Single: Individuality of Style & Confidence
By Mari Davis
Photos courtesy of Single

DALLAS, Apr 12, 2004/ FW/ --- Single might be a new name on the fashion runway, but it has been a mainstay at the store shelves of Saks Fifth Avenue, Barney’s New York, Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman and Fred Segal for the past several years.

Founded in 1994 by husband and wife design team, Galina and Michael Sobolev, Single made its debut at the Los Angeles runway during the recently concluded Mercedes Benz Fashion Week at Smashbox Studios.

Putting in a European flavor in the otherwise sporty and very LA collections that have been shown during the week, Galina Sobolev sent fur coats and stoles on the runway together with barely-there camisoles in spaghetti straps and mini skirts in one-of-a-kind print, which by the way is the house’s specialty.

The decidedly European look at Single is definitely Galina. A native of Russia, she graduated from the Fashion Institute of Technology and spent a year and a half in England studying knitwear.

And though the collection has that sophisticated European look, the LA twist gave it a fun aspect, making it unique, provocative and sensual all at the same time.

Single stood out among the crop of new labels presented in LA two weeks ago. And its designers like Galina who will define the Los Angeles look of the future – individual style that is sophisticated and fun.

Together with Tomer and Lords, all three has that distinctive look in their styles that has risen above the rest among the emerging designers who presented their collections.

And though I might be getting ahead of myself when I say this, Fern Mallis belief in LA is justified.

“There is a fashion scene here (Los Angeles0 that just needs to be developed and tapped,” Fern Mallis, Executive Director of 7th on Sixth told FW during the Spring 2004 season.

The existence of design houses like Single, Tomer and Lords has already proven that.

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