GenArt — LA Fashion Week, April 2003
A Los Angeles fashion week record from April 2003 — the GenArt emerging-designer showcase at LA Fashion Week in April 2003, kept as the historical record.
The GenArt crowd always throws a great party, and its seasonal runway shows in New York and Los Angeles are not to be missed. In April 2003 the showcase took the Shriner Auditorium, with generous corporate sponsors, an open bar and a member-driven guest list — and a lineup mixing newcomers and alumni of the GenArt program.
The review below was reported from the show by the West Coast Bureau for Apparel Search. GenArt threads through this whole section: its March 2004 showcase presented Society for Rational Dress, Madley and Cosa Nostra, and its March 2005 New Garde installation opened that season.
Illustrative image created for this guide — an artistic impression, not photographs from these shows.
Newcomers and Alumni
Two highlights anchor the review. Louis Verdad — an alumnus already on his way to his own shows in March 2004 and beyond — showed sharply tailored, sultry suiting with boy-meets-girl detailing: menswear pinstripes and covered dressmaker buttons, perfect accessories, an urban dandy-diva attitude. Jared Gold stormed the audience with a coven of Goth vixens who took the catwalk en masse, shedding capes to reveal tweedy skirts and convent-inspired knits through kohl eyeliner and sprayed ringlets — a true alter-LA moment.
More Than a Runway Show
GenArt's format was part show, part party: DJs from GIANT started the after-party, Bacardi supplied the potions, and Nike's Reconstruct project installed alongside. The review closes with thanks to Megan Griffith and Lee Trimble for their passionate support of LA artists and designers — the organization's member-driven model in a sentence, and the reason its showcases kept surfacing the names the rest of the calendar later headlined.
The Review
The GenArt crowd always throws a great party, and their seasonal runway shows in New York and Los Angeles are not to be missed. Generous corporate sponsors provide entertainment and an open bar, while the member-driven guest list pulls from a genetically gifted gene pool. Held at the graceful Shriner Auditorium, the lineup showcased both newcomers and alumni in the GenArt program. Highlights included sharply tailored and sultry suiting from Louis Verdad, featuring boy-meets-girl detailing like menswear pinstripes and covered dressmaker buttons. The accessories were perfect and the urban dandy-diva attitude sizzled. Jared Gold stormed the audience with his coven of Goth vixens, which took to the catwalk en masse; shedding their capes to reveal tweedy skirts, convent-inspired knits and transfixed stares peeking through eerie kohl eyeliner and perfectly sprayed ringlets. A true alter-LA moment! DJ's from GIANT got the after-party started, which featured delicious potions by Bacardi and an installation of the Reconstruct project by Nike. Thanks to Megan Griffith and Lee Trimble for their passionate support of LA artists and designers.
Photos
Common Questions
Where was the GenArt April 2003 showcase held?
At the Shriner Auditorium in Los Angeles, during LA Fashion Week in April 2003.
Which designers stood out at the GenArt show?
Louis Verdad, with sharply tailored suiting in menswear pinstripes, and Jared Gold, whose Goth vixens took the catwalk en masse in tweedy skirts and convent-inspired knits.
What is GenArt's format?
A member-driven emerging-designer organization whose seasonal runway shows in New York and Los Angeles mix newcomers and alumni with sponsors, entertainment and an after-party.