Los Angeles Fashion Week Spring 2002: Eduardo Lucero

If there’s one thing Eduardo Lucero knows how to do well it’s make a woman look and feel like a “woman.” And no matter what source lies behind his inspiration, he always seems to incorporate a certain signature style.

“The word people always use [when describing my design style] is ’sexy,’” Lucero said. “But I think more than sexy, this season is much more feminine. It’s softer, but also very ladylike, with a little streak of sexuality in there too. It was more polished-looking.”

For his Spring collection, which he showed at Audi Presents Designer Collections of Los Angeles Fashion Week, an event held on Nov. 2 at Tibitz Creative Stages in Hollywood, Lucero chose a classic palette of navys, reds, creacute;mes and whites on Chantilly and beaded lace, layers of organza and ruffles, high-slit asymmetrical hemlines and tailored silhouettes. As for his inspiration?

“It’s definitely the most Latin collection I’ve ever designed,” said Lucero, who added, however, that he usually tries to steer away from the “Latin designer” stereotype of ruffles and flamenco style.

“I had pictures of my aunts in Mexico,” he explained. “[There] you would go to the big city every couple of years to get your portrait done, so my aunts would literally take a bus for almost a day and a half to get to the big city to get their portrait done. They would go and get these elaborate hairdos done, get a gown to wear for it, then go and stand next to some statue and look all regal and have their portraits done. Then, they’d go back to their little towns and have this great memory. It was amazing. And that’s really what my inspiration was—I was looking back, but at the same time, looking ahead.” —Joselle Yokogawa