California Apparel News

Los Angeles may have developed a reputation as the capital of casual dressing, but designer Christian Weber thinks there’s plenty of room in the market for something more sophisticated.

Now based in Los Angeles, Weber is an Austrian expat who spent nearly six years in Milan, working as a design director for Versace. After a short stint as design director with Los Angeles–based premium-denim brand Rock & Republic, he left to start his own label, CW Christian Weber.

With Weber at the helm as founder and creative director, the launch, timed to coincide with New York Fashion Week, includes two Fall ’07 deliveries and a hint of Holiday ’07. The line launched with about 90 pieces, including tailored jackets, coats and trousers, sweaters, blouses, and shoes. The line includes a few sexy cocktail dresses because, as Weber notes: “This is L.A. She needs to be glamorous.”

Inspired by the arms-and-armor exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the launch collection is packed with subtle details. For example, a jacket takes on the look of a trench coat, thanks to a detachable double-breasted lapel inspired by the chest plate on traditional Japanese armor. The articulated shoulders on a medieval coat of arms inspired a row of tucking along the shoulder line of another jacket. The stingray leather detailing on a sweater recalls military epaulettes.

The collection includes a mix of structured and relaxed pieces. Sweaters and jersey knits are featherweight and drapable; jackets are tailored and constructed. A corset-style blouse is offered in silk and in leather. At times, Weber blends high construction with draping, as in a silk dress with a leather bodice.

The collection also includes a bit of glitz with sequins and pailletes.

While each piece in the line is loaded with details, Weber keeps it understated, rendering the CW logo in a tonal embroidery on a shirt or sweater.

“It shouldn’t scream out,” explained CW designer Emmanuel Mass Luciano. “If they find the detail after they buy it, that’s special. We want the customer to buy it and relate to it and have a sense of ownership.”

Fabrics are sourced from Europe and include liquid silks, refined jacquards, buttery leathers and knits in cashmere/ silk blends.

Colors are sophisticated and rich, shifting from icy grays and jewel-toned teals to warm mauve and plum tones.

The details are echoed in the shoes, which include stilettos and boots in rich earthy shades in lamb- and deerskin leather, stingray, and laminated leather. In the future, Weber plans to add handbags and accessories.

Wholesale prices begin at $80 for some of the jersey pieces. Denim is priced from $200 to $220. Tailored trousers are priced at $240, and jackets are $450. The shoes begin at $300 wholesale.

About 80 percent of the CW collection is produced in Italy.

“It was fascinating to put those two worlds together,” Weber said. “Companies in Italy were excited to work with the U.S.”

In addition to the Italian production, a group of cashmere sweaters have been sourced in China, and the jersey knits are produced in Los Angeles.

Weber, who described Los Angeles as “a city of trend,” said the blend of Italian luxury with Los Angeles’ sense of style helps define his market, which he describes as “premium luxury.”

“Sometimes it scares people when you say it’s made in Italy,” said Weber. “We want the young woman starting her career to have access to good quality.”

The CW Christian Weber collection is carried in the Brand Equity Showroom in the Cooper Design Space in Los Angeles and in the Valerie James Showroom in New York. For more information, call the Brand Equity Showroom at (213) 438-0626 or the Valerie James Showroom at (212) 719-2122, or visit www.cwlosangeles.com.

—Alison A. Nieder