L.A. Fashion Week Fall '07: Grail

Dark themes were prevalent on the runways during Los Angeles Fashion Week, and Grail was no exception.

Peter Ross, the owner and designer of the T-shirt–driven line, traveled to Haiti this season for design inspiration. The collection reflected the colors and look of the Haitian culture of black magic and voodoo. “Anybody can take an inspirational trip, but we have to make sure that what we do and what we see can be translated in a salable way into clothes,” said Ross, who has also traveled to Santa Fe, N.M., to research American Indians for design inspiration.

Grail showcased its full collection for men, women and children on the runway for the first time on March 21 during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios. The line, which began with skull-emblazoned T-shirts, has expanded into a brand with wovens, denim and outerwear, and it even included a couture finale gown.

The collection included T-shirts, jackets, dresses and denim with tattoo-inspired, hand-drawn original art work and voodoo imagery. Ross introduced a yarn-dyed woven fabric with a flower print that took shape on a full men’s tailored suit. Stripes, stars and a variety of prints decorated leggings, thermals and all-over print hoodies. Ross used denim-inspired treatments to create the color variations on knits, a hallmark of the collection. —N. Jayne Seward