California Apparel News

The invitation to the Oct. 17 Elmer Ave. show read: quot;From the designers that brought you quot;A Night of Tragic Emotionsquot; and quot;Americahellip;Death of Glory.quot; The show-and the location-were classified quot;top secret.quot; Those in the know found their way to the former Farmers and Merchants Bank building in downtown Los Angeles' Old Bank district. The building is one of several owned by real estate developer Tom Gilmore, who circulated among the crowd before the show.

Elmer Ave.'s tough girls ruled the runway in low-slung pants, zippered skirts, and cropped and cut-away vests. For those looking for just a hint of Elmer Ave. insouciance, there were trompe l'oeil tees printed with vest fronts or ties.

“This show had a much bigger 'doll fit' section, as that has been where we have put a lot of our focus,” said Jonny Day, who founded the brand with Sean Murphy. “With additions like the military dress, ’pcoat’ dress, and new crescent vest, you can see Elmer has let itself go from the androgynous-boy look to the option of a beautiful feminine look,” Day said.

This season, there was a mini-version of the women's line-perfect for a punk-rock princess. Modeled by Day's daughter Zoe, the new fit-called 'Delinquent'-featured lots of easy-to-layer pieces, including trompe l'oeil tees, vests, shorts and tutus.

quot;The 'Deliquent' fit is a new fit for juniors, and is unisex,quot; said Day, adding that a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Delinquent fit will be given to VH1's Save the Music foundation, which raises money for public-school music programs.

“As two single dads, this is something we are very excited about,” Day said.

For men, the look stayed true to Elmer Ave.'s underground dandy aesthetic, with skinny fits, tailored details and smudgy eyeliner. Standouts included a coated-cotton jacket that looked like leather and a blazer appliqueacute;d with printed and peeling paper. Cotton trousers in khaki, loden and black were given an edgy makeover with a low-rise, extra-slim fit. They were paired with shrunken blazers and bright lug-soled boots.

Of course, we were excited to strengthen the men’s collection with lighter fabrics for spring, cleaner lines and an even better fit,quot; Day said. quot;We really held back from overdesigning—a strong militant-uniform look, with our punk-rock stamp.”

Day and Murphy carried over the Elmer Ave. signature stencil-print jackets for men and women. Among the best was a sunburst pattern, which turned up in both collections.--Alison A. Nieder