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By Sorina Diaconescu
Fashion Wire Daily - Los Angeles - There's an idiom in Spanish sometimes used to praise the posture and poise of a dancer who can take your breath away with a mere step: "bailar grande" or "dancing big." In English we tend to talk about people "walking tall," and occasionally call out admiringly, "Work it, girl!" All these phrases came to mind while watching models strut down a runway festooned with AstroTurf and cardboard cutout flowers at Louis Verdad's Spring 2006 show, held last Sunday on the first day of L.A.'s Fashion Week. Fedoras tilted rakishly, coral pouts fiercely pursed, Verdad's girls walked tall - and looked at least a couple of feet taller in some of the designer's splendidly cut, ultra-sassy frocks. A '40s club dress in cognac-hued silk charmeuse with notched sleeves, cinched tight with a belt adorned with an oversize flower button, had the clean, beautiful rigor of an Art Deco high-rise. It was one among a handful of real knockouts in this sunny collection, which didn't tinker much with, but rather brought into sharper focus, a vision that the Mexican American designer has been perfecting for a couple of years - an elegant, feminine look with a bit of an edge, which boils down stylistic cues from the '40s and '50s to their most theatrical essences.In a collection that featured more dresses than usual for this artisan of the skirt- and pantsuit, Verdad unveiled a selection of silk jersey and cotton summer dresses in delightful sherbet hues - apricot, tangerine, pistachio green and coral. A simple sweetheart dress in soft, smooth lilac silk registered memorably as a perfect balancing act between color, cut and fabric.Verdad's unimpeachably elegant bubble-sleeved "secretary blouses," waist-accenting jackets and flattering pencil skirts made their now-expected appearances. But he managed to draw unexpected smiles with an adorable micro jacket worn like a bolero on top of a white stretch poplin blouse, and with whimsical details like oversize front pockets sewn onto a cotton beach dress - perhaps designed to accommodate the teacup-sized Pomeranians, Chihuahuas and Terriers that accompanied some of the models down the catwalk.What Verdad has been doing for a while, and perhaps better than anybody in West Coast fashion is a classically chic silhouette based on retro-glam archetypes like the Hollywood vamp and Raymond Chandler's gallery of femme fatales and sharp-witted, smart-mouthed office girls. Because his talent and tailoring skills clearly place him at the front of the L.A. designer pack, his work has sometimes drawn criticism for being seemingly stuck in a rut. In a brief pre-show interview backstage with FWD, the designer acknowledged and deflected the charges."I am a consistent designer," he said. "People who are strong in their vision are those who stay true to their concept, who evolve until they are completely accurate in what they're trying to say. I'm still evolving, and still finding the beauty of the '40s and the '50s."He also noted that an inspiration for this show's looks came from revisiting "Madame Grès' pleating and all those old techniques." In seasons past, Verdad channeled Frida Kahlo, but now his high-waisted pleated pants paired with two-tone Oxfords brought to mind the mannish chic of Katharine Hepburn; while an evening gown in white silk chiffon with wide, flowing sleeves seemed marvelously suited for the boudoir - or for a remake of Marlene Dietrich's 1936 diva vehicle "Desire." Fanciful? Yes, but never silly or overwrought.While Verdad's daytime separates have a democratic appeal that invokes the resourceful working women of the World War II era, perfectly put together and perfectly capable to mind everything even in the absence of their men - his eveningwear reaffirms the fact that he's someone simply born to work in Hollywood. (Verdad said Sunday that he plans to decamp to New York eventually, but only when "I can leave this town completely satisfied.")His celebrity following has famously included willful, stylish females like Madonna and Lucy Liu, and on Sunday Hollywood's new gilded youth was also present in his front row. Kimberly Stewart, a slimmed Jack Osbourne and Paris Hilton - with a toddler dozing off in her lap - hooted and hollered as Verdad's elegantly sassy outfits paraded before their eyes.Like Marc Jacobs, another retro-minded designer who has successfully reinterpreted the '50s and the '60s for the modern gal and has always had a massive list of celebrity fans, Verdad is a strong stylist who knows how to cut a blouse and tailor a suit, and how to make a dress that clings exactly in the right places. Sunday he made a strong case that he deserves Jacobs' commercial success, and maybe even a similar place in the pop culture lexicon.
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