LA Fashion Week: Sahaja Proves Italian Wool, Tantric Principles Can Live in Harmony

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The Location: BOXEight Fashion Week at the Los Angeles Theater
The Skinny: The premise behind Sajaha's first collection was enough to spark our interest before even seeing the clothes. Take luxurious fabrics, like Italian wool, Japanese selvedge denim, Loro Piano cashmere and deer hide leather, and combine them with elements of Tantric philosophy, inspired by designer Serge Berkley's ten years of yoga practice. Finally, add graphics penned by KB Lee, who has designed for the likes of Kanye West and Undefeated. Obviously, the results are going to be interesting.
Celebs Spotted: There may have been some, but we were too distracted by the man chanting and playing hand cymbals on the runway pre-show to notice.
The Takeaway: If it weren't for the chanting, we wouldn't have had any idea this collection had a spiritual element at all—but the subtlety is what we liked so much about it. Drawstrings on a cable-knit cashmere hoodie boasted silver lotus flower-and-skull pulls, quilted elbow patches on the sleeves of a plaid button-down were stitched in the the Tibetan Kali Yantra motif, and snaps on a deerskin motorcycle jacket were carved to resemble the face of the Barong deity. We also loved a pair of cropped Italian wool suits, not to mention the models, who wore the clothes far better than the scowling, skinny boys of yesterday's shows.
· LA Fashion Week AW09 [Racked Archives]
· Sahaja [Official Site]