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Escondido Fashion Week Presents: David Kahn Jeans and Lauren-Elaine Designs

Apr 23 2009

The weather was perfect for the drive down to Escondido, CA; where the second annual Escondido Fashion Week was held at the California Center for the Arts.

I went to support my friend, Parris Harris, who was coordinating that evening’s Red Carpet Finale, featuring David Kahn Jeanswear and Lauren-Elaine Designs.

The evening started with words from Debra Rosen, CEO of Escondido’s Downtown Business Association; followed by Angelo Damante of Mercedes-Benz of Escondido and Channel 8’s Barbara Lee Edwards. Then, dancers from Georgia’s School of Dance took the stage with a jazz number (they also danced in between the fashion shows and after.)

The first fashion show was David Kahn Jeanswear. The models showcased the latest of his S/S ’09 line- crops, capris, shorts, skinny legged jeans, and skinny crops that were properly accessorized with tanks and tops sporting the David Kahn logo and scarves, hats and jewelry that was provided by Bacio Boutique. The second part of Kahn’s runway show consisted of the menswear line. And I must say…the men really knew how to show off a pair of classic jeans! Most of the male models strutted down the runway with the serious attitudes; also with David Kahn tees and hoodies. One model though, tore off his tank and thrust it into the giddy audience.

Kahn recently launched his menswear collection. He focuses on the European and American fits and straight and boot cuts. Like his womens line, he also uses Italian denim. For more on David Kahn Jeans, visit www.davidkahnjeanswear.com.

The closing show of the evening was Lauren-Elaine Designs. Her collection (and second full collection) was titled, “Siren Collection”, a dress line inspired by the mythical sirens from Ancient Greek Mythology and the ‘sirens’ of the 50’s (Grace Kelly). The models strolled the runway in ‘goddess’ gowns and dresses with 50’s full-skirted silhouettes.

I had a chance to catch up with the designer of LED, Lauren-Elaine Edleson, who started in the industry as a model, but turned designer when she was in college. She loves working with colorful prints in fine cotton blends, silks and silk chiffons. She has a passion for hand-dying fabrics and taffeta cocktail dresses. She hopes to manufacture more garments with “green” and organic fabrics in the near future. However, several of her sundresses are already made from organic cotton. Her label is still somewhat new, having been launched in March 2008, during LA Fashion Week. For more on LED, go to www.lauren-elainedesigns.com.

I would like to extend special thanks to Parris Harris, for informing me of this amazing event and my first fashion event outside the LA area. To Debra Rosen, Kory DeMeulenaere (GM of Courtyard by Marriott- Rancho Bernardo), Danielle Aeling, events manager at DBA. She and a fantastic team of people planned this event for eleven months and despite the economy, still managed to get the designers and had an incredible amount of people in attendance. Lauren from Bacio Boutique (121 E. Grand Avenue in Escondido (760)743-4800), Georgia’s School of Dance, the hair and make-up teams and the woman behind the models, Maurinda Andre of MODA models. Ms. Andre herself started modeling in 1997 and has worked her way up. Afer a stint at Model and Talent Management, she called Debra Rosen and told her of a new business venture. Rosen then gave her one and a half months to get her business started and then told her about Fashion Week 2009. Andre chose to name her new business, MODA, because it was her professional model name and that she has her own personal style. She says she doesn’t follow the trends, she expresses through them. You can reach MODA at (619)618-5990.

Rock Madness Fashion Show @ BoxEight 1/31/09

Feb 10 2009

What does an awesome hairstylist, “Hollywood’s Notorious Fashion Coordinator”, photo shoots and a fashion show have in common? Why “Rock Madness Fashion Show” at BoxEight Studios in downtown Los Angeles, of course! And it was hosted by Joseph Rene and Parris Harris.

I arrived a little after four, parked my car and walked into the bustling warehouse- turned- photo studio. Models were milling around or in make-up with Joseph Rene and Parris was running all over the place, making sure everything was in order. I made my way to the back of the place, and ran into my friends Jenny, who was modeling Trendy Rags and her friend, Crystal. I just love it when you go to industry events and you see the same people over and over again. It’s like we’re all one big, happy family! Kudos to the fashion industry!

Now, on to the important stuff! Let’s meet some of the ‘fahbulous’ people that helped put this unique show together. Joseph Rene, celebrity hair stylist and Executive Producer of the show. Joseph had a lot of energy through-out the night, despite being up until 3am, making the hair extensions for the models. He, along with Parris, came up with the “Rock Madness” idea three months prior to the show. He was approached by Trendy Rags to do a a live photo shoot and fashion show. And of course, the show was something that I’ve never seen before and it turned out to be a huge success.

The other co-producer, Parris Harris and I had to meet up for coffee, due to him being extremely busy the night of the show. His inspiration for the show was hot men and women and energy mixed with ‘fantasticness’ all at the same time. He and Joseph wanted to have a 70’s and 80’s theme. The wildness of the 70’s along with the make-up of the 80’s. They chose Trendy Rags and David Kahn Jeanswear as the featured designers of the event.

Trendy Rags is owned by Jimmy Lee and offers two lines, “Motor City Legends” and “Fresh and Famous”. This is the third event for Lee, however, he’s done other shows at major Hollywood clubs. He manufactures here in LA, not far from BoxEight. Motor City Legends is influenced by rock, whereas Fresh and Famous has an 80’s influence. The colors are bright and the garments have an urban and street feel to them. The lines include: tees, hoodies, thermals and will eventually feature denim. The tee from Fresh and Famous that stated, “Recession My Ass” was especially made for this show. (And is one of my favs!) Trendy Rag tees range from $75- 600. Check out Jimmy Lee’s brands at www.trendyrags.com, www.freshandfamous.com, and www.motorcitylegends.com.

The fashion duo chose David Kahn Jeanswear as the other designer because Parris loved that the flared jeans were 70’s and the skinny jeans were more 80’s, sticking to the theme of course. I spoke with Alesia Poynter, representing Mr. Kahn, who had a meeting that evening. She was quite helpful when I asked about the line. Mr. Kahn met Parris through a myspace ad last year. David Kahn is known for making women feel beautiful and comfortable in the jeans. He’s fitting women ranging from twenty to sixty years old. The jeans have just enough stretch in them that anyone can wear them. They also manufacure here in LA. The jeans are made from Japanese and Italian Premium Denim. They retail at $150-200. The line is viewable at www.davidkahnjeanswear.com.

I enjoyed the energy of the night… as a budding photographer myself, it was exciting watching the main photographer/owner of BoxEight, Peter Gurnz shoot the models strutting down the runway to the loud, pulsating music by DJ Joe and then have a “mini-shoot” at the vintage car parked at the end of the runway.

Special Shout-Out’s to: Dominic (Make Me a Supermodel), Tiffany Pollier (I Love NY), Mo (Mo’s Models), iModels, Sense Magazine, BoxEight Studios (www.boxeight.com), Bliss Tea, Jeff Knight Photography

EXTRA NOTES: You can reach Joseph Rene at www.josephrenesalon.com. Parris Harris is also a designer, he has a line named, “Punk Mail”, which is mainly reconstructed garments. Check out all of Parris’s “dysfunctional function” at www.justintv.com/parrisharris, www.myspace.com/phashiontv and www.parrisharris.com.

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