L.A. Fashion Week Spring 2010: Odilon
The models standing on top of square platforms wearing Stacey Clark’s Odilon collection towered over the crowd of guests like statues in the Japanese American Museum in Los Angeles. Though the ensembles were presented in a pristine “look don’t touch” art-gallery manner on Oct. 14, Clark was thinking of the rugged outdoors when composing her debut collection. “This is sort of inspired by a lot of archaeological images I looked at and the Southern California desert—the colors, the muted sandtones with the green cacti and that orangey-pink sunset glow.” The models wore antique Swiss army goggles that had an “archaeological dusty feel.”
The standouts were a group of military-inspired ensembles where Clark replaced utilitarian canvas with luxury fabrics. The pattern of a flap pocket army raincoat was cut in sheer silk chiffon. A double-breasted linen jacket adorned with three parallel rows of shiny buttons that tapered toward the center gave a slimming line. Dresses were minimally modern and body-conscious in hugging knits.
“I really wanted to focus on reviving the outfit like the matching outfit but not in a matronly or outdated way. I kind of wanted to show that you can still wear things matchy matchy and have it be cute and youthful and sophisticated and sexy,” said Clark, who studied painting, sculpture and art history at the University of Victoria in Canada before graduating from the Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising last year.—Rhea Cortado
