In the beginning....

In the Fall of '99 I was getting ready to launch my new line. I wanted to find a way to introduce it to the World with a "BANG". Having been in the Fashion Industry for almost a decade, at that point, I had made allot of great contacts, and friends (who were also Designers), and knew that I had to pull all of my resources together. The cost of producing a show during fashion week can grow to astronomical proportions...and knowing this I thought that it would be great to include some of my friends in the show in order to offset the cost, and give them some exposure as well. I knew that we each had our own list of contacts in the industry who could help us make it the best show of the Fall '01 Season ( Shows are normally a season ahead. Look at it, as a forecast for the coming season).
I first turned to an old friend (MG) I had just gotten back in contact with. We had been best of friends until I had gotten pregnant with my first child...then we drifted off, and lost touch. I had bumped into him again at a shop in Hollywood...and it was as if we had never lost touch of each other. He told me he was starting to design again, and a light bulb went off in my head. If anyone could help me pull this off it would be him. We wanted it just as badly, had a long list of contacts in the industry, and I knew that I could trust him. He did tell me that he was going thru some heavy duty personal problems at the time, but he reassured me that it was under control, and that he would be in it 100%. We worked feverishly thru the Winter, and were able to secure an amazing space, sponsors, press, and a great group of local designers willing to work, and share in the cost. It was all coming together, just like we had planned. It felt to me as tho' I was heading down a path that would change the rest of my life. I believed that I needed to ride the wave to the shore. I knew this was going to be something that the LA Fashion Industry had not seen before, and were going to blow all the other shows that Season, out of the water.
March 2000 finally arrived and the show was scheduled for the 30Th. It was insanity, many nights without sleep...sewing, cutting, patterns, errands, meetings...endless hours of just going and going. In the middle of being a single mother, and attempting to give my daughter my time and attention during all of this insanity. I was working on FAITH. I was jumping in all the way hoping for the best. Wow...I was really naive...I know that now, but at the time I wanted to believe in the "good" in people, and just believe that if I lived my life with positivity, things would just work out.

Here is the invite and the program. We used the theme of flight for the show, which we called NEW ARRIVALS

An Explanation

I am starting this blog as a way for me to share in my day to day thoughts and experiences, to maybe make a few friends along the way, and most importantly as an outlet...to vent.

It's been many years since I had my shop and clothing line, and when everything ended it ended abruptly. I was in the middle of a whirlwind, and the only person around to help save me was David. There has been allot of speculation as to how and why the store closed, and the only people who know exactly what happened were Dave and I. I never got a chance to tell anyone what occurred because of all of the insanity going on during that period in time, all of the rumors and here say are inaccurate. I am here to state that, to tell the story, and to set the record straight. I had never spoken up about it because I felt so beaten down, that I just wanted to cut myself out of the whole industry. Not long ago I got word of people still talking about it, even after seven years. That was when I figured out that I needed to tell the story, of the demise of PLAAY.

Here I am in the shop circa '01

Promotional fliers w/ Nikki modeling my line