L.A. Fashion Week Spring '03: Goretti

There’s always a song behind a Goretti collection, the sleek 2-year-old line designed by Los Angeles’ Desiree Kohan and Monica Behan. What kind of song depends on how Behan is feeling at the moment.

For Goretti’s Spring/Summer collection, the musician-turned-apparel designer waxed nostalgic and looked to jazz’s Bebop era for inspiration to come up with a line of linear gowns, dresses and swimsuits, which debuted at the crowded yet intimate interiors of Les Deux Cafeacute;s in Hollywood on Nov. 5.

“There’s a femininity to jazz that we tried to blend with the new Hollywood,” said Behan, who with Kohan used classic lines featuring silk charmeuse, satin, crepe and tulle to bring an air of nostalgia to the collection.

While the line has a heavy concentration of romantic looks, with Grecian- and “Ella”-inspired gowns, the designers also added some contemporary flair to classic silhouettes by way of silk jumpsuits, black silk swimsuits and powder-blue daydresses.

Behan’s music background meshes well with Kohan’s more laid-back lifestyle: Behan’s more rock ’n’ roll, while Kohan, who lives on a Malibu ranch, used to shop the world for antique fabrics.

Backed by company owner Rebecca Broussard, the line is getting attention. Among the appreciative crowd eyeing the collection was actress Mena Suvari and stylists Arianne Phillips and Jessica Paster. Jonathan Antin and Geoffrey Rodriguez of Smashbox did hair and makeup. —Robert McAllister