California Apparel News

Victor Wilde,left, Azlynn Berry on trampoline.

Jumping on a trampoline is one way to create a stir. Having a model trampoline jump in a flimsy parachute dress is how designer and provocateur Victor Wilde created a buzz for his new shop The Brutique.

It debuted last week to showcase his art and his avant-garde line The Bohemian Society. This line has appeared in almost every L.A. Fashion Week since 2003 and produced unconventional and fun runway shows.

The Brutique debuted in a 200-square foot-space on the Spring Street side of the sprawling gallery/used book shop The Last Bookstore July 14. The Brutique took its bow during the bustling Downtown Los Angeles Art Walk when thousands of people stroll by Last Book Store’s giant windows, which appealed to Wilde’s instincts as a retailer and a showman.

“This is about making a presence known. It’s about making an experience,” Wilde said eyeing the big crowds on Spring Street gawking at model Azlynn Berry. And yes, the trampoline jumping model was protected from the crowds by the Last Bookstore’s walls and thick glass window.

Brutique will be open by appointment only; the trampoline will not be a permanent part of the shop’s interior design. But Wilde’s art, like the abstract expressionist piece Geisha Study #1 will remain, and his line will be on display.

Price points for Bohemian society’s cut-and-sew and reworked vintage ranges from $20 to $2,000.For sale were Bohemian Society blazers made with African mud cloth as well as parachute dresses made out of Vietnam War era parachutes and one-of-a-kind fashions. Wilde plans to open a Brutique in Tokyo in 2012. He makes 60 percent of his revenue in Japan.

Despite the surreal name Brutique, Wilde hopes to make Art Walk safer and more humane. On July 14, a baby was killed at Art Walk. An unnamed driver jumped a curb near the Brutique and ran over Marcello Vasquez who was lying in a stroller which was being pushed by his mother. Marcello was 57 days old according to the Los Angeles Times.

Since then, Wilde started a petition to ban cars from downtown Los Angeles’ Spring and Main streets during Art Walk hours. The petition got 500 signatures; he plans to present it to Los Angeles City Council when it has 1,000 signatures. “Art Walk is nothing more than street fair with art,” Wilde said. “There are more than 20,000 people on the street. It has been getting more unsafe.”