House Of Byfield
Designer Carmichael Byfield brought a little something different to the Art Hearts LAFW. His collection provided onlookers with a twist of sophistication, style and edge with a splash of bold prints. Carmichael’s collection was a new and edgy twist to the 1950’s dapper and swing style. His men wore variations of two piece suits, collared shirts and slacks while the women were styled in knee length flowing dresses. As I sat and watched, I was absolutely pleased with everything that came down the runway. The suiting was predominantly white based with black and teal graphic prints. Byfield also transitioned and has men in teal slacks and lace, long line button down tops that helped play along with the current trends. The men were styled with amazing structured bags by Carat 23. What was also very nice to see was the coloring blocking on some of the suits. Byfield would have the bodice of the jacket white with graphics while keeping the sleeves all black, and vice versa. A really cool way to keep the flow of the show and not allow the audience to get bored. The women wore contrasting colors of a berry like purple, gray and black. All of their dresses shared similar silhouettes and were created out of a beautiful printed silk that swayed so gracefully as the models walked the runway. To keep with the fun and exciting prints, these dresses were printed with a fussy pattern of stripes, circles and zig zags.
Mister Triple X
Designer Erik Rosete not only helped run backstage for this years Art Hearts LA Fashion Week but he also made quite the splash with his designs. Showing not only once but twice on two separate days, the Mister Triple X had everyone talking. His first collection was his Swim 2016 collection titled Vortex. A vortex was exactly what we saw. Rosete put a spin on swimwear with very sexy cut outs, barely there bikinis and short board shorts. The styling of the swim portion of the show was impeccable. Going along with the logo of his brand, Erik styled his female models with bunny ears and towering heels. The featured prints were far from plain with optical illusion black and whites and pop art images. Black and white stripes were a repeating pattern also on both the men and women’s swimwear pieces.
The second show was a fun, ready to wear collection that provided a bold, cocktail attire style. The title of this collection was One Rose. Erik had the runway lined with single roses to go along with the title. This collection was for the nightlife crowd, where cocktail attire includes lots of leather and bold prints. Erik styled his men in eye popping mosaic block printed slacks and shorts and no shirts, just leather harnesses and ties accessorized by Ammanii. The girls wore short ruffled cocktail dresses and some in longer tea lengths but to stick with the edge appeal, they were adorned with leather panels, chain harnesses or lace up ribbon panels. Overall, both shows were extremely upbeat, original and stayed true to the designers aesthetic and style.
Michael Ngo Couture
If you ever wanted to see what it would be like to go to a show inspired by the movie, Robo Cop, this would be the show to see. Michael Ngo literally had me on the edge of my seat from the start of his show to the finish. The show consisted of police like uniforms for both men and women. The men wore a variation of two piece short sets, metallic pants, and matching jackets, and neoprene bomber jackets with mesh cutouts. For the women, there were one piece body swim like garments, high waisted two piece sets and also metallic pants and tops to match. The metallics were bold, bright and reflective and you couldn’t keep your eyes off of them. The lines on each garments are so clean, and the styling was amazing. Michael designed patent leather harness, hats, and belts to top off his men and women looks and to keep things uniformed, the show consisted of silver, cobalt, white and black. The show was upbeat with fast pace music, strong beats and the models hustled down the runway keeping your heart rate high. My two favorite female looks were an all white short and blazer set that was completely covered in all white stones and closing out the show Michael featured an all black sequined gown with a plunging deep v neck and strong padded shoulders.