L.A. Fashion Week Fall '05: Suss Design
Suss Design presented its first-ever runway show March 17 at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios in Culver City. Retired supermodel Kirsty Hume walked the runway in designer Suss Cousins’ looks.
Cousins has made a name for herself as a knitwear designer, retailer and knitting instructor to the stars thanks in part to the celebrity-studded weekly knitting classes at her boutique on Beverly Boulevard in Los Angeles. Last year, she extended her message to the masses with her Suss Knit Kit, which she promoted through in-store knitting demonstrations at bookstores nationwide.
The runway show offered the Swedish-born, Los Angeles–based designer the opportunity to showcase her aesthetic vision in knit styles, which included sexy low-rise knit pants; wrapped and layered tops; and luxurious cashmere pieces trimmed in velvet, embroidery and crystals. The designer offered a whimsical take on traditional intarsia knits in candy-apple red and buttery chamois, as well as more sophisticated looks in icy white and ivory. A sheer blouse with rib-knit trim topped a strawberry wrap skirt with blue trim, and a double-breasted knit coat had contrast top-stitching and came in three-quarter and full lengths. A wrap skirt in patchwork knit was paired with a cowl-neck sweater and striped arm warmers with thumbholes.
There were plenty of dramatic pieces, including a floor-length ivory dress with a cowl neck and a long chocolate velvet-trimmed dress featuring delicate embroidered flowers with crystal accents. Hume closed the show wearing a floor-length, fitted, double-breasted coat hemmed in fluttering layers of chiffon. —Alison A. Nieder
