L.A. Fashion Week Fall 2002: Jose Engel

Jose Engel presented his Destiny collection during an evening he called “Heaven,” April 10 at En Sushi Restaurant in West Los Angeles.

The evening, which began with a cocktail party and sushi dinner, featured a fashion show on a makeshift runway in the dining room and performances by a spoken-word artist and a live jazz band.

Engel dubbed the collection Destiny, he said, because “if the piece and the wearer find each other, it’s destiny.”

The collection, in mostly solid colors, ranged from white and baby blue to dark blue and black for men and women, with pin-striped bottoms for men. For the body-conscious, the collection also ran the range from California cool and comfortable in roomy, light sweaters and linen, to sexy and revealing in dresses for women, fitted vests for men and mesh see-through tops for both.

The high-end collection was designed to be one-of-a-kind, and any piece bought by a customer will not be reproduced in exactly the same way again, said Engel, who added that in designing each garment, he held to the concept of creating something applicable to everyday life.

“I try to make things that are unique, but really wearable,” he said. “I don’t do the outrageous, crazy stuff.”

The Destiny collection represents Engel’s first true seasonal offerings. He did a small launch last September but decided not to follow through, choosing instead to focus on Fall 2002.

Engel plans to deliver Destiny for Fall and then convert it into a custom design label just before launching three additional lines. The designer also said he plans to open a local boutique in the near future. —Darryl James