Who wants to wear a new dress when vintage is not only good for the environment, but also is as sexy as it was in its prime? On March 19^th, Downtown LA Fashion Week put on an event no one shall forget. And how can we? With attendees such as Lisa Rinna, who wore an amazing vintage Bill Blass cocktail dress, to Marisa Tomei in 1958 vintage Christian Dior, it was hard not to stare. Nicky Hilton, Rose McGowan and radiantly expecting Nicole Richie all showed to see the fantastic fashion show, as well as an exhibit of August Bradley's 18 foot photographs of Louis C. Verdad’s new Louver Collection.

Cameron Silver, the owner of Decades in Los Angeles and London, and co-owner of DecadesTwo in Los Angeles, was named one of Time Magazine’s “25 Most Influential Names and Faces in Fashion.” He has dressed Nicole Kidman, Jennifer Lopez, and Renee Zellweger in upscale vintage designs. At this event, he was the main attraction everyone could not afford to miss. He debuted his store's vintage collection and dressed most of the celebrities that came out on this beautiful California night. The stunning pieces, one by one, blew everyone away. Of course, having ravishing women, all from LA Models, work the catwalk, did some great justice to these timeless outfits. Gorgeous ensembles like a pink 1950's ball gown and an amazing red 1960's sequin dress were hits of the evening. There were lots of purple and pastel colors, flowy dresses brought a free spirit of the 60s and 70s, and beautiful greens and reds with feathers put us in a vintage glamour mood that lingered all night. Although there was no specific color scheme, besides the radiant rainbow effect, it all seemed to fit together so well. Perhaps because the colors, including midnight blue, orange, pink and yellow all made us think of those great works of art that came from much simpler years of the 20^th century. Puffy dresses, beads and florals are all now a big hit on the runways and tonight we saw the inspiration.

Advocating environmentally conscious fashion, event producer Leanna Lewis, the creator of Downtown LA Fashion Week, organized “Evening of 20^th Century” with the our earth's interest at heart. Not only did the proceeds go to the Museum of Contemporary Art, DLAFW will also plant a tree for every ticket that was sold on-line. We can only hope this event will be followed by many others that will invigorate us and remind us that the classics never fade and are always here, waiting to inspire us.

Images courtesy of Arun Nevader

Editor:  Mallory Rajan