The CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund hosts an L.A. runway show
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Despite the dreary weather and what was originally supposed to be an outdoor venue, celebrities, stylists and fashion supporters flocked to the Chateau Marmont on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the 2010 finalists of the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund.
The finalists, who this year include Joseph Altuzarra of Altuzarra, Robert Geller, Pamela Love, Prabal Gurung, Billy Reid, Christian Cota, Moss Lipow, Oliver Helden and Paul Marlow of Loden Dager, Gregory Parkinson and Eddie Borgo, presented several looks from their spring/summer 2011 collections to the crowd who had been stealthily relocated from the garden of the hotel to the inside lounge. Event hosts Frederic Fekkai and Vogue’s West Coast senior editor Lisa Love sat front row among celebrities such as Eva Mendes, Marisa Tomei, Emily Mortimer and Molly Sims, most of whom are no strangers to a fashion show, yet all showed enthusiastic support for the designers’ collections (Mendes even wore one of Cota’s designs to the event).
Models glided down the living room-like setting of the hotel’s lounge in spring styles so fresh one forgot the overcast skies for a moment. The hair (done by Fekkai and Renato Campora) added a Southern California-esque feel, pulled back into tousled low ponytails, adding an easy, casual vibe to the runway looks. But it was another aspect of Southern California that had the crowd smiling and cheering -– L.A based designer Parkinson, whose effective use of mixing colorful textiles and flowy bohemian silhouettes have long been a hometown favorite as well as a hit with the global fashion community.
His applause was noticeably more thunderous than the other finalists, and the designer humbly thanked his L.A based friends/fan club for the generous support. “In a few years, I will have lived in L.A for as long as I lived in England. This really is my adoptive home,” Parkinson said. “The people here today have been a part of my life for many years and this is incredibly emotional. And nobody, nobody could ask for a better cheer!”
Several other L.A. based designers were present at the event. Jasmine Shokrian and former CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund finalist Juan Carlos Obando were in attendance and confessed their adoration of Eddie Borgo’s intense and rather large accessories. “His jewelry has a kick to it!” Obando said. “And jewelry should be decadent. Wearing Eddie’s jewelry is like you’re wearing precious toys … shiny, pointy, dangerous toys. What else could a girl want?”
-- Melissa Magsaysay