Howe's Victorian Executive
In the last year, designer Jade Howe pioneered the “Indie Executive” look for his Howe menswear collection, but on Nov. 5, the Santa Ana, Calif.–based designer gave a preview of his Fall 2006 collection, and it cast an eye toward the Victorian era.
The runway show, called Fashion Front, was produced by people who traffic in intellectual ideas: the curators at Cal State Fullerton’s Grand Central Art Center. The runway show was produced outside their Santa Ana gallery.
Howe said the show’s styles emphasized the inspirations and concepts of the upcoming line, not the polished line that will be retailed at Nordstrom next year.
He used a unique, lengthy descriptor for his Fall 2006 fashions: “cowboy punk meets English country gentleman coming to the rock opera.” Models wore Howe’s Skinny Puppy jeans with the fabric of the lower legs crumpled like 1980s leg warmers. Yet many of the new styles also had a decidedly Victorian/ Edwardian edge.
The 20-look show featured ascot ties, velvet vests, even crushed top hats. Also on display was a military trench coat that might have been worn by the bad boys of the Crimean War, Great Britain’s 1850s battle against Russia.
Other Howe styles included his first looks for women, such as a punky V-neck knit dress and a gold lameacute; bustier with denim details.
The show also included Long Beach, Calif.–based Matte Black. The label’s four designers— Angie and Mark Rebennack and brothers Paul and Matt Wignall—vowed to paint it black for Fall 2006. The knits and wovens displayed at their 13-look show all came in shades of black. The line featured a jacket that was inspired by Brioni’s TWA uniform jackets from the late 1960s. Also featured were trousers with narrow legs and mini-dresses.
Umlaut, based in Los Angeles’ Silverlake neighborhood, showcased velvet, tweed and slip dresses tailored with a gothic sense of humor. The dresses featured details such as scar-like stitching and stuffed animals sewn onto them.
Accessory designers Baltazar and Harveys also displayed their belts and handbags. Orange County fashion executives, such as Ryan Heuser of Paul Frank Industries and Dick Baker of Ocean Pacific, attended the show. Grand Central Art Director Andrea Harris said she hoped to make the gallery’s fashion show an annual event.
—Andrew Asch
