California Dreaming (Words by Anthony Rubio)
For my LA Fashion Week 2024 presentation, I was inspired by the fashion looks I have witnessed for years through film.
Californians love man’s best friend. They take them everywhere but unlike New York City, my home base, their canine friends tend to be of the medium to large variety which poses a greater challenge for me as a designer primarily because the garments must be larger and more basic as well as super functional. I love all breeds and therefore welcome that challenge.
California style to me is a mixture of Bohemian fashion mixed with current trends. I chose to go for cocktail to red carpet looks for the human models. There are vibrant colors like red, turquoise, orange, and then lots of metallics like gold, bronze, opalescent black just to name a few. As for textures there were sequins, paillettes, fabulous floral lace, cottons and silk.
For my canine couture, I was inspired by stained glass art. I chose floral motifs that reminded me of Tiffany Glass. For the females, I created full skirted dresses featuring magical color combinations with flowers made with paillettes, tiny glass beads and pearls. For the males there were jackets, long tailed tuxedos and flamboyant harnesses. As the canine models made their appearance they resembled jeweled statues. They glimmered and shined drawing gasps from those in attendance.
It was a huge collection of forty two ensembles making for a seemingly endless cavalcade of fashion and the audience was left smiling and cheering, achieving my goal. My shows have always been regarded as “The Feel Good Show”. We need that these days with so much going on in these current times.
***Cover Photo by Arun Nevader Getty Images***