LA Fashion Week: Wren, Maxine Dillon, Suh-Tahn

For a young designer, having André Leon Talley show up at your press preview is like being blessed by the Pope. So it's no wonder that Wren's Melissa Coker was in particularly high spirits after the man himself gave her second collection a once-over last night. In an intimate reception at LA's Taylor de Cordoba gallery, Coker presented a line of refreshingly simple silhouettes rendered in rich moiré silks, metallic bouclés and chiffons. "I was inspired by the idea of faded opulence and the patina of time," she explained, citing the costumes of the Ballets Russes and traditional British school uniforms as touchstones.

In another off-schedule presentation, designer Maxine Dillon firmly established herself as a West Coast talent to watch. Dillon custom designs each of her own colors and prints, including her fall collection's signature blue-and-white wood grain motif. "The print came from a painting I found at a thrift store," she said, "it reminded me of the children's book Where the Wild Things Are." The resulting mood is "psychedelic safari," with hooded jackets, multi-pocketed shirtdresses, rope trim and marble-effect buttons that feel both utilitarian and weightless at the same time.

Unfortunately, the offerings in the Mercedes-Benz tents haven't been as inspiring. With the exception of Suh-Tahn's thoughtful, architecturally-inspired garments, most collections have been either pretty but unremarkable—Octavio Carlin and Bow & Arrow—or overdramatic. Alexis LaMontagna's Smashbox debut was more Camden Market than couture, red carpet mainstay Joseph Domingo performed a perplexing experiment in PVC and metallic lamé and Veronika Jeanvie's collaboration with Paco Rabanne could only be taken seriously on stage in Vegas. Indian duo Falguni & Shane Peacock showed promise, but most of their dizzyingly vibrant evening gowns contained one too many gemstones, feathers and contrasting patterns. Their best pieces were the simplest, a lesson that most of their showmates could also stand to learn.

—Erin Magner