Loyale's Spring 2009 Collection

loyale’s spring 2009 collection drifts through the fascinating realm of Wallace Berman, a relatively unknown artist and custodian of talent who laid the foundation for counterculture, trippy hippy expressionism in California. His subtle, short-lived fame stemmed from a hand pressed, uniquely unbound magazine titled Semina, which he produced from1955-1964.

Berman had an exceptional knack for drawing artistic talent from the likes of drifters, interested spectators and petty criminals whose new found penchant came to life within the pages of this underground magazine. It wasn’t just ne’er-do-wells that gravitated to Berman; artists like Jean Cocteau and Cameron revered him, writers like Allen Ginsberg and Charles Bukowski were buoyed by him and actors such as Dennis Hopper were encouraged under his trusted eye to pick up side hobbies like photography. With distribution as small as it was, Semina satiated a growing number of outsider artists’ need for uninhibited expression and encouraged the conception of West Coast surrealism.

This visceral and close knit artistic domain curated within the pages of Semina inspired loyale’s first abstract floral print fashioned into pleat oriented blouses and dresses. Berman’s bohemian and commune inspired lifestyle lead to ruffle bikinis, volume in sleeves and distinctive silhouettes that serve as a wearable translation of the blossoming artist within.

You can shop Loyale’s Spring Collection here.

ecofashion, spring 2009 fashion

Starre Vartan is founder and editor-in-chief of Eco-Chick and author of The Eco-Chick Guide to Life (St. Martin's Press). A green living expert, she is managing editor of Greenopia and a contributor to The Huffington Post.