Driven by all things romantic, L.A. designer Anthony Franco is also influenced by the beats of classic 60’s tunes such as those delivered by the legendary Elvis and Grace Jones.
For his most recent work, his Spring/Summer 2012 collection, which debuted as part of Los Angeles Fashion week, romance and music were equal culprits in the penning of the young designer’s men’s and women’s wear collection. But more specifically, it was the dusk settings of a vacation to Zihuatanejo, Mexico and “Girls on Film” by Duran Duran that motivated the designer to create a line that showcased refined men’s tailored suits and day wear, along with women’s evening dresses and beachwear.
The 2007 Mercedes-Benz Designer of the Year recipient tells us about his current collection and about how the first fabric he ever used, is still a marker in his designs today.
Anthony Franco: I first realized my passion for fashion when I was in 7th grade and all the kids had to take a sewing and woodshop class. One day, my sewing teacher, Mrs. Strothers, called my parents in for a meeting. As you can imagine, I was a little scared at first. But in the meeting she told them that in her years of teaching she never saw a circle skirt done as well as mine!
From that point I went on to use vinyl shower curtains, fringe table clothes and anything I could get my hands on. I remember the very first fabric I used was my mom’s chiffon ruffled drapes from my parents’ bedroom. My sister and I were on American Bandstand in the 80’s so I also made everything we wore. She was a model and was a perfect muse growing up so I used to make a lot of stuff for her to wear to underground clubs, too.
But I think my favorite item that I have ever created is a dress that Reese Witherspoon wore in the first “Legally Blond” movie. I had the opportunity to meet the movie designer when they filmed at my store and she asked me to submit sketches for Reese’s final court dress. Low and behold, they loved it.
Now I design for red carpet events and everyday wear, and I still use chiffon and ruffles as I did with the drapes from my parents’ bedroom. But I don’t use them the same way as I did back then, although that design was pretty awesome for the time!
My most recent work, my Spring/Summer 2012 collection, was the direct result of a trip my boyfriend Greg and I took to Zihuatanejo, Mexico. We went into a small town and it was so full of color, and the men’s clothing was also colorful but had a relaxed look. So I allowed the Mayan ruins to inspire the lace and beading I did on most of this collection’s dresses and the relaxed men’s wear inspired me to use soft, comfortable cotton-wool blends and silk-cottons to make suits and sweaters.
For this collection I also did way more new silhouettes for women than I did in my last. I had more bias cuts and a horseshoe inset on blouses and dresses. I really love coming up with one common thread that keeps my collections cohesive so I also stuck with a diamond shape theme either in the fabric or in a bias inset. And since I do men’s and women’s wear, it’s somewhat hard to accomplish for both, but I loved the end result of this Spring 2012 collection.
As most of my pieces are, this collection was also inspired by music. Coming from a music video world, it really all starts with the music for me. My first go to is Duran Duran. My last two favorite collections started with their music. Sometimes I listen to Elvis then Feist or Grace Jones before I start the design process. This collection was driven by “Girls on Film” and “Burning” from MK, which was my favorite song in the 90’s and has the perfect pace for runway.
My designs are available in a few L.A. stores including Traffic and Arcade, two of which I love and use when I am styling for clients and commercials. Best of all, my clothing is all made in Los Angeles and prices range from “cute “to “wow”.
*photos courtesy of Anthony Franco
