L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Alvin Valley

Alvin Valley, one of several New York–based designers to show in Los Angeles this season, didn’t disappoint the local audience. The Cuban-American designer known as “the king of pants” showed his “The Importance of Being Dada” Spring 2004 collection at Smashbox Studios in Culver City on the opening night of Smashbox Fashion Week.

Valley, who was inspired by a trip to Switzerland and by the Dada movement of the early 20th century, delivered a sophisticated collection with feminine styling and a masculine edge. “This collection has a lot of restructuring and sculpting of the body,” he said.

The objective of the collection, he noted, is to make women feel sexy, powerful and strong. “The whole season was really about sculpting the body and the mind,” he said. “To me, it’s all about tailoring and bringing power to women hellip; bringing the femininity through the sharp edges of the clothes.”

The collection included sleek tailored suits with intricate construction, color-blocked dresses in matte jersey and bathing suits in exclusive Dada-inspired prints. Valley also paired pants, denim looks, swimsuits and high-waist tailored tap pants with tailored jackets and coats. Exquisite fabrics—including Swiss cottons and cotton eyelets, brocade, silk cashmere, linen Lurex, and denim—completed the look of the polished collection. —N. Jayne Seward