PRETTY TOUGH: Model-turned-designer Valerj Pobega, who's set to show her Spring 2010 collection at Gen Art's 'Fresh Faces in Fashion' showcase on Thursday. All photos courtesy of Valerj Pobega.
Drama Queen
Designer Valerj Pobega brings her high-end (and even higher-drama) collection to Gen Art's 'Fresh Faces in Fashion' show.
By Emili Vesilind
Published on October 28, 2009Designer Valerj Pobega’s clothes are expensive – $800 to $5,000 per piece, to be exact. But when you see them up close, the budget-busting prices feel almost reasonable.
Hand-dyed and rife with uncommon details, every garment feels like a one-off; something Pobega whipped up for a friend’s glamorous birthday soiree set to take place on a yacht.
And there’s good reason for that. The L.A.-based designer crafts each garment in her collection by hand (and by herself) in her Culver City studio. Rendering each piece, in effect, singular.
“I’m a one-woman show for now,” said Pobega, a former fashion model who was raised on the Italian island of Sardinia and speaks with a thick, musical accent. “I’m either special or crazy! For now, it’s okay. It’s my passion. In the future, if I get bigger, I will produce, but it will still be handmade. Maybe I'll get a couple of seamstresses.”
GO WITH THE FLOW: Pieces from Pobega's Fall 2009 collection.
The 33-year-old designer, who launched her eponymous line for Spring 2008, will likely be garnering more attention – from shoppers and retailers -- after Thursday night, when she sends her Spring 2010 collection down the runway as part of Gen Art’s Fresh Faces in Fashion show at L.A.'s Petersen Automotive Museum.
Pobega, who usually skips the catwalk scene, said she’d been kicking around the idea of showing at Gen Art for years – but only now feels ready. “I think this is the perfect collection to show in this way,” she said. “The theme is my signature silhouette, which is 20s and 30s, but very twisted and dark, with hint of Japanese bondage.”
The designer considers the eveningwear offerings, which will be loaded with tops and dresses, “my strongest collection so far. I’m working 25 hours a day on it right now. I’m such a perfectionist.”
Pobega’s designs, which are sold at L.A. boutiques Church and Code C, always feel confident – but they require an equally self-assured wearer to pull them off, as there’s often a costume-lite feel to them. Tops with a single sleeve that ascends a good five inches off the shoulder, ombre-dyed flapper dresses and ballooning harem pants aren’t for the fashion-fearful. Pobega's theatrical aesthetics have also served her well in her longstanding side project: making Sixties-inspired getups for Inara George, the model-esque singer of L.A. indie band The Bird and the Bee.
“I love old movies, silent movies and crazy documentaries,” noted Pobega, when clicking off her design inspirations. “Like, a Russian movie with Japanese subtitles. I also have a passion for old music…and amazing old fabric.”
The designer moved to L.A. with her husband in 2004, after falling in love with the gritty city while on vacation. “I think L.A. is a great platform for emerging talent,” she said. “I think what’s happening here is kind of what was happening in New York in 80s and 90s. It’s really supportive of new designers and there’s a lot of talent coming out of L.A.”
evesilind@stylesectionla.com
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