Pictured above, Colton Dane.

We’re back from Japan! What a month March was – we began recovering from MAGIC and prepping for Collections – immediately after Collections we headed to Tokyo for fashion week, where I subsequently turned 30 years old. We returned, myself and Gabby with a nasty virus in tow, so I’ve spent the past week knocked out.

I wanted to recap Collections, it was one of my most favourite events we’ve ever produced as a team. Every season we do something different, and this season we knew, based on our schedules and literal, physical capacities, it would have to intimate and easy. We set up a showroom in our office and invited 25 of our closest press friends, including WWD, LA Times and some fabulous bloggers, to lunch on our rooftop.

The scene was simple. Our rooftop garden is one of the prettiest in downtown L.A. Filled with rusted ephemera, furniture and succulents, it’s already a beautiful setting. We opted for two 12 ft long tables, white denim rough cut tablecloths with a burlap runner, vintage tableware, flatware, napkins and glasses from The Vintage Table Co, and vintage folding chairs (from 1943 to be precise) from Town & Country.

We had personalized mason jars, each tied with a neon ribbon – Los Angeles Fashion Council’s signature colour. That morning I ran over to the Los Angeles Flower Mart, spent $60 on flowers and filled carafes, jars and milk jugs with a variety of arrangements. I’m making a mental note to visit the flower mart prior to every event from now on – it was the perfect zen moment I needed to get through the day fluster free.

Lunch was family style perfection from Jason Qua (L.A’s best caterer…!) and drinks were watermelon & gin and vodka & strawberry lemonade (and just strawberry lemonade for those not looking to get too boozy). The perfect scene.

Designers were set up along the periphery of the event, and as lunch came to a close (and I forgot to serve Bo Nuage, our big sweet finish…) models posed for shots in what we call our “lightbox” a corner of the roof framed by frosted glass panels.

Pictured above is That’s Totally Fine by Rose La Grua, the placards were actually from the showroom, but each model posed for one shot with it to identify the designer, I love how goofy they turned out.

Rose actually won our Open Runway contest last summer, and this is her second season ever and second season showing with us, which is the beauty of Open Runway – discovering and supporting designers right in the beginning. I joke that she’s my own personal LAFC case study. She ultimately won because I genuinely felt we’d “discovered” something so special, and she keeps proving that. A super special designer and person who I only wish good things for.

stella proseyn by Debbie Talanian, a former journalist, is one of those lines that you could really wear every day. Super soft fabrics in super soft tailoring. The line has a minimal elegance, that’s so wearable and so chic.

Similarly to stella proseyn, Linden is another chic “wear daily” line. This look is one of my faves. What’s fascinating about Linden is her use of salmon leather – it looks like python, but is eco and sustainable. All of the fish is used (unlike often in the cow leather trade) and the leather is tanned in hot water (so no nasty chemicals) annnd the fish farm is located on a hot spring, so they don’t even use electricity. You hear a lot about eco, so it’s really great to get into the nitty gritty of what that actually means.

This was Colton Dane’s second collection and first time showing with us. We were so impressed by the quality of his work, refined elegance to a tee. His coats and sweaters had me dreaming of a cold winter (that and the sunburn…!) Not to mention Colton and his partner Christopher are total cuties, we heart them.

Katharine Kidd is a total L.A gem – her clothes exude modern femininity – I love the silhouettes, and the prints are all custom, starting in house as a line drawing and then digitized into these wondrous creations. Dreamy.

This was both Together’s first collection and their first time showing with us (technically not LAFC legal!) but we loved their work so we broke the rules. The collection is a collaboration from partners Benedict and Lily. Benedict takes all the photographs and Lily designs the collection – which is mostly from Benedict’s photographs digitally printed onto polyester made from recycled bottles.

So fun.

Feminine elegance from Bri Seeley. These floaty dresses looked positively dreamy in the light (and very welcome) rooftop breeze.

Sporty chic from Bellen Brand. This was the first time Bellen Brand had showed with us, and it was a pleasure having them. They hung well (literally and figuratively) with the rest of our crowd and we love their take on L.A sportswear.

Warrior Princess jewels from Kristen Dorsey – long time LAFC (and personal) favourite, her jewelry is just incredible.

Mofé (short for Modern Feminism) is a gorgeous collection of handbags. This was the fun thing about this setting, it allowed us to include some very talented accessory designers, both Kristen and Linda Park of Mofé.

All in all, we were really pleased with this event, it was actually a pleasure to produce, we had a great turnout and great coverage, and a lovely sunny day on our rooftop with sunburn to show for it. :)

So what will we do next Collections? It’s under discussion, ideally I like the format we seem to be swinging into – big and showy in October, small and intimate in March…. a nice balance that keeps us all sane.

Next up – Tokyo stories :)

Kelsi x

Photo Credits: Atmosphere shots: Paolo Fortades, Collections Shots: Felix Salzman/Lookbook LA