Dressing Up for a Close-Up
Forget product placement, store placement may be the newest in movie marketing high jinks. Seaver, the boutique on 3rd Street in Los Angeles, has a role in “Full Frontal,” the Steven Soderbergh film opening today.
It’s the Hollywood debut for the shop, but not for owner Nathalie Seaver. She worked as a D-girl for five years and has been friends with Soderbergh since he got his start directing the 1986 documentary about the pop music band Yes.
Seaver, a former vice president of original programming for Showtime, gave up deal making for designing. Four years ago, she opened the store to showcase her line of flouncy crepe skirts trimmed with satin ribbon, hand-painted silk blouses and sophisticated bias-cut dresses with a 1930s feel, all priced from $138 to $485.
“I was always coming home working on my skirt projects, so there was always that tug,” said Seaver of her days in the film industry. “It occurred to me that so many people would probably love my job, and if I wasn’t paying as much attention to it, I should probably give up the mantle.”
The focus of her line was guided by a personal wardrobe need. “For me, fun skirts were always missing from the market,” she said. “Skirts were either Lilly Pulitzer, which at the time wasn’t cool, or dowdy work wear.”
Without any training, she began producing below-the-knee crepe skirts in whimsical polka dot, feather and floral patterns, some with ribbon belts. Reversible silk georgette skirts, blouses with flippy cap sleeves and T-shirts followed. Seaver also does custom work, including bridal gowns.
When she designs, she tries to consider all body types and ages. “My clothes are not cut for a Barbie doll or a 12-year-old,” said Seaver, who refuses to disclose her age. “The 1930s really nailed it. You didn’t have to be rail-thin. I have wonderful archival books, and even the dresses that people wore to clean their houses back then were incredible. I’m going for that level of style.”
A collector of old quilts, she cites great fabric as the foundation for her clothing, which she designs at a studio near Little Tokyo. “I start with fabric and then figure out what to do with it.” She’s more likely to read a design magazine than a fashion magazine. “I’ll see how a velvet drape hangs against a brocade pillow and say, ‘Wow, I can do something with this.’ ”
Seaver has been craftsy since she was a girl, splitting her childhood between Manhattan and France. At age 7, she made a pair of disco ball earrings with two ping-pong balls, a bottle of glue and some glitter. A friend’s mother paid 50 cents for them. When she wasn’t buying clothes by the pound at thrift stores, Seaver was rummaging through her grandmother’s castoffs in the attic, and altering them to fit.
Her store is a bit like a boudoir with rich burgundy walls, Oriental rugs, a day bed and vintage French movie posters. It’s a favorite with celebs such as Rose McGowan, Patricia Heaton, Allison Janney and Susan Sarandon, who come for clothes and the large selection of gifts, many French-themed.
Soderbergh is also a regular, and Seaver was thrilled when he suggested the store for a scene in his film. “A lot of the movie is about real locations in L.A. that aren’t so obvious,” she said. The director, who was too busy this week to talk about his friend, also offered her a small role selling a dress she designed. Done in just half a day, the shoot was a breeze. “After all,” she said, “it was an old friend, the crew was really nice, I was in my own environment and [the role] wasn’t much of a stretch.”
Talk about being in the right place at the right time. And having the right friends.
Info: www.seaver gifts.com.
Design Auditions
The distinction between entertainment and fashion grows ever more fuzzy now that another major store is offering to audition aspiring designers.
Following the lead of Henri Bendel, Saks Fifth Avenue is holding Open See day at stores across the country in an effort to discover emerging fashion designers. Saks representatives will seek women’s apparel and accessory designers at the San Francisco store on Thursday; the Beverly Hills store on Aug. 10; and Miami and Atlanta later in the month. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call (212) 940-4255. Henri Bendel will have its Open See Aug. 12 at the W Hotel in Westwood. No appointments necessary. For information, call (800) H-BENDEL.
