Elyse Walker held a trunk show last week for renowned designer Yigal Azrouël, who made the trip from New York just to visit Walker’s revered Antioch boutique.
“It was an amazing day. He was so easy to work with,” Walker said. “It was one of our best and most successful trunk shows.” The show reintroduced Azrouël to Walker’s Palisades clientele, as the store just began carrying him again after a hiatus.
Azrouël’s inspiration for this collection includes nature, desire and contradictions. He likes to think of women as mysterious, with lots of personality. “She’s fragile, but she’s dangerous at the same time,” he told the Palisadian-Post.
The women who gravitate towards his clothing tend to be strong and chic, but in an effortless way. He designs body-conscious and feminine pieces. “For me it’s very important for the woman to look at herself in the mirror and look modern.” Though his designs show some skin, they are always elegant.
Everything Azrouël creates is manufactured in New York City, close to his Chelsea district home. The full collection includes dresses ($895 to $1,395) and blouses ($495 to $650), and even python purses that sell for $1,500. His doesn’t believe there is a must-have piece, but rather women will pick what piece or pieces work best for them.
Native Israeli Azrouël enjoys Los Angeles. “I like the laidback lifestyle, and how everybody is relaxed.” The lifelong surfer (he began at age six) has surfed in Malibu and Hawaii, and owns a home in Costa Rica, where he also likes to hit the waves.
Walker talked about Azrouël’s consistently perfect fit, explaining that usually if a woman tries on five dresses, one will clearly be the right one. In this case, “all five fit perfectly. We didn’t know what to do.”
Actress and Palisadian Susan Yeagley (“Parks and Recreation”) was enjoying trying on new designs and getting feedback from the designer. She frequently wears Azrouël’s creations, and said he is one of her favorite designers. Yeagley likes that his clothes are streamlined, have a wonderful fit and don’t require “much fuss.”
The red carpet designer, whose clients span the globe, never studied fashion, and is self-taught. He develops his own fabrics, including a current one that is a debossed photographic print. He likes to mix hard and soft fabrics together, and is not particularly attached to any one kind.
He pulled one of his dresses off the rack at Elyse Walker and explained the materials. “If you touch this dress, it feels really nice hugging your body, but it’s still very comfortable.” The fabric was exceedingly soft on the inside.
Azrouël was a landscape photographer in the Israeli army, and still enjoys photography. “I love taking pictures, especially of architecture and street shots.”
After a successful day, Walker, Azrouël and guests celebrated with a party that included French singing legend Johnny Hallyday and television host/producer Melissa Rivers, both Palisadians.
Azrouël encourages people to remain true to themselves. “The best advice is not to try too hard. I think it’s very important that you feel good. If you feel good, you are the best.”
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