SomethingElse
Press escape to continue.
- Joined
- Mar 22, 2007
- Messages
- 5,444
- Reaction score
- 0
The Duke Returns: LA Fashion Week Spring 2008
For celeb favorite and HSN fashion maestro Randolph Duke, Sunday night at the Mercedes-Benz Los Angeles Fashion Week marked a return to the runway after a seven-year absence. But while Duke may not have been showing in Los Angeles, he's still been doing some high-profile dressing, from the copper gown worn by Hilary Swank when she took home Oscar gold to Marcia Gay Harden's red number when she did the same.
Duke's return coincided with the Mercedes-Benz push to make the weeklong event more green, a fact he revealed by saying, "with a heightened consciousness of going green, my inspiration [for the Spring 2008 collection] revealed itself through the natural beauty of California."
To that end, he began his 73-look "The Living Earth" show on the Main Stage at Smashbox Studios with an ivory silk cargo jacket paired with a gold micro mini, made in the shapes of a palm frond. Motifs of ferns, palmettos, cacti, and lotus blossoms were sprinkled throughout the designs, which ranged from daywear pieces ranging from micro shorts and tiny minis to the sleek suits that helped make Duke a couture star and straight on to a flurry of elaborate gowns obviously designed for red-carpet moments.
Silhouettes ranged from skintight and shimmery (a beaded ivory silk chiffon gown, in a tone called "sunlight") to severe and straight (a midnight blue leather dress with an obi sash) to flowy and feminine. Those were the most obviously wearable of the group, highlighted by a granite-toned dress overlaid with black tulle, in a look Duke described as a "monolith," created to evoke rock formations.
Completely sheer tops on an assortment of gowns left absolutely nothing to the imagination; the model's breasts were completely exposed for perusal by the packed audience that included Smashbox founder Davis Factor, "Dirty Sexy Money" star Natalie Zea, and "Nip/Tuck" beauty Kelly Carlson. There was a bit of bondage in the show as well, with embossed leather bras tied up around the body and paired with cargo capris.
Overall, the Randolph Duke collection had a feeling of glitter, shimmer, and texture, mostly in easily flowing and very wearable looks that evoked the earth's bounty but did not have an ounce of a hippie/granola vibe. Now that's a green message that every Angeleno fashionista should be able to get behind.
wwd.com
