Cover photo of *Get Down” collection by Mario De La Torre

’70’s inspired collection by Mario De La Torre offers something for everyone

West Hollywood, CA (LA ELEMENTS) 10/22/2016 -“This was the ‘Get Down Collection’ and it was the second part of it,” says fashion designer Mario De La Torre of his Spring/Summer 2017 line. “The first part was shown at New York Fashion Week. (Editor’s note: The first part of De La Torre’s collection was shown during Style Fashion Week New York) Because we did our color theory in New York, we figured, ‘let’s do something special and different in LA,’ because we’re from LA, we love LA and so we decided to do an all black collection and we’re very happy with it. The entire collection is very ‘70’s inspired and so what better way to express it than to, ‘get down.’ ”

“You can wear black at any time.  You can wear it at any age.  You may wear it for almost any occasion.” – Christian Dior

De La Torre presented his latest collection on Day Three of Style Fashion Week, Los Angeles, which was held at the celebrated Pacific Design Center on October 14, 2016.  Classic black was the sole color selected for the LA segment of “Get Down,” and why not? In the most image conscious cities, (such as Los Angeles) ubiquity of black attire appears to serve the dual function of fashion statement and armor.

Mario De La Torre S/S 2017

Exclusivity of color aside, De La Torre’s theme offered a wide selection of fashion choices in terms of construction. True to the spirit of the ‘70’s, there were an array of capes, caftans, strapless tops, A-line dresses, (with a modern twist of course) palazzo pants, jumpsuits and plunging necklines. Ah, the necklines.   It can be a challenge to create a design with a deep-cut neckline that can be worn with confidence and style. For the most part, with maybe only one exception where less wasn’t necessarily more, “Get Down” met the challenge head on. De La Torre’s models sauntered down the 80 ft. runway in a style evoking the graceful nonchalance of Ali MacGraw in the 70’s classic, “The Getaway.”

Mario De La Torre takes the plunge at Style Fashion Week LA

How was this collection received? Given the enthusiastic reception greeting De La Torre when he came out at the finale of his show, it was obvious that the crowd, well, they thought it was rad.

We caught up with De La Torre after his show to ask among other things, about the celebrities, who have been spotted in his designs and what exactly goes into the creation of a Mario De La Torre design.

I know that some celebrities such as Iggy Azalea have been wearing your designs…

“Iggy’s an amazing person, we love her. We also work with Bebe Rexha.”

Iggy Azalea in a design by Mario De La Torre

What makes a Mario De La Torre design a Mario De La Torre design?

“I think the biggest element is love. It’s a love vibration. Because we make clothes that’s very minimalistic and classic. We really want to make it timeless and what we really want to do is we want you to love your garments so much that you take care of them so that your daughter can some day wear them. So we’re doing what we call, “fashion heirlooms”

Can you tell us more about your concept of fashion heirlooms?

Everybody has that one garment that their mom or dad wore that they wish they could wear so what better way to share light with people than to have that moment with them.”

To share light with them?

“You have a light, I have a light and it’s so much nicer when we share light.”

How important is comfort in the creation of your designs?

 “I like easy comfortable things, things that you don’t feel so restricted in, so we like you to be comfortable. We want you to feel like you just rolled out of bed but you look fierce.”

Is there a department store that would be a great match for your line?

“If there’s one store I want to be at, it’s Bergdorf’s.”

To find out more about the Mario De La Torre collection including where to purchase please visit his site.

All photography courtesy of Ken Alcazar for Style Fashion Week.  Follow Ken Alcazar on Instagram.

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