San Paredes by Paul Magalad — LA Fashion Week, April 2003
A Los Angeles fashion week record from April 2003 — the San Paredes presentation by Paul Magalad at LA Fashion Week in April 2003, kept as the historical record.
Never was there a young designer more cool and collected during pre-show confusion. Paul Magalad personally welcomed all press and buyers to his Chinatown studios, seated everyone in the lantern-lit courtyard, provided magazines during the wait, and narrated his own show from the DJ microphone — then sent fourteen romantic silhouettes out into the warm night.
The review below was reported by Debra Stevenson of The Skyline Studios, the West Coast Bureau for Apparel Search. The San Paredes show opened the April 2003 week on Sunday, March 30, 2003; two years later Magalad returned as the co-sponsored designer of the March 2005 season, presented by Apparel Search with the Los Angeles Art Association at Gallery 825.
Illustrative image created for this guide — an artistic impression, not photographs from this show.
Fourteen Romantic Silhouettes
The collection was concise and hand-worked: well-executed blouses of diaphanous chiffon, trailing raw-edged ruffles, asymmetrical pin-tucked bustles, modern variations of the obi, and a cheongsam deconstructed. Hair and makeup completed the palette — 50's diva meets bead-headed geisha, in the review's phrase — giving the show its streetwear charm. Magalad's hand construction became the label's signature: every piece made by hand, draped individually on the body, finished with gathering and sculptural draping.
The Courtyard as Runway
The Chinatown courtyard show was guerrilla fashion week before the term settled: a designer's own studio as venue, lanterns for lighting, the designer as host and narrator. It suited a week that was inventing itself as it went — and it worked well enough that the sponsors of March 2005 juried Magalad's iconoclastic style into their featured slot, a direct line from this courtyard to the Gallery 825 installation two seasons later.
The Review
Never was there a young designer more cool and collected during pre-show confusion. Not only did he personally welcome all press and buyers to his Chinatown studios, but seated everyone in the lantern-lit courtyard, provided magazines during the wait and narrated the show from the DJ mike. A concise group of 14 romantic silhouettes emerged out into the warm night, including well-executed blouses of diaphanous chiffon, trailing raw-edged ruffles and asymmetrical pin tucked bustles. Modern variations of the obi were presented as was cheongsam deconstructed. A team of hair and makeup created an alluring palette of 50's diva meets bead headed geisha, which gave this show it's streetwear charm. Reported by Debra Stevenson, The Skyline Studios/west Coast Bureau for Apparel Search.
Photos
Common Questions
Where was the San Paredes April 2003 show held?
At Paul Magalad's Chinatown studios in Los Angeles, in a lantern-lit courtyard, on Sunday, March 30, 2003 — the opening show of the April 2003 week.
What did San Paredes show in April 2003?
Fourteen romantic silhouettes: diaphanous chiffon blouses, trailing raw-edged ruffles, asymmetrical pin-tucked bustles, modern obi variations and a deconstructed cheongsam.
How was the show presented?
Magalad personally welcomed press and buyers, seated them in the courtyard and narrated the show himself from the DJ microphone.