Bradley Bayou — Fashion Week LA, March 2006
A Los Angeles fashion week record from March 2006 — the Bradley Bayou collection shown at Fashion Week LA in March 2006, kept as the historical record.
Bradley Bayou showed on March 23, 2006, the closing day of the March season in this coverage, and the review below — by the Design Studio's Debra Stevenson — calls it one of the most polished presentations of Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week. Bayou was a couture name on a Los Angeles schedule heavy with contemporary and denim brands, and the review treats the show accordingly: as a study in finishing, surface and restraint, with an urban architecture theme running through the collection.
The review is kept in full, including its disagreements with individual looks. A show notice that praises everything tells a later reader nothing; this one names the season's standout pieces — a grosgrain ribbon sheath, a plum silk chiffon evening gown, a beaded-feather herringbone suit dress — and the two dresses the reviewer thought failed, which is what makes the praise around them credible.
Illustrative image created for this guide — an artistic impression, not photographs from this show.
Architecture as a Collection Theme
The collection's stated inspiration was urban structure and the shape of skyscrapers, worked in a palette of steel, rust, metal and concrete. Architectural themes were a mid-2000s runway staple, but the review's emphasis is on execution rather than concept: garments finished with great care and rigorous detail, minimalist hair and makeup, and models gliding a "virtual boulevard" to punked-out Deee-Lite covers. The front row noticed the finishing too — Project Runway's Andrae Gonzalo is recorded among those who observed it keenly.
Bayou's Position in 2006
The closing lines place the designer: a formidable red carpet and editorial presence, plus commercial successes at Halston and on QVC, had secured Bayou's standing as an award-winning American fashion icon by 2006. That combination — couture technique, celebrity dressing and television retail — was the period's Los Angeles success formula, and the review's send-off ("Keep doing your thing, Bradley!") is written from inside that world rather than above it.
The Review
One of the most polished presentations during MB Fashion Week came from couture wizard Bradley Bayou, whose gorgeous architectural neutrals floated down the catwalk with zen restraint. Inspired by urban structure and the shape of skyscrapers, he worked in an austere palette of steel, rust, metal and concrete. Each garment was finished with great care and rigorous detail — a point keenly observed by Project Runway refugee Andrae Gonzalo, who sat front row.
While punked-out Deee-Lite cover tunes rocked the house, lithe models with minimalist hair and makeup glided the virtual boulevard. An expertly woven black and white grosgrain ribbon sheath adorned with a waist-defining patent leather belt defined the season's new ladylike mood. A youthful polka dot party skirt with short back bustle was effortlessly fresh and modern. Must-haves like Bayou's languid plum silk chiffon evening gown and a chic herringbone suit dress with elaborate beaded feather border demonstrate his mastery of both flat and embellished surface.
Sadly, the harvest orange party dress, complete with stuffy beaded lace bodice, and the limp cocktail sheath that followed, covered in clear sequins, were borderline drag clichés. Experimental works like a mini dress entirely constructed from semi-precious stones woven on chain drew mixed response from attending stylists, regarded as either today's bespoke or unwearable.
Bayou's formidable red carpet and editorial presence, along with commercial successes at Halston and QVC, have secured his place as an award-winning American fashion icon. Keep doing your thing, Bradley! — Design Studio review by Debra Stevenson.
Common Questions
What was the theme of Bradley Bayou's March 2006 collection?
Urban structure and the shape of skyscrapers, in an austere palette of steel, rust, metal and concrete, with architectural neutrals throughout.
Which pieces did the review single out?
A black and white grosgrain ribbon sheath with a patent leather belt, a polka dot party skirt with a short back bustle, a plum silk chiffon evening gown, and a herringbone suit dress with a beaded feather border.
When did Bradley Bayou show?
March 23, 2006, during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios — the closing show of the season in this coverage.