From Ashton Michael's Mercy Collection. All photos from Getty Images.
Ashton Michael Closes off Street for Mercy Collection
The runway show needs a big makeover, said Ashton Hirota, designer for the independent Ashton Michael label.
“Fashion shouldn’t just be about the clothes. It should be about the experience,” Ashton said. “A lot of the big brands do it. They give you a cinematic vision. They have big budgets. But (runway shows) can be done on a smaller scale. They can become more cinematic ultimately.”
On Jan. 15, he closed down the street in front of his Hollywood atelier by the cross streets of Hollywood Boulevard and North Las Palmas Ave. Flower petals were thrown on the middle of the road. The only other set pieces were two motorcycles parked at back of the improvised runway. With a soundtrack assembled by DJ Jonny Cota, who also is the designer for Los Angeles’ Skingraft label, 24 looks from Ashton Michael’s Mercy Collection took the improvised catwalk. The collection is available on www.ashtonmichael.com .
Looks included high riding leather shorts, harness pants, cropped moto vests, and sleeveless pullovers. If it seems rock ‘n’ roll, that’s what Ashton Michael intended. But he also intended it to be light and colorful. Unlike his October 2016 show The Ritual Collection, there were only two black colored pieces in the Mercy show.
“It was for a Gothy clientele,” Ashton said of Ritual Collection. “If you weren’t that way, it didn’t apply to you. This collection is about love. It’s more of cinematic collection. The last collection was a release. It was a dark collection to move forward to next chapter. Everything has been cleansed, and now we’re going to have this beauty and romance. It feels light and seasonless, which I enjoy.”
