LAFW Trend Watch: Midriff Medley

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We can get behind the return of the crop top for day, but do bare bellies have a place on the red carpet? According to BOXEight's youngest designers, they do. 21-year-old Jen Awad featured a series of scanty evening gowns, most of which put the models' toned tummies on full view. Fellow FIDM grad David Alexander presented a more demure collection, but opened the show with a cutout micromini dress accessorized with fur angel wings. We might not mind the bare midriffs on their own (after all, Alex Wang and Thakoon both did it), but when paired with such scandalously high hemlines and glitzy embellishment, they veer into a realm that only Vegas showgirls should visit.

We sat next to the lovely Awad at a show later in the night, where she confessed that she's still figuring out what direction she wants her collection to take (and rightly so — it's only been around for five months). Our advice would be to stick with pieces like the beaded shift she presented mid-show— think Nicole Richie after her Rachel Zoe makeover. With that proportion of class and flash, she''ll be just fine.

· LA Fashion Week AW09 [Racked Archives]
· Jen Awad [Official Site]
· David Alexander [Official Site]