Project Ethos Fashion+Music+Art

NOTE: IMAGE HEAVY + VIDEOS

Saturday I took to the red carpet and had my first taste of the paparazzi at Project Ethos (click here) an evening featuring emerging fashion designers, musicians, and artists. Hosted at the Hollywood House of Blues on Sunset Strip, Project Ethos is known as an incubator of emerging talent, and first showcased many successful artists including LMFAO and Colbie Caillat. Events such as Project Ethos set Los Angeles fashion week is apart from the renown New York and Paris fashion weeks in that it's centered around discovering burgeoning talent not just the most established names.



After an inspection of the top floor, which was dedicated to artists who displayed their recent works ceiling to floor, I headed over to the meet and greet with the fashion designers. And here's a recap of each of each of the designers and their runway collections with video clips!

The fashion show opened with LICARI by Jazmin Whitley. After following LICARI the past few years on MySpace, it was exciting to finally see the collection in 3-D! And did she set the bar high for the 6 designers to follow.

Stay tuned for my in-depth interview with Jazmin in a later post!

Briefly meeting the petite designers behind GOCI (click here), you wouldn't expect anything less than sweet and ladylike. The name Goci comes from the first two letters in the first names of the designers Golnessa Farmanara and Cindy Ayvar. Using a pale pink, beige, and white color theme, Goci delivered a prim and proper collection with silky dresses, jumpsuits, and pencil skirts accessorized by delicate gloves, lace headpieces, and pearls, lots of pearls.



Check out the short clips from the show with details of the ruffles and bunched fabric.

Backstage with Cindy with a detailed shot that shows off the intricate folds on the dress.



Next in the lineup was RINA PALMA (click here) whose collection came in shades of yellow, jade, and olives. There were a full range of long dresses, cocktail dresses, bathing suits, coverups, tops, and bottoms.





This Indian sari-styled coverup for the bathing suit was my favorite piece in the Rina Palma collection.









PRIVATE ARTS (click here) is a modern intimates line with a creative twist on artistic expression!












A quick conversation with the designer Eleonore Santos reveals that the GARDEN PARTY (click here) Spring 2010 collection was inspired by her worldly tastes and international travels. The floaty fairy dresses were inspired by "antiques, especially by Portobello Market" with strong vintage influences. Before the show Eleonore set up a meet-and-greet table decked out with teapots, flowers, and bird cages, all very representative memorabila of the Garden Party line.



The heavy use of pastels in the collection evoked a feeling of childish innocence and fairytale stories. This babydoll dress with off the shoulder sleeves reminds me of Alice and Wonderland.









After the show Eleonore showed me some of her designs.



Eleonore doning bundles of hydrangeas in her hair.



No need for petticoats here. This skirt has so much structure.



If Garden Party was the most appropriately named collection, than COWGIRL HEAVEN (click here) definitely takes the cake for, overheard, "worst name". Expecting to get plenty of cowboy boots, plaids, denims, fringe vests tackily combined with the likes of angel wings and halos, I was very surprised to find that the clothes were nowhere reflective of the name. What I did see was a collection of juniors homecoming and prom dresses and a very well choreographed runway show with models synchronizing their twhirls and turns.
















The designer explained to me after the show that the Cowgirl Heaven name was chosen before she began designing, with the phrase coming from a sentimental souvenir she owns.



Street Youth Culture From Unwanted Kids aka SYC FUK (click here) losed up the show and talk about WOWZA. I had spied at least a dozen walking advertisements for Syc Fuk all night before the show--girls and boys with punk written all over them--all inspring DIY ideas for skull-and-bones obsessed me. The shirts and sweatshirts with huge skulls on the back identified who was an Unwanted Kid, if the outrageously gelled spikey hair, heavy makeup and chain links weren't clear enough.





SycFuk was the only collection to show menswear.









Taking a look at the racks of urban streetwear by SycFuk.

Photographs and recordings taken at HOB by permission of HOB Entertainment, Inc. Photos taken by myself, by the designers, 944dotcom, and ApparelNews.