Sue Wong Puts the Sparkle in LA Fashion Week

You really can’t say that LA Fashion Week is LA Fashion Weak with designer Sue Wong on the scene.  Friday night she bought the sparkle, and the missing glamour, to LA Fashion Week with a curated show at her design rooms.  The show was entitled, “ Glamour Goddesses: A Tribute to the Goddesses of the Pre-Code Silverscreen.”  Fittingly, Sue Wong’s corporate office, the old Bullock’s Wilshire advertising department,  is just a few steps away from the old Bullock’s Wishire store off Westmoreland Ave, where Marlene Dietrich, Greta Garbo, Marion Davies and others all shopped.  I had the privilege of speaking with Sue Wong at her opening about the collection and her inspiration.   When asked why she wanted to pay homage to the old Hollywood styles, she tells me , “I loved the period.  The women in films then were so strong.”  “Think of Mae West, and all her great sayings,” Sue continues.   She said, “A hard man is good to find.”  This is the kind of originality and sexuality coupled with glamour and strength that Sue Wong wanted to convey into Spring 2011 collection.  The collection looks like it could walk right out of the Bullock’s Wilshire fashion show of days gone by.  There are sequined gowns with panels, 1920s short flapper gowns, short silk jackets embroidered with lovely beaded designs that look like Jean Harlow wants them back in her closet, and finally, above the knee cocktail dresses with plenty of beading.   There are gowns and styles inspired by Jean Harlow, Tallulah Bankhead, Joan Crawford, Mae West, Barbara Stanwyck and Marlene Dietrich.

The whole effect is stunning, and whether you wear a Sue Wong on the red carpet or just for a special evening out or party, the effect is sure to be transformational.  Sue says, “These Glamour styles spread the elegance and magic of the Hollywood era.  And I think we need that right now.” It’s true.  Viewers flocked to the movies during the depression for escape via Hollywood fantasy.  In the current economy, a little Hollywood escapism is well placed.   Here are some of the highlight’s of Sue Wong’s Spring 2011 collection.