LA Fashion Week: Spikes, Ruffs and Cloche Helmets at Louis Verdad

Racked is no longer publishing. Thank you to everyone who read our work over the years. The archives will remain available here; for new stories, head over to Vox.com, where our staff is covering consumer culture for The Goods by Vox. You can also see what we’re up to by signing up here.

The Location: Downtown LA Fashion Week at MOCA's Geffen Contemporary

The Skinny: One day, DLAFW is expected to expand into a full week (hence the name), but for this season, at least, it consisted of only one night, which acted as a kind of preview for next time. The first part of the event featured an installation honoring one of the city's more artistically inclined designers, Louis Verdad. The clothes were enhanced by August Bradley's photos of the Verdad archive, and a behind-the-scenes video of Bradley's photo shoot by Robertino Fonseca.

Celebs Spotted: Verdad infamously dressed Madonna for her Britney Spears smoochfest at the 2003 VMAs. Naturally, we were holding out hope that Her Madgesty would make an appearance. Naturally, she didn't.

The Takeaway: You might not think vestiges of punk rock, medieval armor and '20s-era glamour would mesh well together, but Verdad's Louver collection proved that somehow, they work. Our favorite looks were the evening gowns—one dotted with spikes and an exposed zipper running down the back, another delicately crocheted piece with a splayed train—but we also loved a series of cloche hats with peaked fronts reminiscent of battle armour. Madonna would definitely approve.
· Downtown LA Fashion Week Details Emerge [Racked LA]
· LA Fashion Week AW09 [Racked Archives]