L.A. Fashion Week Spring '08: Elsie Katz Couture
Designer Donna Baxter of Elsie Katz Couture stepped away from the runway for one season to refocus her line, veering away from ready-to-wear sportswear and concentrating on cocktail dresses.
“I am, after all, a dress designer,” said Baxter, who works out of Vashon, Wash., a peaceful island of one-lane roads in Puget Sound off the Seattle coast. Local seamstresses sew all the samples.
The design returned to the runway on Oct. 15 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, Calif.
Baxter, also the owner of Elsie Katz, named for her evening gown–loving grandmother, used an abundance of natural fabrics, such as silk, wool and cotton, to make frilly frocks that were beautifully constructed. She had a vivid red sleeveless trapeze dress with hand-applied petals and diamante on satin.
A strapless green brocade sheath was simple but elegant. A flowy flapper-style strapless dress evoked the 1920s. Flouncy layers of petticoats were heavily employed.
The designer took her inspiration from Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s “The Little Prince.” “The whole story of the book is the Little Prince was inspired by a rose, something that was extraordinary and different but with many layers and personalities,” Baxter said. “So that is the flowery layers of the gowns that were inspired by that.” —Deborah Belgum
