Fashion Week New York

Raul Melgoza Shares his Inspiration for Luca Luca's Fall Collection at Fashion Week (Exclusive)

Raul Melgoza, the Creative Director at Luca Luca whose Fall 2011 Collection will debut at the Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York next week, is not your run-of-the-mill fashion designer. Not by a long shot.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Melgoza has a resume that would likely impress the suits on Wall Street just as much as the creative types in the fashion industry.

After earning a degree in finance from University of Southern California, Melgoza worked for American Express's financial advisory division before taking a position with the U.S. Treasury. But he has known since he was a young boy that he would one day end up in fashion.

"When I was seven or so, I remember watching an episode of the Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous with Robin Leach that featured Oscar de la Renta," Melgoza told Luxist. "Being of Latin descent, I immediately felt connected to this man and to this world that I did not know existed."

Later on, while attending business school, Melgoza took a marketing class and became aware that he could converge his interest in art and design and his knowledge of commerce. "That led me to research design schools," he recalls. "I knew that business was just a foundation and that I didn't want to do it for the rest of my life."

Gallery: Luca Luca's Spring/Summer 2011 Collection

Raul Melgoza, Creative Director at Luca Luca

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Tory Burch Pre-Fall 2011 Collection Preview (Exclusive)

by Carrie Coolidge (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Handbags, Shoes, Luxury Shopping

Tory Burch's Pre-Fall 2011 Collection Preview

Luxist was invited to the Tory Burch showroom at the designer's Manhattan headquarters yesterday to preview her "Pre-Fall" 2011 collection.

In designing the collection, Burch was inspired by Parisian chic with global influences. The collection includes texture and prints mixed together. There are stripes, florals, ikat and a heart motif found throughout the line from the dresses to the blouses, jackets and shorts. The color palette of neutrals, navy, white, and pops of red, ties the looks together.

The Pre-Fall line features fluid dresses, wrap dresses, sweater dresses and lightweight blouses as well as cropped tailored pants (as seen above) and a beautiful trench coat with a detachable shearling collar. The suede collection, which includes dresses and jackets, are especially impressive, and look sharp when layered. For example, a suede short-sleeved dress is paired with a short sleeved striped blouse, with only the blouse's sleeves and collar showing.

Indeed, everything is meant to be layered, as it is a theme found throughout much of the collection. This was done to make the pieces easy to wear in the summer and then into the fall.

Gallery: Tory Burch Pre-Fall 2011 Collection Preview