L.A. Fashion Week Spring '08: Coco Johnsen
Relatively new to the world of fashion is Coco Johnsen, who had been designing one-of-a-kind pieces for the last few years until she put together her first ready-to-wear collection for Spring/Summer ’08, seen on the runway Oct. 15 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
Johnsen, a former model, former flight attendant and former headline-grabbing companion of comedian Bill Maher, gravitated to luxurious, sophisticated looks made of dupioni silk or silk charmeuse for her first extensive collection. She covered the gamut of apparel, venturing from swimwear to eveningwear with suits and day dresses filling in the gap.
“I consider my pieces to be pieces of wearable art,” said the North Carolina native who studied for a few semesters at the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising in Los Angeles. “But I wanted to offer women a place they can go to get something to wear from day to night.”
With that in mind, she added a bit of glitz to the lineup. Her shiny dupioni silk suits hugged the body, some with pencil-thin legs and others with knee-length shorts. Her dresses had an ethereal effect with flowing fabric and clean designs. Colors were both subdued and eye-poppingly bright, providing a color palette for everyone. —Deborah Belgum
