The fashion show is equal parts theatre and the showing of the new designs in the line. Sometimes, the show's balance is tipped too far into the realm of theatre, and then it becomes difficult to actually envision how the designs will translate into regular life. I suspected this might be the case with designer Joey Tierney's show, since Tierney's designs are often inspired by the rock/ celebrity life (Tierney used to work for Britney Spears, and has designed for everyone from Paris Hilton to Jamie Pressley to Nicole Richie. While always very cool, Tierney's designs have seemed in the past (to me, at least) to not be applicable to my life. While I love her designs, I can't always picture myself wearing her stuff to a meeting or dinner party, if you know what I mean.
Fortunately, this was at all not the case with Tierney's Fall/ Winter 2007 show at Mercedes Benz Fashion Week here in Los Angeles, which I thought struck the perfect balance between show and clothes. In fact, with a few exceptions, I felt like every one of the pieces could be worn out that night, and all this with cool lighting and Depeche Mode playing. What could be better?
Over the past few years, Tierney has been developing her reputation as a designer that brings a 'sophisticated rock meets high society' vibe to her clothing. The launch of her Fall/ Winter 2007 collection definitely supported this goal. In a departure from the predominantly rocker-focused style that's made her popular with celebrities, many of Tierney's designs were positively subdued, focusing primarily on black but with an occasional welcome addition of emerald green, some accented with gold jewelry.
Tierney is no stranger to the worlds of both rock and celebrity. In 2001, Tierney began touring with Britney Spears in the wardrobe department. 'Traveling the world with seamstresses full time allowed me to learn my passion for design and global influence,' Tierney has said. These influences definitely show in her collection, from the French beret that completed several looks, to the kimono-inspired black dress, Tierney's is a truly international style.
This collection included everything from simple black pants to black dresses to an emerald green shorts-jumpsuit. Somehow, Tierney managed to infuse even a simple 'pants and a blouse' ensemble with a rocker edge. One of my favorite parts of this collection was that Tierney offered several new takes on the little black dress, each of which I felt like I could buy right there and wear out to dinner that night. One of these, a "sack" dress made from black jersey material and worn with a hat, elicited a round of applause all its own. This was also the case with the piece shown here, an elegant black tea-length dress worn with gloves. With this collection, Tierney has successfully crossed over to the mainstream world, bringing rocker-infused chic to the dinner party.
Lori Culwell writes about fashion, beauty, current events, and the celebrity scene for several magazines. You can find more of her writing on her blog, Funny Strange.
