L.A. Fashion Week wrapped up two weeks ago but the Beverly Hills Fashion Festival curbed any chance of runway withdrawals by showcasing collections from Elie Tahari, Teresa Rosati, William Rast and H. Lorenzo, this past Saturday.
Nestled next to The Beverly Hilton, the event attracted an affluent crowd dressed to the nines. Like most fashion shows nowadays, vendors were on display. The only difference here was that the attendees weren’t too interested in the various booths. We saw a few people at Custo Barcelona, Young Fabulous & Broke, Leslie Fastlicht Russo Jewelry, Aireheart by Sydney, Gypsy05, Skin by Monica Olsen, Per-fekt, Tahiti My Pearl, Isharya and others, but overall the vendors themselves looked bored.
And unlike other L.A. Fashion Week events, the open bar was missing, but there were plenty of food trucks including Sprinkles Cupcakes, The Grilled Cheese Truck, Cart for a Cause and Global Soul.
As soon as festival goers were in their seats and ready to see Elie Tahari’s line, a representative from Israel’s Shenkar College of Engineering and Design thanked Tahari and BHFF for benefitting their scholarship program. After the short speech, models graced the runway sporting stylish hair courtesy of Paul Mitchell. Tahari’s collection consisted of an abundance of gold dresses and gowns adorned with sequins and some with lace.
See our full runway coverage:
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
An hour later, Teresa Rosati debuted elaborate and intricately designed gowns fit for any red carpet event. Bravo’s reality star Jonathan Antin, introduced the designer. As soon the first gown hit the catwalk, the audience cheered and applauded. This was the theme throughout the entire show. Almost every outfit was welcomed with claps and whistles. See some of the amazing gowns below:
Check out our slide show for full runway coverage:
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
At 7pm, the William Rast line opened with a captivating and energetic dance number. After the performance, the audience waited in anticipation for Justin Timberlake to come out. (We didn’t see him).
The collection consisted of military colors combined with rugged denim, leather and an array of coats.
See our favorite looks below:
Full runway coverage of the William Rast collection below:
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
Finally, the last collection to take the catwalk at 9pm was H.Lorenzo presenting Michel Berandi, Olima Atelier and SKINGRAFT. Before the show, we got a sneak peek at The Linor Documentary Project, which was put together by Linor Abargil in an effort to spread the word on rape and help victims tell their story. A portion of the proceeds from the event went to the Teddy Bear Clinic for abused children in Soweto, South Africa.
Next, the much anticipated line of the night was set to hit the catwalk: H. Lorenzo. The last time we saw the SKINGRAFT line was at the Concept LA installation back in March. It was great to see the clothing in movement on the runway.
We saw not only black outfits but overall neutral tones including grays, creams and beige paired with feathers, see-through tops, leather, hooded sweaters and dresses.
For more looks, check out our full runway coverage.
http://picasaweb.google.com/s/c/bin/slideshow.swf
While the event inaugural event was a runway success, there was some room for improvement. For one, red carpet arrivals were timed too close to show time, leaving photographers scrambling from the red carpet to the riser. We would have also preferred to have two designers showcase their lines back to back, rather than waiting one hour between showings. Second, those seated in their designated seats were asked to move closer to the runway only to be kicked out by attendees who were assigned to sit in the exact spot. Third, it’s probably not a good idea to turn the lights off completely while people are still in the process of finding their seats.
Overall, the fashion was impressive and we have faith that the small kinks will be ironed out by next year’s event.
tweetmeme_url = ''; http://tweetmeme.com/i/scripts/button.js
http://s7.addthis.com/js/250/addthis_widget.js?pub=xa-4a5e990e29489c7a
DISARRAY 
