L.A. Fashion Week Spring '09: Beau Monde Pink Label
With one foot in Paris and one foot in Los Angeles, designer Jennifer Van Leuvan’s Beau Monde Pink Label collection incorporated both the iconic style of Chanel and the “relaxed fit” of casual Los Angeles dressing.The Beau Monde Pink Label Spring ’09 collection, shown Oct. 13 at the Apple Lounge nightclub in West Hollywood, Calif., marked the relaunch of the brand’s contemporary women’s division. Van Leuvan took a break from designing her women’s collection when she relocated from Los Angeles to Paris one year ago. The Beau Monde brand encompasses a lingerie line, a luxury bedding line and fragrances. The creative director for the contemporary women’s line, Guillermo Lomeli, is based in Los Angeles.Van Leuvan channeled Chanel with some tweed suits that were tweaked with butterfly sleeves and worn with shorts. But the highlights were sharp suits and silk charmeuse separates that looked easy and put-together. A short-sleeve wrap jacket worn with slim tapered pants made the idea of the familiar pantsuit more memorable. A lovely white dolman-sleeve dress with a bias-cut skirt was pure old-Hollywood glamour. Billowy silk blouses in sheer blue, yellow and ivory were classically sophisticated but with a little unexpectedness. One ensemble of silk harem pants topped by a loose, gathered camisole was actually a jumpsuit.—Rhea Cortado
