LA Fashion Week: Gen Art Spotlights Grai, Society for Rational Dress, and Raquel Allegra

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The Location: BOXEight Fashion Week at the Los Angeles Theatre
The Skinny: LA Fashion Week traditionally opens with a Gen Art showcase, and this season was no different. But rather than throw their own party as per usual, the organization teamed up with BOXEight, sending this year's featured designers - Grai, Society for Rational Dress, and Raquel Allegra - down their catwalk at the Los Angeles Theatre.
Celebs Spotted: Leading lights of stage and screen Ron Jeremy and Slade Smiley ("Date My Ex", "Real Housewives of Orange County"). Looks like some things at LA Fashion Week will never change...
The Takeaway: Grai designer Maya Yogev spent two years working under Rick Owens, and judging by this collection, his raw, gothic aesthetic may have rubbed off on her juuust a little. Sure, her floor-length skirts, dramatic, asymmetrical jackets and liberal use of leather accents were infused with her own ethereal touch, but we would have liked to see some silhouettes a little less derivative of her former mentor.

Society for Rational Dress' Corrinne Grassini opened with an equally dark and complex array of separates, but these soon gave way to a series of soft, creamy knits, grecian gowns and hoods that evoked a particularly hip ice princess. The highlight of the show, for us, was a chain-and-leather breastplate which gave just enough toughness to a sweet ivory sweater dress.

The Rodarte of recycled tees, Raquel Allegra closed the show with her signature shredded pieces, sourced from the LA County Jail. This season, her models looked like desert wanderers, clad in bleached grey-and-gold tunics, Gaucho hats and leather underpinnings. Delicate as her cobwebby confections may seem, they do have a certain grit to them - a theme that seemed to run throughout all three Gen Art presentations last night.

After that, we headed downstairs to the afterparty, where we Tweeted about the models' dance moves and the cringe-inducing music - and we'll be doing the same tonight, so be sure to follow us.

· Grai [Official Site]
· Society for Rational Dress [Racked LA]
· Raquel Allegra [Official Site]