Louis
Verdad has a dream. The gifted designer from Los Angeles dreams of
a small atelier, where two Russian seamstresses bring to
life exquisite designs. “They sit there doing amazing handwork
on evening gowns all day. Gowns full of antique details and chantelle
lace”, he tells me as his brown eyes glimmer with reverie.
I wonder if the dining room of the Four Season Hotel (the location
of our interview) has become the quaint couture studio, if the attentive
wait staff have transformed into Verdad’s romantic and adept
seamstresses. Then there is a pause, and as he turns away to look out
the window he sighs, “But for now I have to make samples and
sell them so that I can grow and nurture my company.” Alas, but
for now, Verdad can only reach his dream with dedication, hope, and
natural talent.
Louis Verdad catapulted into the LA Fashion scene
after his brilliant 2002 debut in the Gen Art fashion show. Since
then, Louis’ rigorously
tailored retro trouser suits have been worn by international style
icons like Madonna and Cate Blanchett. Even the extremely discerning
Anna Wintour, who is known not to have attended a single Ralph Rucci
event showed up to review his Fall 2005 line, one of only two stops
during the entire fashion week. Indeed, Verdad’s stars are
aligning into a constellation, a harbinger of international acclaim.
Despite
his fame, Louis Verdad remains a humble man, who, among other simple
things, likes to laugh out loud, hug friends, offer to pay for
lunch, and promptly return phone calls. His extreme shyness almost
prohibits him from autographing copies of the book, Sample,
a collection of the top 100 most influential designers of our day,
a catalog which includes Verdad, himself. Excusing his reluctance,
he claims, "I
do not want to ruin it." Humility aside, Verdad's belief in
his gift is unflinching. He agrees he is not the designer he is supposed
to become, but he also offers, "I have not even gotten started
yet. I have so much to offer. Trust me I will not disappoint."
It
is no secret that after showcasing his most recent work Louis Verdad
came under fire by the infamous LA Times fashion writer, Booth
Moore. In her piece, “Haven’t
we seen this already?” Booth
publicly lamented, “Unfortunately, we have seen most of what
[Verdad] did here before; he has been showing it for two years.” Her
assertion was so outrageous that Fashionlines.com felt
compelled to pen a letter to the Los
Angeles Times pointing out
the fact that Booth was incapable of “distinguishing distinctive
style from replication”. The result was a vague response
from Ms. Moore, published in the LA Times, which read:
In Booth's eyes, all designers are not created
equal. In fact, certain talent deserves artistic concessions. In
other words, Booth believes distinctive style by a superstar designer
is a trademark while thematic variation from an up-and-comer is repetition
from an inspirationally dry well.
But, focusing on the negative and paying heed to
those who try to bring him down is not Louis' style. He would rather talk about his future projects, new designs and an ad
campaign. In fact, all of a sudden he gets incredibly excited about a
revolutionary fabric woven with metal that has the ability to stay still. With
undeniable enthusiasm he announces, "this
is the beginning of a new era of de-constructivism. I predict very
strong individuals will be drawn to this look and I certainly will
be incorporating this material into my collections." Even
with so much in the making, Louis Verdad remains forever true to
his roots. He admits, "No matter what you do, you will always
go back to the essence of who you are."