Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '09: Smoke & Mirrors
Design duo Emily Brandle and Michelle Chaplin of Smoke & Mirrors are not for esoteric, high-concept ideas. When asked about their “inspiration” or “theme” for Fall ’09, Chaplin said they take a practical approach: “We don’t work like that. We work ready-to-wear.”
Brandle adds, “We look at our wardrobes and think, ’What do we need? What do we want?’”
The Fall wish list they sent down the runway on March 14 during BOXeight Fashion Week at the Los Angeles Theatre included easy-to-wear item dresses in crinkly brown plaid and colorful pebble print, Italian mohair wrap sweaters, and strapless sweetheart-neck dresses with draped hips that could transition from day to night. The silhouettes of dresses, coats, and tops and bottoms shared a common focal point converging at the smallest part of the waist. On a speckled-gray double-breasted hooded coat with a bubble hem, the pinched waist exaggerated the cute and doll-like mood. A black high-waist pencil skirt paired with a loose plaid camisole had an effortlessly sexy air. —Rhea Cortado
