L.A. is not just a T-shirt and jeans town. In the wake of Rodarte, Rami Kashou, Katy Rodriguez and Jenni Kayne, a rising tide of young designers obsessed with craftsmanship are sweeping up notions of what L.A. fashion looks like. At the crest of this new wave are the trio showcased at last night's Gen Art New Garde event: JMary, Jesse Kamm and Trang Chau for Le Sang des Betes.
Jesse Kamm
Some 2,300 filed into the Park Plaza to view the elaborately staged vignettes custom created by Keith Greco for each designer. And, like always, there were plenty making the scene in their own crafty looks. My artist friend Valentin Toledo (a former magazine art director in Spain) went loco with my Leica, especially at the sight of the Le Sang Des Betes staging, which, like the clothes, draws on lines of vaulted ceilings in Gothic cathedrals. In an entirely modern way, of course.
Le Sang Des Betes Fall 2008
Chau cut a few of the Fall 2008 looks especially for the New Garde Pop-Up Shop going on in my Silver Lake shop of A+R. We opened today with current selections from the New Garde and recent Fresh Faces designers. More on that and pics of the store tomorrow. So stay tuned...
Valentin and Me
J Mary Fall 2008
Cool Kids @ Gen Art
Smoking Makes You Blurry
Jamie Pelayo in Thomas Wylde
Brit Boys Soloman and Yann
Glamour Girls: and Lena Lecaro
Love these two!
Costume designer Marta and artist Christie Frields
Rose Apodaca is a pop culture and style journalist and the co-owner of A+R, the design retail lab in Los Angeles, and its online sister http://www.aplusrstore.com. She consulted on and helped launch Image, the new Los Angeles Times style section, and she contributes to Harper's Bazaar, Elle, Glamour, Style.com, Paper, Preen and other publications. Her first book, Style A to Zoe: The Art of Fashion, Beauty & Everything Glamour, an all-encompassing lifestyle guide written for celeb stylist Rachel Zoe, is now in bookstores. She is currently authoring a biography on Fred Hayman, co-founder of Giorgio Beverly Hills and marketing architect of Rodeo Drive.
A+R is located in Silverlake and now on Abbot Kinney in Venice, CA.
Rose helmed the west coast bureau of fashion-industry bible Women's Wear Daily and was a contributor to W Magazine for six years until March 2006, when she left to join partner Andy Griffith in A+R and focus on related projects. She has long championed Los Angeles and California style and design, from the streets and runways to interiors and food. She is the first recipient of the Los Angeles Fashion Awards Communications Prize for bringing global attention to the region's fashion industry and style culture. With A+R, she continues to showcase rising and undiscovered talent from around the world.
An active supporter of the arts, music and nightlife scenes, she is a co-owner of Beauty Bar Hollywood and Las Vegas, and serves on various arts organization boards. Rose and Andy, who tied the knot in September 2007, live in Silverlake.
* All photographs appearing on this blog were snapped by Rose with her Leica D-Lux 3, unless otherwise noted. Please credit all photographs accordingly.
Illustration below by the talented EvelynBlack1955.
Hey Rose, how's it going. Remember me and you're like who and I'm like Sada's husband. Maybe Sada is easier to remember, from Action Sports, with Neil and Paul and John Stoffer. I just found Neil and saw you as a friend so thought I'd say hi. We saw your book down here in Oz (where we live now) and it was totally awesome. Hope you're well, Cya.
just wanted to throw an eye at you to see how you do and talk about
THE WAY OF LOVE WITH YOU (universal content design ) &
(besides i really like thoses pieces)
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.
If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.
Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will pass away.
When I was a child, I spoke like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I gave up childish ways.
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.
So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.
good morning Rose! I love your blog~ So happy that you are doing great~ will pop in and see you soon. Thanks for the good and obviously sad (Paul Starr) readings... lots of love tracey groce
I'm a huge fan of Uber. I loved your post the other day about Tarina Tarantino! Anyway, I wanted to give you a heads up about a new site, ideeli, that you would enjoy. I actually work for the site, and we sell really great bags and accessories at unbelievable prices. I thought you might want to check it out and see what we've got coming soon, because you (and all of us who read your blog!) should always be in the know about sites like this one. It's members-only, but if you'd like to see what's up on the site, you may use my private code: vip1. Just go to www.ideeli.com to see for yourself :) If you like the site, we'd love you to feature us, and I'd be happy to set up a special invite code for your readers - just let me know!
hi rose ....i am a interoir designer fromindia.....m quite impressed to see ur collection .....can i buy things here in india ....do u ship in india....i have some close relatives in canada....do u ship in canda.....?
Wow, Im so flattered and thankful that you enjoyed the show. I hope that you can make it out sometime soon to "The Bullfight " act that I do when it is booked here in town. Its pretty flamboyant , just the thing for these boring summer evenings. lol. Its always a pleasure to see you Rose. Much love, Ava Garter
Wow! Roger Lloyd Pack "Owen" from the Vicar of Dibley and Andy could be brothers, or at least each others Doppelgänger. Fantastic photos. Thanks for sharing these amazing images.
Rose, any idea who is doing Rick's PR? I have the usual suspects in the Dbase. Please dash me an email with the right contact this round. I think he's supremely talented. So far, he's the most under rated US designer. He's the real deal!