Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring '05: Uriel Saenz

Green is the new black for Uriel Saenz. The Los Angeles–based designer presented plenty of contrary designs during his 19-look P. Ka Bu runway show, held Oct. 29 at the Blu Pinstripe Warehouse near downtown Los Angeles.

The designer said he wanted clashing sensibilities to make peace in his Spring 2005 collection. “I wanted clean, but I wanted dirty,” he said of his third collection.

The green, the clean and the dirty all found a home in the section of his show called “Forbidden Garden.” Sheer silk chiffon pieces took form as billowing tops that were dramatically cut off at one shoulder. Other chiffon pieces featured low necklines and a two-tone color scheme, with one side green and the other pale yellow.

The color green also showed up in pieces that were not constructed from the paperthin silk chiffon. Green halter tops and ring tops were paired with white miniskirts.

Next, Saenz explored Jackie O.–inspired box dresses lined with champagne-colored silk charmeuse. Smart-looking color-blocked silk shawls in lime green and yellow gave the dresses a sophisticated finishing touch. —Andrew Asch