The Curious World of Jared Gold

Jared Gold calls his company, Dark Dynamite Inc., “an eccentric lifestyles corporation.”

And, indeed, Gold is promoting a different world of fashion. While most designers serve cocktails at their openings, Gold serves candy. While many West Coast designers are inspired by Audrey Hepburn, the swinging ’60s or the California sun, Gold finds his muse in the prim clothes of the Victorian era.

But when Gold presented his Spring 2005 collection on Feb. 3 to more than 200 people at Los Angeles’ Aero & Co. boutique, he delivered a big shock. The clothes seemed mainstream and contemporary.

The collection, called “Botanical Reactor,” emphasizes floral graphics and comes in a bouquet of colors. The women’s versatile jackets, pants, skirts and tops are fit for a shopping center or an art opening. Wholesale price points range from $32 for a tank top to $68 for a jacket.

The simple silhouettes don’t mean that Gold is changing his style, said Alisa Loftin, co-owner of Aero & Co. Rather, she said, the line’s detailed graphics of floral arrangements fit in with the lighter side of the designer’s Victorian-dandy aesthetic.

“His vision is pure,” Loftin said. “He never strays.”

Gold said highly ornamental 19th century nature studies inspired his collection, which outdetailed the Victorians in its graphics.

“It’s so dense that it turned into a pattern,” Gold said. “Soon there was no top to go over.”

Gold is not only focusing his attention on his collection but is also planning his own retail empire. In November, he opened a store at his Salt Lake City headquarters. He forecast that his Los Angeles boutique will open its doors in March or April. And by Holiday 2005, he said he hopes to have as many as 10 stores spread throughout the United States. —Andrew Asch