Los Angeles Fashion Week Fall '06: Suspect

Suspect, a Los Angeles-based men’s collection, partied in Hollywood March 21 then took the party downtown March 26 for something a little more subdued and fashion focused.

Company co-owners Brian Nolan and Amber Elliot hosted the two Fashion Week parties (at the Standard Hotel in Hollywood and the Downtown Standard Hotel) to showcase a Fall ’06 collection dubbed “Jet Set Couture.”

Suspect has evolved from its initial launch in late ’03 as a graphic T-shirt line founded by Nolan and Chris Ramstead, who still holds a small stake in the company. The collection re-launched in ’04 with an expanded collection that included more tailored pieces and a clean, sophisticated style.

At the downtown event, models sipped cocktails and mingled while wearing pieces from Suspect’s collection, which gives a West Coast casual spin to classic styling. A wool tweed blazer topped a rugby-striped cashmere sweater in powdery shades and was paired with cotton twill trousers. Another cashmere sweater in charcoal gray spelled out the word “debonair” across the chest.

Alison A. Nieder