AS FOUR — LA Fashion Week, 26 October 2003
A Los Angeles fashion week record from Sunday, 26 October 2003 — the AS FOUR runway show at Smashbox Studios, kept as the historical record.
The young design team AS FOUR commenced Fashion Week's proceedings at Smashbox Studios in Culver City on Sunday, 26 October 2003, with an adventurous collection of futuristic, clingy bodysuits — all twisted, pinned, warped and wrapped. The review carried below records Kawakubo-influenced pod-like sculptures in lightweight linens, asymmetrical tailoring and Grecian-inspired Old Hollywood looks, and it is kept complete as the record of the week's most conceptual show.
Illustrative image created for this guide — an artistic impression, not photographs from this show.
Lightness as a Manifesto
The team listed lightness and ease as their chief inspiration, asking the audience to consider a new way of living lightness in the future planet of style — heads, arms and feet completely wrapped. Against the sculptures sat the wearable counterpoint the review also records: gold brocade, loungewear caftans and sequined camouflage capes in an Old Hollywood register.
The Week's Challenge
The review frames the show as a deliberate provocation: it challenged collective notions of what we wear and why we wear it, closing with the period's own joke — that if Hollywood's Blade Runner fantasy became reality, LA might all be wearing shimmery mummy-suits by 2019. As the first show of the week, it announced that October 2003 would not be a timid season.
Why Open With a Provocation
Programming is an argument, and opening a fashion week with its most conceptual collection tells editors what kind of week to expect. AS FOUR's wrapped, pinned and warped bodysuits asked the season's largest question — what we wear and why — before a single conventional garment had walked. This record preserves that opening statement at the head of the week's reports, where it belongs.
The Record
The young design team, self-named AS FOUR, commenced Fashion Week's proceedings at Smashbox Studios in Culver City with an adventurous collection of futuristic, clingy bodysuits all twisted, pinned, warped and wrapped. With heads, arms and feet completely wrapped this design team listed lightness and ease as their chief inspiration, and asked us to consider a new way of living lightness in the future planet of style.
There were several Kawakubo-influenced pod-like sculptures in lightweight linens, lots of asymmetrical tailoring and even a few Grecian-inspired Old Hollywood looks with gold brocade, loungewear caftans and sequined camouflage capes. the show challenged collective notions of What we wear and Why we wear it. After all, if Hollywood's Blade Runner fantasy becomes reality, we fashionistas may all be wearing these shimmery mummy-suits in LA by 2019.
Photos
Common Questions
Where did AS FOUR show in October 2003?
At Smashbox Studios in Culver City, where the team commenced Fashion Week's proceedings on Sunday, 26 October 2003.
What was the collection's stated inspiration?
Lightness and ease — a new way of living lightness in the future planet of style, expressed in futuristic bodysuits twisted, pinned, warped and wrapped.
What influences did the review identify?
Kawakubo-influenced pod-like sculptures in lightweight linens, lots of asymmetrical tailoring, and Grecian-inspired Old Hollywood looks with gold brocade, loungewear caftans and sequined camouflage capes.