LA Fashion Week unofficially kicks off with a powerful show from a Ukrainian designer

Against the backdrop of war, Los Angeles’ busy fashion season began Friday night with a standout and emotional show of Lever Couture eveningwear, designed by Ukrainian-born, LA-based designer Lessja Verlingieri.

The Academy of Motion Pictures’ annual gala, which was scheduled to take place on Saturday with a star-studded red carpet, has been postponed because of violence in Israel and Gaza. But other events are also planned, including LA Fashion Week, which starts on Wednesday.

Sergio Hudson, Cult Gaia, Brunello Cucinelli, Ulla Johnson, Prada, Gucci and Balenciaga are among the brands active in LA with dinners, parties and runway shows through the end of the year.

Verlingieri kicked off at the Barker Hangar in Santa Monica with Milla Jovovich, Geena Davis, Johnny Wujek and Martin Katz checking out the latest collection from the designer, who has dressed Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Tems (last year’s Oscars in a cloud-like dress, that blocks the view and unexpectedly went viral).

“Lessya is a close friend of mine, she designed my dress for Cannes last year and I think it’s important for us Ukrainian girls to support each other and I had to be here tonight to give her a good stone to lean on,” she said Jovovich added that the designer’s work “is sculptural but also respects a woman’s body.” She is a woman who designs for women.”

Backstage, Verlingieri, who last appeared in Tokyo in 2022, was thoughtful. “I love LA and want to make a statement here,” she said of her couture-like dresses. “The collection should [imitate] Emotions reflect our state, ranging from bright to wild, from bold silver to happy flowers, and then from white to black. Because we have a lot of sadness in our lives – especially because everything is happening now.”

A pillar of light stood at the top of their runway, and the show began with a voiceover of Charlie Chaplin’s famous speech from The Great Dictator, in which he advocated for humanity in a time of evil, in his case Nazi Germany. used.

On the runway, Verlingieri’s collection was its own form of resistance and a testament to the beauty that human hands can create. There were goddess constructions made from airy, lightweight mesh, looks covered in serpentine mesh tubes, and others that translated into celebratory gowns, with metallic streamers that the models carried gracefully in one hand as they walked. It was a gentle and beautiful presentation.

Each of the looks deserves a red carpet look, which is even more demanding given that the SAG-AFTRA strike has put a damper on that part of the fashion machine. “It’s hard, but I can’t stop doing what I love and what I feel, so I keep going,” Verlingieri said.

Certainly other designers are feeling the same way as LA Fashion Week prepares to launch under the vision of Noah Kozlowski, the new vice president and head of designer relations who joined in July from IMG, where he held a similar role for seven years.

LA Fashion Week has a checkered past with competing producers, missions and locations. During cocktail hour at the Lever Couture show, guests reminisced nostalgically about the heyday of the five-year partnership between IMG and Smashbox Studios from 2003 to 2008, as Jeremy Scott, Jenni Kayne and Kevan Hall performed at the central Culver City venue as celebrities came out .

But hopes were high that this second edition of LA Fashion Week, produced by N4XT Experiences and running through Sunday at NYA Studios in Hollywood, would capture some of that magic.

“Wouldn’t that be great?” said B. Akerlund, who creates the show/performance “Imitation of Christ” on Wednesday evening.

The event’s lineup, recognized for the first time this season by the Council of Fashion Designers of America, also includes Sergio Hudson, Gypsy Sport, Simkhai, Claude Kameni, No Sesso, Theophilio, Luis De Javier, Neon Cowboys, BruceGlen , TomBogo, Saintwoods and Advisry. Sami Miro Vintage, AnOnlyChild and Demobaza are among the returning brands.

Not all are showing new collections, some are repeating shows they have presented in other markets, and others are participating via panels, dinners or invite-only parties. Media partner is the Los Angeles Times.

“They are one of the biggest brands in the world and can afford large productions which they then tour around the world to engage with consumers. “We thought, why not give smaller brands the same chance,” Kozlowski said, adding that there will be celebrities in the front row (N4XT Experiences co-founder Ciarra Pardo is well-connected and is expected to attract VIPs after she turns 17). Has worked for years with Rihanna and her brands Savage and Fenty), as well as stylists and some media, including international press.

“We want to give designers more space to tell their stories so they don’t get lost in the noise of what’s going on and competing with different budgets, and we want to give them more time to create.” The fact that we’re conscious of the have decided on the staging [the] The event following the end of Global Fashion Month gave designers more space to be creative and create well-made garments.” (LAFW is held annually in October.)

“As we create these industry touchpoints, we also enable the public the opportunity to engage and discover these brands for themselves,” Kozlowski said.

N4XT has teamed up with software giant SAP for an interactive pop-up shop and online shopping experiences, and in collaboration with Lancôme there will also be a BeautyLab installation on site. The public can visit the LAFW website and register for select events.

The designers’ collections will be published on the CFDA platform Runway360, but managing director Steven Kolb will not be present.

“Opening another fashion week main hub in another city, especially in a place where there is a lot of production, will have a big impact not only for LA but for fashion as a whole,” said Kozlowski, who didn’t get any hard nos from Designers he approached about the exhibition. “Everyone was interested in learning about the possibilities.”