Launches and Releases: Caycee Black Makes a Noirish Debut at Feature

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Last Thursday night, Parsons grad Caycee Black hosted a trunk show of her debut collection at Feature boutique in Brentwood. Clad head-to-toe in pieces from her A/W 2009 collection—a grey jumper, peacock green sweater, and grey bow headband—the designer bounced around energetically greeting her guests. Black’s first collection is currently sold in six stores, with Feature the only L.A. location. Inspired by her passions of film noir, ballet, and art, with a mannish, yet girly vibe, the attention to detail in the A/W collection is refreshing. Black personally designs everything from the buttons to the prints herself, and each print comes either from one of her photographs or paintings—like the moody green-and-blue "Shadow Forest" print, which appears on a draped skirt and blouse and was inspired by the shadows of the trees in Central Park.

The Texas native-turned-New Yorker had this to say about L.A.:

When did you get into town?
“I came Tuesday and am leaving sadly Friday. I’ve been staying with my sister (who lives here).”

Have you been doing any serious shopping?
“Before I got here I was planning on making it a shopping trip, but I have just wanted to rest! I did go to American Vintage on Melrose though. I bought some shoes that I’m going to rework for my Spring 2010 look book! Vintage is much cheaper here than in NYC, so I loaded up.”

What was the first thing you wanted to do when you got here?
“I kept asking my sister when we were going to eat Mexican food! I grew up in Texas, got Tex-Mex there, never have authentic Mexican food in NYC, so really wanted Mexican food here! We went to El Compadre and had the best margaritas.”

Do you think your L.A. customers you’ve met tonight are any different from your NYC or Texas customers?
“No, if a girl loves fashion they love fashion. I do think my L.A. customer might be more similar to my Texas customer in regards to the weather. A lot of the pieces in my A/W 09 collection are seasonless and lightweight.”—Kelly Parsons