Last week, three designers came together in downtown LA to present a trio of spring collections that shook up the generally tame LA Fashion Week. Edgy Ashton Michael and Skingraft were joined by the whimisical Anthony Franco at the LA Stock Exchange for a show that was fresh and full of surprises.
Ashton Michael, whose first line, Glaza [“Eyes” in Russian], created a stir in 2002 and who is known for his celebrity styling for the likes of Usher, Nicki Minaj and The Black Eyed Peas, crossed over to the dark side with a capsule collection called “back label”. Using only black and white, the eco-friendly knits featured kilts, harnesses and bondage straps, and hinted, in equal parts, at old school punk rock and new school hop hop, while remaining lightweight and even sporty. Weaving was a theme, too, showing up both in the designs and the models’ hair styles created my Plaid studios.
