Green designer Claudia Grau brings 'slow fashion' in Hollywood
03 Oct '11
3 min read
Claudia Grau, one of Melrose Avenue's original designer-retailers from the 1980's and arguably the first modern eco-friendly designer, is opening a new retail store at the Crossroads of the World shopping mall on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood. Named by designer Randolph Duke as one of the “top women of personal style” in 2006, Grau designed for private clients after her famous Melrose store closed in 1994, upon the birth of her second child.
The grand opening of Grau's new store, The Gräu Haus, will be held October 19, to coincide with Los Angeles Fashion Week, and will include a fashion show of Grau's latest work.
At age 21, Claudia Grau opened her first store, Gräu, on Melrose Avenue in 1980, and she has been credited as one of the handful of pioneering designers who made Melrose Avenue famous for fashion in the early 1980's. Celebrities including Cher, Bette Midler, and Diane Keaton were regulars at her boutique.
Grau's apparel was frequently seen on television (The Cosby Show, Moonlighting and Dharma & Greg) and in films (the cult classic Heathers). Grau's clothes were also sold at many department stores including Barneys, Saks Fifth Avenue and Fred Segal. In 1994, Grau closed her Melrose store to focus on raising her three children, while continuing to design for private clientele.
The Gräu Style Grau's bold, eclectic style has evolved over the decades, always earning its slogan "Fashion for Fearless Women". Her first commercial success of the 1980's was “depression wear”, described by the LA Weekly as “Mad Max meets the Stone Age”. Later Grau designed what became her signature collection—tailored jackets made from antique Japanese kimonos constructed into a patchwork fabric—which sold into many department stores.
At one point, she devised practical garments from nylon parachutes, sewing her label on the outside. Over the decades, Grau's edgy fashion style has been characterized as being in the spirit of punk and new wave, but more accessible and not as trend-conscious, and boho-chic.
First Modern Eco-Fashionista In retrospect, Claudia Grau could be considered the first modern green designer. One of the earliest pioneers in deconstruction, she began to repurpose used clothing into new garments in the early 1980's. Grau invented what she calls “collage clothing” (combining pieces from many old clothes to make new ones), a precursor to recent recycled and upcycled fashion trends. Grau has focused on reused clothing and fabrics throughout her career. As part of the “Slow Fashion Movement”, she produces one-of-a kind, free-cut garments (most without the use of patterns) that are hand-dyed, hand-sewn and hand-cut, all designed and made locally in her shop.
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