Petro Zillia Gearing Up for Retail Debut

For the first time since Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week came to Los Angeles, the popular contemporary label Petro Zillia will not be showing during Los Angeles Fashion Week.

Nony Tochterman, the creative force behind Petro Zillia, is concentrating on opening a new lifestyle store at 8318 W. 3rd St. in Los Angeles that should debut at the end of May or early June, she said.

“We want to do a big event with a fashion show when we open. So I knew I couldn’t handle two fashion shows two months apart,” said the designer, well-recognized for her flamboyant hair color, which alternates between orange and pink. “That’s why we decided to skip this show.”

The store will carry a range of merchandise, from accessories and furniture to office items and gifts.

Just like the designer, Tochterman’s fashion shows are always colorful events. She has been seen riding down the catwalk on a Petro Zillia–designed bicycle done up in wild graphics and hues. Last season, with an “Alice in Wonderland” theme, Petro Zillia’s Spring ’06 collection was shown at a sound stage at Century Studios. The show was affiliated with Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week and attended by 800 people. —Deborah Belgum