Of Two Minds makes for one great collection

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With the Dandy Warhols’ “Bohemian Like You” blaring from speakers set up in the garden of the Soho House in West Hollywood and hazy sunlight filtering through the giant glass windows of the space minutes before sunset, the setting seemed a perfect backdrop for the Of Two Minds debut, an L.A-based line that tapped California culture, ‘60s rockers and hippie chic for its fall 2011 collection.

The label’s designer is Sunjoo Moon, who moved to L.A from Paris two years ago (she counts Isabel Marant and Vanessa Bruno as good friends) and has previously designed for Missoni and Kenzo along with having her eponymous collection and formerly a store in Paris. Her collection is currently on hold while she delves into designing Of Two Minds, a line that, much like Moon, is a mix of what she calls “the Parisian sassy girl and California cool.”

Indeed it is, with a lot of day-to-night pieces like delicately sequined tops paired with slouchy menswear-inspired trousers and loose khaki drawstring waist jackets styled over a grayish purple cotton lace mini-dress. The outerwear was definitely the strong point, with deep aubergine velvet over coats that layered perfectly over a flowy dress and a letterman-style jacket with a quilted body and black leather sleeves. The finale dresses were also something special -– one was a black, sleeveless wrap dress with a tiered fringe skirt and all-lace back. It was a mix of fabrics and textures that didn’t seem like they would gel, but Moon was also not heavy-handed about it. It’s a dress that’s bound to end up on a Hollywood starlet sooner or later, as well as cool Cali girls who like the girl-meets-boy-meets-boho look.

Of Two Minds will be carried at Neiman Marcus and Fred Segal for fall 2011.