Los Angeles designer Sue Wong clearly loves vintage fashion. She has honored Hollywood costume design and bygone elegance with each of her LA Fashion Week collections. Her Fall 2012 collection, entitled Autumn Sonata, offers Ms. Wong's trademark beaded cocktail dresses, coats and full-length gowns ready to walk the Hollywood Red Carpet. There aren't many surprises in this collection, but neither are there any disasters. What's the collection all about? "Sue Wong fashion is timelessly feminine, gorgeously romantic and it's all about fantasy," says the designer. When you look at the gowns, you can't help but think it's Cinderella time. The details on Ms. Wong's dresses are simply perfection. Passing through the work room at her Los Angeles Atelier and seeing the seamstresses and pattern makers, I witnessed firsthand the craftsmanship and artistry that goes into each dress.
Ms. Wong admits that she has been inspired by the 1920s and the spirit -- or the flapper -- shines through here. The collection was full of the designer's signature couture embellishments -- including hand-bead-work, floral embroidery and soutache vines paired with skirts of taffeta leaves, petals of organza and satin flowers -- on special occasion dresses in fall hues of rich umber, sienna, deep forest green and gold. Actress Brook Burns attended wearing a striking blue Sue Wong dress complimented by a white beaded coat.
I always enjoy Sue Wong's Los Angeles Fashion Week presentations at her Atelier, the old Bullock's Wilshire marketing and advertising department. Her dresses seem inspired by the luxury and glamor of the old department store once frequented by Marion Davies, Marlene Dietrich and Judy Garland. I look forward to seeing this collection in Nordstrom and Bloomingdale's, and later on sale at RueLaLa and Ideeli. Sue Wong gowns are usually priced under $400, which is a bargain on any Hollywood Red Carpet.
This post originally appeared on The Recessionista.