Jennifer Berg

"My dad's always told me that when I was really young, he'd hold me up to the closet, and whatever I would choose to wear is what I would wear. One pink sock with one yellow and a skirt pulled up like a shirt or a dress, if that's what I chose to wear, I'd wear it, which was somehow okay with everyone, " says Lara Miller.

Although the local designer tends to wear matching socks these days, she never lost her fascination with discovering multiple shapes within a single garment. As a fashion student at the School of the Art Institute, Miller was introduced to the work of Greg Lynn, an architect whose theory of space inspires her: "Lynn feels that structures inevitably have people moving through them, and this movement physically animates a space... causing once-static spaces to be animated. This is a huge part of what I think about when I'm designing; how our bodies move constantly affects the movement of what we wear." Lara's multi-functional garments--called the FLIP line for the way a dress can flip into a skirt or a knit top can double as a scarf--"mimic the body's movement and allow the clothes to be a participatory object."

The innovative line has attracted a fashionable following of women; though Miller fans represent a range of ages and "types," Lara says that her customers share "a city mind-set, even if living in a small town or suburb, and a craving for something new and original."

This week, Lara will present her fall collection in a three-day trunk show at P.45 (see calendar for complete details). Aside from soaking up customers' reactions to her new designs--the collection takes structural cues from the El tracks, uses soft, sustainable bamboo fibers and draws from a rich color palette including "burnt ginger" and "iced plum"--Lara looks forward to interacting with her customers: "As soon as I meet someone, I'm able to get a sense of her style and of which pieces might work for her," the designer says. "It's very exciting to see women play with the pieces and create something in tune with their individual style."

Lara Suggests
A user's guide to Lara Miller's fall 2006 collection. We asked the designer to recommend pieces that would work at:

A Job Interview: "The chocolate heather Rob Jacket with the Stuart Pant, the Rose Skirt, or the P.45-exclusive pencil skirt worn with the Ashley Blouse underneath. As it gets cooler, I would add the Lupe scarf in Rosewood."

A Cocktail Party: "The Roz tie dress in black. Or, for a little change, eggplant, with the ties wrapped around the neck."

A Hot Date: "The Michelle Skirlotte in chocolate worn up around the chest as a dress with the ties wrapped in empire style with a sparkly shawl vest in café thrown over the shoulders. It's sexy enough that you feel great, funky enough that it shows you're your own person, and long enough to leave room for some imagination."

(2006-08-22)

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