Jane Oh: Classic Little Black Dresses

For her debut self-titled collection, designer Jane Oh used solid black fabrics to let the details and form of the garment do the talking. The line’s centerpiece is the little black dress and items to wear over, such as capes, jackets and boleros.

“I think that’s what we’re lacking. It’s very simple and basic,” Oh said, showing her tailored bolero with shoulder pads that looks like a blazer truncated at the chest. “This piece, you can throw it on top of everything and it picks up the dress. You know when you go to weddings or events and you don’t want to show shoulders? You want to put a shawl or a jacket on.”

Oh grew up in Los Angeles’ garment industry and started out designing denim in her parents’ denim factory. She didn’t think about a career in fashion until after she had already earned an MBA from the University of Southern California. “I thought I’d be doing real estate,” Oh said, but she realized that clothing was her passion and enrolled at Parsons in New York. Now that she has returned to Los Angeles to launch her eponymous label, which is also produced locally, her business-school training has come in handy.

“To build a good business, you have to have to be creative,” she said. “If you just go to fashion or design school, you don’t get that combo of business.”

The unfussy, clean and sophisticated look of the line was taken from Oh’s affinity for vintage dressing. “I try to think of someone who’s well put together and confident. I start designing, imagining this person like Audrey Hepburn. hellip;When I would watch old movies, I always wanted to dress like all the actresses in the 1950s—like hats and gloves. You want people to dress up and look good, especially in L.A. It just makes you feel better.”

Wholesale price points range from $121 for a wool pencil skirt to $172 for a silk organza dress and up to $278 for a wool hooded cape. For more information, contact the Jane Oh studio at (213) 291-8834 or visit www.janeoh.com.—Rhea Cortado