Kevan Hall — LA Fashion Week October 2004
A Los Angeles fashion week record from Monday, 25 October 2004 — the Kevan Hall runway show, kept as the historical record.
Kevan Hall showed on Monday, 25 October 2004, during LA Fashion Week, presenting classic glamour in a tropical palette of mango, lemon, jicama and kiwi. The review carried below, written by Debra Stevenson with photographs by Carlos Alberto, records the Millicent Rogers-inspired black-tie collection, the front-row moguls and an eBay sponsorship first — and the show's runway photograph is carried in the Photos section.
Illustrative image created for this guide — an artistic impression, not photographs from this show.
From Halston to Los Angeles
The review opens with the designer's biography: after resurrecting the Halston label in New York over four years earlier, Hall relocated to Los Angeles to develop his signature label, drawing steady commissions from stylists and red carpet clients and a retail vendor base including Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Pre-show conversation took place around the lobby's VOX sponsored bar, with the cast of Second Time Around, media personality Tanya Hart and Barneys New York staffers in the room.
The eBay First
For the first time, the review notes, eBay had a presence during Fashion Week, sponsoring the Kevan Hall runway show in exchange for garments to be auctioned on the site — an early marker of the product tie-ins the review half-warns about, in a season when custom eye shadows were inspired by Mercedes-Benz and Swarovski crystals were on everything. Hall appears again in this archive in March 2005, where his Maria Callas-inspired gowns are reviewed at length.
The Room Before the Runway
The review spends its first paragraph in the lobby, and the detour is data: a sponsored bar, a television cast, a television personality and Barneys staffers are the constituency a Los Angeles eveningwear designer actually serves. Hall's wearable silk crepe and charmeuse dresses were cut for that room's red carpets, and the record keeps the room and the dresses together, because the collection cannot be judged apart from the circuit it dressed.
The Record
After resurrecting the Halston label in New York over 4 years ago, Kevan Hall relocated to Los Angeles to develop his signature label. A loyal following of colorful stylists and red carpet A-listers provide steady commissions along with a stellar retail vendor base including Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. Pre-show schmoozing took place around the lobby's VOX sponsored bar, drawing the cast of Second Time Around, media personality Tanya Hart and staffers from Barneys New York.
The look this season was classic glamour, cast in a tropical palette of mango, lemon, jicama and kiwi and inspired by the nonchalant elegance of style icon Millicent Rogers. Front-row moguls Laurence Fishburne, Tisha Campbell and Carmel Electra responded well to the modern black-tie collection, including Diva Gowns and a white pantsuit; they applauded anything with strong color appeal. Long periods of silent anticipation accompanied most of the show, however, as many waited for something more editorial and dramatic instead of the wearable silk crepe and charmeuse dresses on offer. All of Hollywood (and their stylists), it seemed, was jonzing for the next red carpet dress.
For the first time, EBay had a presence during Fashion Week, sponsoring the Kevan Hall runway show in exchange for garments to be auctioned on the site. With custom eye shadows inspired by Mercedes-Benz and Swarovski crystals on everything, could more blatant product tie-ins be far behind?
Photos
Common Questions
What did Kevan Hall show in October 2004?
A modern black-tie collection of classic glamour in a tropical palette of mango, lemon, jicama and kiwi, inspired by style icon Millicent Rogers — Diva Gowns, a white pantsuit and wearable silk crepe and charmeuse dresses.
What was new about the show's sponsorship?
eBay had a presence during Fashion Week for the first time, sponsoring the Kevan Hall runway show in exchange for garments to be auctioned on the site, as the review records.
Who sat in the front row?
The review names Laurence Fishburne, Tisha Campbell and Carmel Electra, who responded well to the collection and applauded anything with strong color appeal.