Los Angeles' fashion shows display vibrant diversity

Among the highlights at the Fashion Council shows? Body-conscious dresses covered in delicate line drawings of roses or embossed floral patterns, with brightly colored contrast piping by Hollywood favorite Katharine Kidd; Moroccan-inspired paisley and gold foiled lace boho gowns, maxi-dresses and miniskirts by Odylyne designer Stephanie Lampkin; and black and white marble-patterned dresses, tone-on-tone tie-dye pieces and softly-draped white knit dresses and vests from Inka Sherman's ISM Mode collection.A pair of newcomers (winners of the Fashion Council's Open Runway competition) also had strong, if more arty, showings: Amabelle Aguiluz's collection was an exquisitely delicate-looking patchwork of stitched-together knits, and Rhode Island School of Design grad Rose La Grua's grab bag of plaids and washed-to-pale-blue denim pieces had a punk-street-wear vibe.Style Fashion Week at L.Purple Scoop Capped Applique beaded Empire Prom DressA. Live featured Ina Soltani's Old Hollywood-inspired little black dresses and glitzy mermaid gowns laden with sequins,chiffon Flower One-shoulder Draped Prom dresses crystals and ostrich feather trim and Malan Breton's sharply tailored, slim men's suiting in colorful brocades,Satin V-neck Beaded A-line Sweep Train Evening Dress a testament to his training at heritage British menswear brand Turnbull and Asser. Many of Michael Costello's softly structured gowns seemed ready for the stage or the Hollywood spotlight, even if some came off as too costumey.

At Concept Los Angeles in West Hollywood,High-grade Yellow A-line Chiffon Beaded One Shoulder Prom Dress Matthew Mathiasen, a 2009 graduate of the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising whose fashion world CV includes stints at Elmer Ave. and Betsey Johnson, showed a collection that varied from sporty street wear — shorts, skirts and zip-front crop tops layered under hoodies — to glittery sequined sleeveless mini-dresses and a curve-hugging floor-length gown.Mike Vensel (who also happens to be the organizer of Concept) decided to showcase his fashion line and abstract expressionist artwork — together — by having models cross the room, pick up one of his paintings from a pile and place it on the floor on the other side of the room. This bit of performance art, Vensel said in his show notes, "explores evolution and chance by allowing the models to select art they find most interesting and arranging it in an evolving sculpture that focuses on the progression of time and changing tastes. Gimmicky? Sure. But it was more interesting than simply staring at a staid tableaux of models and afforded the audience ample opportunity to see the clothes close up — a collection that included a chiffon fabric made from recycled plastic bottles and some hand-painted, one-of-a-kind dresses.

Finally, the trade group Fashion Business Incorporated's annual fashion show at Union Station featured a runway show with nine designer collections, including Liberty Sage's summertime riffs on tuxedo dressing and jewel-covered racer-back dresses; Johnny Was' bohemian patchwork pants and maxi-dresses; and graffiti-print leggings, reptile-patterned dolphin shorts and logo hoodies from Chiffon A-line/Princess Empire Beaded Evening Dressaction sports brand Continuous.But the woman of the hour was swim and resort wear designer Shay Todd, who took home the MAFI Award (Moss Adams Fashion Innovator Award) and showed a selection of her pieces, including twilight blue, dip-dye sundresses, desert sunset print caftans and a burnt-clay-colored, one-piece swimsuit with cutouts and a tassel belt that brought to mind faraway lands.