L.A. Fashion Week Spring '08: Cosa Nostra
Los Angeles designer Jeffrey Sebelia opened BoxEight’s second installation on Oct. 11 at Vibiana, a new venue located in the former St. Vibiana Cathedral in downtown Los Angeles, with a dreamy punk rock–meets–outdoor preppy collection. Sebelia’s collection, his second since winning the third installment of Bravo TV’s “Project Runway” fashion competition, was inspired by the book “Into the Wild,” which tells the story of the journey of middle-class kid Chris McCandless, who goes on a “soul-seeking trek through the wilderness” and eventually dies in the mountains of Alaska.
“I didn’t get too literal. I didn’t want everyone looking like a college kid. So I focused on color palettes and fabrications that followed the arc of his journey,” Sebelia said. One cotton fabrication used on filmy sundresses was printed with florals and plaids in the color of a Sedona, Ariz., sunset. Another fabric had a metallic sheen that reminded Sebelia of silver clouds and Alaskan snow. Lumberjack plaids and preppy sweaters were also inspired by McCandless.
Standout pieces for guys included patched denim dipped in shiny wax, a hooded Prussian-blue waterproof jacket with a patent finish, skinny color-block cardigans and a black hooded leather blazer. Men’s suits were skinny with cropped pants hitting well above the ankle. Sebelia showed a wide range of styles for women, ranging from vintage-inspired sundresses to tiered miniskirts paired with long tuxedo jackets and plenty of skinny jeans in dirty washes. A shrunken black leather motorcycle jacket with seams made of silver zippers recalled Sebelia’s punk-rock roots. —Erin Barajas
