L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: MartinMartin
Fashion evolution—that is the best way to describe MartinMartin’s “Poetry of Anti-Fashion” Spring 2004 collection, which showed on Oct. 31 during Mercedes-Benz Shows L.A.
Known for “wearable avant-garde clothing,” the husband-and-wife design team of Eric Martin and Diane Moss-Martin decided to add a ’60s edge and an Asian twist to their minimalist designs.
“MartinMartin is always more about evolution as opposed to revolution,” Eric Martin said. “We’re never trying to make major jolts. We’re just continuing to do what we do and evolve and refine it and reflect current fashion trends and what’s going on in today’s society.”
The collection, which included some menswear looks, paid homage to “the poetic existence of the ’60s” and the designs of Andreacute; Courreges, Paco Rabanne and Rudi Gernreich. The designers added details such as ’60s-inspired circular cutouts, bold white topstitching, side slits, color accents, and long and short tiers to their signature architecture-inspired styles, fine tailored pieces and deconstructed looks. Styles were primarily shown in the designers’ traditional palette of black—with a few pieces in red and ecru. Fabrics included cotton twills, cotton poplin and washed-out denim, as well as a few sheer fabrics, including an almost-transparent ultra-sheer nylon for tops.
Among several standout pieces was a red poplin fitted jacket—worn inside-out to display the finished seams and interlining. The designers also paid homage to California designer Gernreich and his ’60s-era topless bathing suit with a series of breast-baring apron-style dresses. —N.J.S.
