The last series, Porterville, was named after the judgmental town I had to escape. This season's collection, called 'Hollywood,' was inspired by the avenue of sin that I happily traveled to, where I found my kind-the weird and the weird.
They lived in the world described in Lou Reed's "Walk on the Wild Side," and I looked for the fiery creatures seen in Jack Smith and Kenneth Anger movies.
I often refer to the black and white biblical epics of lost pre-Codex Hollywood, mixing art Deco, gorgeous sin and redeemable morality.
Peter Berlins, who I was inspired by, wore ragged gym shorts and a chiffon cape with giant Geobaskets the size of space boots.
The cape and jacket are also made of narrow woven Japanese denim with a mottled gold plating.All of our denim fabrics are processed at a laundry plant in Veneto, Italy, which reduces water waste through smaller treatment ponds and uses a water purification process that allows it to recycle some of the water it uses. All of our denim fabric washes are certified for Zero Chemical Emissions (ZDHC).
The hooded cycling jacket is made of opal canvas bonded with aluminum foil, or plant-tanned cowhide from Solovra and Tuscany, Italy. Vegetable tanning means that only plants and natural tannins are used in the process of tanning and preserving this leather.
Wear a sheer silk woven romper or gown from the Como region of Italy under the jacket.
These organic silks are certified to the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), which means that this natural fiber is produced without harmful chemicals.
The knitted onesies and T-shirts were designed in collaboration with Tanja Vidic, a recently graduated fashion designer from Slovenia who makes some of the most imaginative DIY knitwear I've ever seen.
The silvery satin robe is from the Fina collection, designed by Dafne Balatsos, my partner of 25 years. For the first five years, it was just the two of us and a tailor. Back then, part of her job was to go to the Oriental Silk Store on Beverly Boulevard in Hollywood and buy a few meters of silk to fill our small orders, as I could only afford a few meters at a time.
The Oriental Silk Shop was a quiet, orderly, sandalwood-scented shop run by a quiet, serious brother and sister who were very kind to us. A few years ago, when Dafne learned that the Oriental Silk Store was closing, he tracked down their remaining stock and has been making beautiful robes and pajamas for us and licensing them to our US retail stores.
Our hair guru Duffy went from last season's metallic, wavy hair to an Art Deco crown created in collaboration with Parisian hat-making agency Coco Lucquiaud.
Shoes are suede marshmallow plywood sandals, or leather deflated versions of the inflatable boots we did with Straytukay last season.
Our gymnastic bouquets were orchestrated by Ylva Falk, who choreographed our 'Cyclops' show nine years ago with girls carrying each other on their backs.
After last season's launch at the mansion, I felt guilty about limiting the number of guests, so this time I wanted to welcome everyone.
I invited students and faculty from all the fashion schools in Paris, men and women, if they wanted to, to be part of the army of Love in white satin at this show.
There are also old friends like Jakob Jakobsson, who opened my second New York show 22 years ago, and Allanah Starr, a prominent figure in the trans community from New York to Paris.
It is important to express our individuality, but sometimes it is also worth remembering to express our solidarity and trust in each other, especially in the face of the extreme intolerance that the world is experiencing today.
