Directives West Fall ’12
Directives West, the merchandising consultancy firm founded in Los Angeles in 1982, always does a great job of presenting the season’s trends and then showcasing them on the runway.
That was true on March 12, when Directives West emptied a showroom in the Lady Liberty building in Los Angeles and presented “First LA.”
Shelda Hartwell-Hale, the company’s vice president, introduced the runway show by pointing out that Fall is all about color. “It is making a huge impact on everything we are doing,” she said.
Leather, she pointed out, has turned luxe, as seen by a number of vests showcased on the runway and paired with everything from pants to skirts.Metallics are still in the picture, but instead of being bright and shiny, they have a subtle sheen to them.
Denim, a Los Angeles favorite, is cleaned up. Sometimes it comes in vintage washes. Jeans are appearing in cigarette or straight silhouettes. They are also branching out from denim and appearing in corduroy and velvet. Plaid is still on the fashion directory this Fall as well as pleated skirts.
All these looks were represented on the runway by Bless’ed Are the Meek, Bishop of Seventh, Heartloom, J. Leyendecker, Sam + Lavi, Joe’s Jeans,Chaser, Marna Ro and Walter.—Deborah Belgum
