L.A. Fashion Week Spring '04: Bao Tranchi

Bao Tranchi debuted her self-named line on Oct. 27 during Smashbox Fashion Week with a Goth-laden “Exiled Royalty” collection that was a superbly executed exercise in morbid beauty.

The narrative-driven show at Smashbox Studios in Culver City followed the journey of models-cum-royals from exodus to enlightenment. Along the way, Tranchi pillaged inspiration from Anne Rice, Tim Burton and the Goth subculture to create an utterly convincing aesthetic that was part 18th century and part post-apocalypse.

Corsets, elongated sleeves, a long-trained coat and “dripping mink tails” created the aristocratic air, which together with fabrications of distressed silk and leather conjured images of the court of Versailles overrun by futuristic nomads.

Men were dressed super-svelte in “skeletal” leather pants and ruched military tops, while some women’s distressed gauze dresses looked plucked from a mummy.

Tranchi even took the traditional Vietnamese ao dai and thoroughly deconstructed it.

The end of the show brought Tranchi a standing ovation, proving that even the most jaded fashionista, properly motivated, can rise from her seat like a vampire reborn. —Christian M. Chensvold