Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring '05: Juan Carlos Obando
Unveiling his very first collection, Juan Carlos Obando created ample amounts of sex appeal in fashions featuring taffeta and silk, bright colors, and shapely silhouettes.
Obando, originally from Baranquilla, Colombia, spent several years as an advertising art director in the United States before shifting gears into high fashion. He has carried over many of the concepts that made him an advertising success into the world of couture.
“My philosophy in advertising has always been sex appeal, even to sell a car or a rock,” he said. “You can’t buy sexuality. Sexuality is something you own. I think it is something you have inside. And when you have the confidence, you can wear whatever you want.”
The line, which debuted Oct. 29 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City, had a touch of everything: daywear, swimwear and eveningwear. Ruched dresses and skirts, cutout bustiers, wide-leg trousers and pencil skirts defined much of the line. Colors varied from stark white to bright blue, fuchsia and royal purple.
Particularly outstanding and ubiquitous were white knotted-goatskin stiletto sandals. These were designed by Obando and handmade in Medelliacute;n, Colombia, out of material imported from Italy. —Deborah Belgum
