L.A. Fashion Week Spring '09: Juuml;nker
You don’t hear this at every fashion show: “Hey folks, there’s still time to get a lap dance in before the show starts!”
Juuml;nker, the Los Angeles rock ’n’ roll–inspired collection for men and women, has held its fashion shows in near-pitch-black nightclubs, deserted alleys, the Hollywood Forever cemetery and against the backdrop of an R. Crumb exhibition.
In what must surely be a “how do you top that” decision, Juuml;nker designers Giuliana Mayo and Tod Waters opted to hold their Spring ’09 show on Oct. 18 at the Platinum Gentleman’s Club, a recently opened “all-nude” club overlooking the freeway in downtown Los Angeles.
The show opened with an acrobatic performance by a woman who goes by the moniker Sin Fisted. The opening act left little to the imagination, as the shockingly limber performer worked a pair of stripper poles while removing pieces of signature Juuml;nker apparel: second-skin leather corset and micro mini.
But the main event was the fashion show, which featured a mix of Juuml;nker’s returning models and a few new faces. The designers included pieces from Juuml;nker’s ready-to-wear collection, as well as a few customer designs. In addition to hand-ravished leather jackets and pants, tiny skirts with lots of hardware, and leather jackets and vests with raw-edge hems, there were wrap dresses in African prints and dip-dyed fabrics. An oversize skull screen print turned up on a curve-hugging knit dress with side lacing and on a downright conservative circle skirt that fell mid-calf. —Alison A. Nieder
