A LITTLE BIT FASHION, A WHOLE LOT OF ROCK AND ROLL

Actors, reality personalities, rock stars, so many of them become fashion icons, and a few of those, for better or worse, morph into designers, or, at least, front their own clothing lines. So, why shouldn’t the odd fashion designer become a rock god? I give you Mark and Estel.

Season after season, Mark Tango and Estel Day rock the runway, literally, with their edgy fashion and their edgier music. This season, the L.A.-based pair debuted their Malibu Anthem collection, and polished off the show with a live performance debut of their new song, of the same name.

It would be easy to dismiss this line as simply ripped jeans and holey leggings. There is some of that, and it’s what won the the hearts, and the custom, of the Olsens and Lady Gaga. But Mark and Estel go deeper than that, experimenting with fabrics, pushing the boat out.

For Spring/Summer 2015, the designers, who started their lives in fashion designing t-shirts, went back to their cotton roots, treating that most basic of fabrics to emulate silk, leather, wool and metal, creating pieces that kept their edge, but were still wearable.

Black and white were the colors of the day (but, seriously, what would a rock star collection be, if not basically black?), the ripped denim, torn leggings, super-short skirts and crop tops were all well-represented and not for the faint of heart. But there were long summer dresses, flowing shirt-dresses with big, contrasting bow ties, and a sexy, snow-white strapless dress with a flowing train that truly looked and moved like silk.

To end of the show, the designers resumed their rocker personas and took to the runway with “Malibu Anthem” as the models swirled around them, and their fans went wild.

Are all pieces in the collection for all people? No, what collection could accomplish that? But their effortless style and attention to textile and texture means just about everyone can find something to love from these runway rockers.

Photography: Anton Brookes