Reality to Runway
Hollywood loves comebacks and sequels, and Daniel Franco has had both. The Los Angeles designer was off to a good start in 1999, when his first collection landed in the windows of Saks Fifth Avenue in Beverly Hills. But his promising start was cut short when he dropped out to help his family’s business, a 30-year-old wedding chapel in Los Angeles’ Miracle Mile district.
Franco’s comeback was supposed to be Bravo’s reality show “Project Runway,” but after the designer was cut after the first competition, he switched gears to work on his second launch in time for Fall ’05.
“I’m not satisfied with what people saw on “Project Runway,” Franco said. “I needed to express my love of fashion.”
The result was a 12-piece collection shown April 5 at an art deco jewel box of a building near his family’s business. David Bowie collaborator Mike Garson improvised classical music as accompaniment to the show.
On the runway, Franco showed a mix of beautifully tailored pieces in wool, cashmere, silk satin and silk velvet. A few pieces were offered in taffeta, sharkskin nylon and French lace. He kept the palette somber with Fall/Winter shades of black, charcoal, mahogany and oxblood.
The designer used an oval shape as a starting point, expanding it to create curvilinear seams that paired silk velvet to cashmere and wool. Franco’s dresses dipped to a low curve in the back or had a double waistband—one high, one low. Jackets followed the curve of the body and then echoed the elliptical theme with curving hems and sleeves. A backless surplice top was crisp in white wool. Franco showed the piece on its own over high-waist trousers, but it could easily work as a modern layering piece. —Alison A. Nieder
