Little red riding hat
(Credit: Hannah Ross)
Thanks to Indian import Falguni & Shane Peacock, that would not be our doom. With trains that flowed as far back as the runway, the collection of Cavalli-esque satin gowns featured a kaleidoscope of different animal prints in a single pattern—from owl to peacock to leopard to zebra to tiger—and bright colors. It was the most fun clothing we’d seen all week. That is, until Maggie Barry showed.
Proving once again that she is to L.A. what Patricia Field is to New York, Barry showed a ’70s-inspired collection that spanned the decade. Females sported a biker/Studio 54/goth look, and males a “Clockwork Orange”/“Easy Rider”/“Midnight Cowboy” aesthetic. A knit cap with bugle beads that dangled from the ears all the way to the knees was just one item that encompassed Barry’s brave—and successfully executed—audacity.
The rest of the collections, while beautiful and wearable, were incredibly safe. Bow and Arrow by Alan Del Rosario clung to a palette of black and white, accented with the occasional splash of hot pink. Lauren Conrad took what was in her look book and accessorized the hell out of it (with heels that were clearly too large for nearly all of her models), taking the clothing from obnoxiously bland to tolerable—some might even say it was borderline charming. Not us though.
Finally, Nicky Hilton proved that she's come a long way from her days as a gaudy bag designer lost in a sea of rich girls and famewhores making an attempt at accessory design as a fallback career to acting. Her latest line, Nicholai, contained pieces so understated and chic that you could have slipped any one of them into a Burberry or Tory Burch show and nobody would have noticed. My only gripe: Between the equestrian riding outfits (hats, boots and jackets), the houndstooth skirts, and the black and red pleather trench coats, the whole thing seemed a bit done to death.
Spotted: “The Hills” stars
Marcos Luevanos is Style editor for Metromix Los Angeles.
