Between the party swirl, the Super Bowl and Frieze, Los Angeles is buzzing this month.
Hometown fashion hero Mike Amiri kicked things off Tuesday night, staging his first runway show in L.A. in front of a music and fashion crowd that included Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker, Usher, King Combs, Swae Lee, designers John Elliott and Bobby Hundreds — and a joint being passed around the front row.
It was a blast, surfing SoCal references from Venice Dogtown punk to Sunset Strip rock to Arts District grunge.
The collection was a collaboration with L.A. artist Wes Lang, whose scribbles of skulls, grim reapers, flying eyeballs, lightning bolts, ravens and roses were projected onto the walls and floors of Milk Studios, along with affirmations such as “all things are possible” and “everything is perfect.”
Lang’s style is a bit reminiscent of Basquiat only with a Kustom Kulture-meets-rock n’ roll soul. He is no stranger to the fashion world, having designed merch for Kanye West, shirts for Supreme and stationary for Marc Jacobs (and making collectors of Jay-Z and other stars). But this is the first time his work has been used on such a large scale on a runway.
“We talk about life and creativity and spirituality,” Amiri said backstage, speaking about his friendship with the artist, who has his studio 10 minutes away from the designer’s in the Arts District, and whose work is featured in the L.A., Las Vegas and Miami Amiri stores. “When you look at his art at first, it looks dark, but when you have a conversation with him and start reading his quotes, it’s about a celebration of life, being positive and appreciating the now. You don’t usually associate dark rock ‘n’ roll with that. For me, my personality is not dark at all, even though I make rock clothes. I’m an optimistic person, so it’s the same mind-set.”
Amiri’s skill lies in bringing an artful sophistication to Left Coast slouch wear, which he did beautifully with artful layers of tailored outerwear, workwear, leather and faux fur bombers, paired back to his signature kick flare trousers.
The clothing was a canvas for mixed-media graphics and craft details such as handwoven stripes, patchwork and paint splatters, with Lang’s skulls blown up to the point of near abstraction on a matching jacket and pant set, his scribbles woven into a fringed intarsia blanket cut cardigan and pants, and his allover black-and-white checkerboard motifs printed on workwear jackets and matching pants with a nod to skater culture.
“It doesn’t have to be a suit, but it is good to have thoughtfulness and a set,” Amiri said. “Because your work, your leisure, home and events, can take place in the same day and the same fit,” he said.
Key layering pieces included cropped leather jackets over extra-long shadow plaid shirts and flared pants; hand-knit mohair and leather cardigans over long fringed scarves swinging below the knees, and light overcoats that almost resembled skirts.
Amiri also had a few women’s looks in the mix, including an ivory cashmere robe coat, sweater and pant set, topped with matching baseball hat, that was effortlessly cool.
“I’m pushing for them to meet in the middle,” Amiri said of how the men’s and women’s collections are beginning to meld.
Lang, for one, was impressed. “This was a really immersive thing I’ve always wanted to do,” he said after the show. “Mike and I became friends and it kind of happened without trying, and I’m really proud of it. It’s pretty wild, I’m still buzzing from it.”
