Italian Connection

Well-dressed Italians and Italophiles turned out to hear Italian-born designer Elisabetta Rogiani show a few of her Spring ’05 fashions and talk about her recent work on Aug. 26 at the Istituto Italiano Cultura in Los Angeles’ Westwood neighborhood. Rogiani, who designs and sells her collection from her Beverly Boulevard boutique, was formerly the fashion editor of the now-shuttered L.A. Style magazine. She said she still enjoys translating the city’s style for Europeans. “The fun is to be Italian and be in California and to tell people what is California style,” she said. Rogiani discussed her recent fashion show at The Grove, part of Italian Week, a 14-day celebration sponsored by the Italian Trade Commission of Los Angeles and the Italy America Chamber of Commerce West, held in June in Los Angeles. The designer then introduced fashion photographer Melvin Sokolsky and presented a brief retrospective of his 40-year career. —Alison A. Nieder