A native Californian, Raul Melgoza shook out memories of childhood trips to Yosemite to come up with this season s wardrobe for his tony clientele. "I thought about where I go to relax," the designer said backstage before his show. "And I thought about a woman traveling through the woods. What would she wear?" Well, in Luca Luca s woods, heels are perfectly practical, and leather is a must. A nod to functionality came through in a pair of streamlined pants, a cross between jodhpurs and cigarettes, worn with a leather utility belt—"like a detachable cummerbund," Melgoza explained. Generally, the woodsy references were confined to print and embellishment. A pencil skirt was treated to look like bark, and the fine strands of jet black beading on the bodice of a closing gown resembled a strand of seeds, or the fine veins that run through leaves.
There may not have been many surprises—as usual, Melgoza s eye for architectural seaming and detailing was in evidence—but this season the designer made a point of using color, employing hues that, while saturated, were never too pop. Those are the types of tones Luca Luca s customers will likely gravitate toward as they follow the call to incorporate more color into their closets. When that time comes, an orange fox chubby worn over a pair of slim wool pants and a cashmere sweater, both in fuchsia and topped with a matching watch cap, would be a very bold place to start.
