Pinay designer to launch 'funky Victorian' line in LA

Filipina designer Karen Capili-Mijares is taking on the Los Angeles fashion scene with her inaugural line of Victorian era-inspired couture with a modern twist. Capili-Mijares will launch her line of “Funky Victorian" Spring/Summer 2012 line at the gala event of the LA Fashion Weekend on Saturday, October 22. Capili-Mijares is gaining in the West Coast fashion world for her use of bright vivid colors inspired by the 1980s, incorporated into Victorian era designs. “This line of couture brings together my love of formality and romanticism with the excitement of the hipness that was embodied during the 1980s," Capili-Mijares said in a statement. For the launching, she included a dress made out of reusable bags from supermarkets in the debut collection because “fashion needs to reflect the environmental movement." Most of Capili's couture pieces, which will be sold in specialty boutiques across the United States, will retail for $750-$2,250. Her ready-to-wear line will debut in Fall/Winter 2012. Philippine-born Capili-Mijares moved to the United States in 2000 to work with both manufacturers and retailers. Last March, Capili-Mijares joined 10 other Filipino fashion designers in the Green Couture fashion show at the Manila Peninsula Hotel, which featured dresses made completely of recycled materials. The LA-based designer contributed three eco-friendly dresses to the show, which she made out of burlap sacks, old tablecloths, and recycled eco-shopping bags. - VVP, GMA News