The Zachariah Bryant Fashion Show at Em & Co was a fabulous affair. The locale was one of the little shops on west 3rd St. As guests came in starting at around 6:30 they were able to look through the wonderful clothes and truly beautiful handmade jewelry on display. Champagne and vodka were served as well as tamer drinks such as herbal waters and red bull. There was a constant stream of delicious gourmet appetizers making its way towards a white square table set in the forefront of the room. Music was provided by DJ Jasepi, who compiled the tracks for both the show, and well as the ambience for the entire event.
A Fashion Protégé
The main event, Zachariah’s Bryant’s Fall fashion line was truly beautiful, with a few themes running through several designs. I especially loved the brilliant blue material, which Bryant used for a mod-style dress and a few other items. Samantha Mollen, up–and–coming singer/songwriter and host, was wearing that dress to the event, and looked absolutely gorgeous in it.
Zachariah Bryant, a native of L.A. starting designing clothes when he was a teenager. By the time he was seventeen, his clothes were being featured in several high-profile publications.
In 2007, Bryant debuted his collection Zachariah Bryant. He immediately caught the eyes of several well – known retailers like Fred Segal and Nordstrom as well as media outlets such as InStyle, Maxim, Stuff, Carmen Electra’s “World Calendar,” and Bravo TV.
His vintage – flavored style combines L.A. chic with New York sophistication and is described as “chic, unique, bohemian, modern.” InStyle deems Bryant’s styles quintessentially today’s “boho celebrity.”
Although at first a bohemian/modern combination may sound odd, it works perfectly in Bryant’s collection. He has been known to say, “I love modern yet organic looks. There is such an emphasis on creating modern fashion, but it is also important to construct comfortable and organic collection.”
Eager to know how Zachariah Bryant comes up with his creations, I inquired about his creative process. “My creative process is never ending” he says, “whether I am designing organically [or] draping on my form”. He and his creative team, which is comprised of Dalit Gwenna and David Schifilliti, spend lots of time in fabric and vintage stores. Bryant’s clothes “comment on street fashions and make them accessible to every girl/woman”.
Bryant’s inspiration comes from what he refers to as “casual luxury”, and this is definitely felt in his collections. Themes throughout the label include military, structure, and clever draping.
Who are these clothes aimed at? I ask.
“My cosmopolitan-downtown girl!!!” he exuberates.
“She wants to feel hip and casual no matter where she is. She likes versatile clothes…reversible pieces, morphing hoods [and] textured fabrics” he further explains.
Bryant is a true artist. His puts his aesthetics sense and experience into his clothes.
“My creations are an extension of myself and my lifestyle” he says. He wants to infect others with his vision of life – to give them confidence and the feeling of luxury while wearing his clothes.
Behind the Scenes
This was my lucky night. After the show, I got to go backstage and meet both Zachariah Bryant and his brilliant stylist for the show, David Schifilliti. Luckily for me, earlier that evening I ran into Schifilliti’s good friend, gorgeous actress Barbara King, who enabled me to get a more personal look at the behind-the-scenes of the show.
Schifilliti has worked has collaborated with Bryant before and told me that he had complete control over creating the outfits. However, he made sure to point out, he “never once made a decision without first asking [Bryant’s] opinion”. He said he went with his gut instincts on what worked well with each other and what didn’t. Judging from the show, if everyone had his gut instincts, we’d all be in good fashion shape.
Schifilliti explained to me that he did have to wait for the entire collection to be finished before he could start composing the outfits.
“The idea for the show was the ‘urban hippie’” he says, “I wanted to the keep the show and the clothes young, hip, current and most importantly wearable”. The clothes are meant to be fun and urban, and for those not afraid to make a statement.
Interestingly enough, the collection is made up of two distinct groups – the L.A. group with the lighter plaids and the N.Y. group with the blues and blacks. This distinction was clearly apparent on the runway.
Schifilliti has been in the fashion industry for six years, but has only recently started working as a stylist. He loved working with Bryant again, and looks forward to future projects.
From the brief moments I was backstage, I definitely got the feel that designer and stylist got along together very well. Despite clearly being busy and in the midst of a small backstage room crowded with models, PR people, Barbara and me, Bryant and Zachariah seemed to hold an inner peace and confidence – towards each other, the show, and most importantly, the clothes.
Heads Up
Upon moseying our way out of chaos that was backstage, I chatted Barbara up on her career. She told me she recently moved to L.A. from New York’s theater and film scene (she recently graduated from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts).
Upon moving to L.A. (and luckily before the writer’ strike struck), she landed a role in an edgy indie feature, “Political Disasters” directed by Zach Horton and starring Tim DeKay. The film, currently in production, is socio-political parody and sounds very promising. King plays Veronica, a very bubbly character who is a member of a fundamentalist Christian church. You can learn more about her at www.BarbaraKing.com.
Interview With A Songbird
I managed to interview the lovely Samantha Mollen, an up-and-coming singer/songwriter featured with the show. The bright, luscious-blue plaid dress (my absolute FAVORITE) she wore contrasted stunningly with her blond hair.
We got to talking about her music and I learned that although she does not come from a particularly musical family (with the exception of her great uncle, who was an opera singer), she has been singing since age six.
She confided in me that she’s never had any formal training in voice or singing. Listening to her songs on her debut CD “Don’t Make Me Sound It Out,” that’s hard to believe.
Instead, she goes with her impulses and artistic instinct – playing around with vocals and guitar until she gets the right notes and melody. Not a stickler for cut – and – dry procedures, Mollen prefers to follow her impulses when composing her music, which undoubtedly is the source to that sweet quirkiness and spontaneity in her work.
For lyrics, she writes about her thought and feelings, about her experiences and her personal take on them. Sometimes the lyrics of a song come first and a melody is set to the words; sometimes the music comes first and the lyrics are written in to suit the melody; and sometimes it’s an interchanging dance between the two, until a song is completed.
I asked her which artists she considers her music to be most similar to, to which she faltered and laughed.
“I suppose it’s Stevie Nicks, slash Fiona Apple, slash…”
Mollen undoubtedly has that quirky, and somewhat folksy feel to her music that Nicks and Apple have; however, Mollen is first and foremost her own person and her own artist, which means that while she certainly is influenced by respected artists, she is not trying to copy anyone but rather project her own unique art into the world.
The lyrics are edgy and the vocals are soulful and penetrating. The focus is definitely on the words and Mollen’s voice; there is just enough music to carrying the song and enhance the musical artistic expression, but it never overpowers.
Like any true artist, she hopes to inspire others with her personal expression. She said she hopes her words and melodies reach people who do not know how to express their emotions and experiences – and that the latter get fulfillment and a sense of someone understanding them from her work.
The fashion show was hosted by LJAMPR and EM & Co, the latter a gallery-like eclectic boutique on West 3rd street. EM & Co provides its clients with a unique mixture of high profile designers such as Vivienne Westwood, Iodice, Jean-Paul Gaultier, and Greyhound, and local emerging L.A. talent. EM & Co also hosts many art events, such as monthly art exhibits and shows featuring local artists and designers. For more information contact EM & Co at: [email protected] or www.emandco.com.
Please refer to our earlier article on Zachariah Bryant here.
The event was sponsored by Metromix, LA Direct, Excess, [H]Lab, LJAMPR, and EM & Co.
Read our article on Samantha Mollen here…
