Backstage at Leila Hafzi’s Spring 09 Utopia Collection

I made a mad dash from Santa Monica to West Hollywood then over to Culver City in a matter of hours today. FashionKitty insanity at it’s finest. I was glad I got to Culver in enough time because I had backstage access to the Leila Hafzi runway show. Now, LA Fashion Week excites me as much as spending the afternoon being locked out of my apartment in 100-degree weather but this show seemed more promising.

Leila’s collection was inspired by one of my favorite eras, the 70’s – the 60s is my first love. So when I made it in time I was pretty pleased. I asked Leila a few questions before her show and her responses made the clothes that much cooler.

Her mood before the show: Calm, collected and a little tired from a ton of press interviews.

Her inspiration: The 70s, especially for silhouettes. She also chose 5 animals from Greek mythology for her prints.

Her prints: This is pretty badass … Leila took the 5 animals she chose and had a tattoo artist draw them up for her. From those designs she had actual artist interpret those tattoos and paint them directly on the fabric.

Where to get it: She was pretty hush about where we could buy her clothes. She sells in stores (wouldn’t spill which ones) and she will be selling online sometime next year.

On being “green”: Leila has been eco-friendly and fair trade since 1997. I asked her if she was pleased that other designers jumped on the bandwagon or she thought they would turn it into a fad. She hopes it won’t be a fab and wants one day for all designers to be “green.” Some other interesting “green” practices she partakes in is making more things by hand to cut back on the energy it takes by using machines — very cool if you ask me.

More on Leila after the show, including photos ☺