I was at a wedding recently where many of the women looked relaxed, chic, and completely comfortable in what they were wearing. Usually, there's a lot of fuss, constant fluffing, and the frenetic taming of frippery. Not so at this wedding. One young lady was wearing a long silk dress, beautifully constructed and minimally adorned. Another had on a simple, roomy shift in a muted color that hit just above her knees. Ditto for another in simple sleeves and an unobtrusive print. All of this unfussy loveliness was the work of Vena Cava. It's also worth noting that most of the fashionable wedding guests were from Southern California. I'm probably not the first New Yorker to admit it, but LA style is kind of where it's at right now.
Thus, it came as no surprise that Vena Cava's Spring/Summer 2011 collection--designed in SoCal, of course--was all about laid-back, ladylike style. Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock (whose smiling sets of parents cheered them on from the front row along with indie lasses Annie Clark of St. Vincent and Eleanor Friedberger of The Fiery Furnaces) were inspired by the 1980's Memphis Group design movement headed by legendary Italian architect and designer Ettore Sottsass. The Memphis movement is characterized by vibrant geometric shapes that are meant to be humorous, thought-provoking, and modernist in nature. Vena Cava constructed their own hanging structures in the middle of the runway, the models providing slow-gliding punches of red and gray between them. Makes me want to pack up and write poetry in Laurel Canyon by day, sip Prosecco on a succulent-strewn Silverlake patio by night...
