Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Antik Denim

Antik Denim shed its Western-wear influence for Fall ’06 and discovered “La Dolce Vita” with an edge along the way.

The blue jean collection, designed by Alex Caugant and Philippe Naouri—both originally from France, was shown with great fanfare March 21 during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios.

The event began with a long electrical guitar performance by Robert Thrall, who played to a packed-to-the-gills crowd that included Paul Guez, one of the owners of Antik Denim, sitting in the front row like a proud father watching the coming of age of this barely 2-year-old line. Sharing front-row honors were such celebrities as Hilary Duff and her older sister, Haylie, Brooke Burke and Tia Carrere.

This season, Antik Denim cast off last year’s bootleg-cut silhouette for this year’s hottest trend–the skinny-leg jean, showcased in the label’s Blackout collection. Black denim bottoms and miniskirts had lots of zippers and metal embellishments that gave the clothes a 1980s new wave look. Jackets, done in leather or denim, were decorated in the back with metal studs in the form of skulls or with screen-printed art pieces. Many of the tops and bottoms were worn with fishnet stockings or fishnet shirts and army boots. “It’s very rock ’n’ roll,” Caugant said. “In Italy and Japan, this look is huge.” —Deborah Belgum