to create a floor-length tank dress. Halter dresses sizzle in melon and celadon shades. Striped tunics and sexy lingerie-inspired dresses are perfect for the beach or the bar.

The dresses and swimwear are divided into four groups and share design elements, such as hand-embroidered hummingbirds, giant tassels (Joplin’s trademark accessory) and knit grapes. The designers said they each have been able to infuse the line with their own touches.

“See these leaves?” Kliks asked. “That’s my stamp.” The delicate leaf appliqueacute;s in various sizes and hues started out on a dress but are now all over the swimwear, too.

Manufactured in Los Angeles, the labor-intensive Ashley Paige dress collection will wholesale to upper-tier department stores and specialty boutiques for $200–$250. The duo isn’t sure what the next step in their collaboration will be.

“Who knows how successful this thing will be,” Paige said. “It’s a tough industry.We’re just letting things flow.”

Kliks, who said she is enjoying being a hired gun, will begin work with another Los Angeles–based brand later this month.

For now, the designers said they are enjoying having someone to bounce ideas off of. “I used to just talk to myself, and I looked like a crazy person,” Paige joked.

In the studio, a sewer approaches with a question about a design, and Paige confers with Kliks. The two designers make a decision and seal it with a high-five. “It’s all peace and groovy,” Paige said with a laugh.

Buyers get their first glimpse of the line at 4 p.m. Oct. 19 in the main tent at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios.