Designers Sophia Coloma and Marissa Ribisi are the women behind Whitney Kros, the casualwear label chosen to be the "Mercedes-Benz Presents" Designers at the Mercedes-Benz Spring 2009 Los Angeles Fashion Week being held at Smashbox Studios in Culver City all this week. The duo, which claims inspiration for their latest offerings as being a Bohemian combination of the influences of Morocco, Greece, Bob Dylan, and Allen Ginsberg, showed their line on the Main Stage on Sunday night, with mixed results.
Characterized by ill-fitting, baggy, shapeless tops paired with what they call a "playful short," the clothes often made the stick-slim models look frumpy, like ragamuffins or street urchins who had scavenged for their clothes; and as one onlooker commented, "if the models don't look good, what would the rest of us look like?"
It was a question that repeated itself throughout the show, as those shorts, a misguided melding of those unflattering, very short running shorts from the Seventies combined with satin tap pants, kept reappearing. First paired with a "poncho striped knit," a big shapeless top with blue shorts barely peeping out, then done in a diamond print with a clashing tunic, then in navy with white piping paired with a sheer white tunic and blue "Raleigh" oversweater, and on and on in a variety of other iterations. It was not a look that lent itself to a must-have list, even for the most die-hard fashionista.
And the fashionistas were in the house, famous faces from film, television, and music, including Anne Archer, Justine Bateman, Selena Gomez, Aubrey O'Day, who came along with her pink-dyed pooch, and the Masterson brothers, Danny and Chris.
The audience did see a few wearable items in the 43-look show, including a couple of variations of Whitley Kros' "Crete" dress. That long, flowy sheath actually had a shape, with v-neck, knotted shoulder straps, and a knotted back; shown in a light plaid and a white-backgrounded floral, it was the clear winner.
