Cult Gaia (Q2856)
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Cult Gaia is a fashion house from FMD.
| Language | Label | Description | Also known as |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Cult Gaia |
Cult Gaia is a fashion house from FMD. |
Statements
When Cult Gaia’s Jasmin Larian Hekmat began conceptualizing her new resort collection, the designer kept having visions of her woman in a fairytale setting. “It started with this vision of a castle in the distance,” said Hekmat. A narrative for the season then formed. “She has her basket, and starts collecting things of beauty that she finds along the way—strawberries, flowers, butterflies. These become objects that you see in the clothes she wears. It was this idea of spontaneity, elegance, and discovery—it’s a very dreamy collection.”For a brand like Cult Gaia—which specializes in upbeat summer dresses and fun vacation wear—creating a collection centered around fantasy and escapism isn’t a far stretch. But the designer aimed to incorporate whimsical details that were a little sweeter and more playful than the usual fare. Her long maxi dresses, for one, had cascading flowers running off the shoulders, or crocheted floral work all over. A pink statement plissé dress also had a sculpted flower at the bust—like sporting an arrangement. “It’s going to be everyone’s summer wedding dress,” said Hekmat, who is no stranger to providing frocks for special occasions.The color scheme of the collection had sprightly pops of color throughout. “I had fun with keeping colors grounded, and then adding a few different pops,” she said, “but I really wanted her to feel as grounded as possible.” Her mint green dress, with a draped back and ruching in all the right places, served as one such injection of color; equally as fresh was the grape-shaped handbag she designed to go with it. Other standout accessories for resort include a new clutch style shaped like a vase with flowers poking out of it, and strappy sandals boasting sculpted lilies. The designs came out of a totally spontaneous idea, nodding back to the collection’s theme of playfulness. “I literally took a flower that was in my office, and I just wrapped it around my foot,” she said.While the assortment leaned into Cult Gaia’s familiar dresses, Hekmat also introduced more casual offerings—including a foray into denim, a new category for the label. “Denim is becoming a much bigger part of our collection,” said Hekmat, who recently collaborated with Gap. “It’s so important to be able to dress her beyond just an event.” The new jeans feature heavy gold hardware, and she also showed khaki two-piece sets with cropped, corseted jackets and cargo-style pants.
20 November 2024
Cult Gaia designer Jasmin Larian Hekmat is aware that her brand is mostly resort and vacation wear—so to challenge herself for fall she decided to venture beyond summery dresses, and experiment with heavier staples like outerwear, denim, and knits. “I love a good challenge, so I was like, what would I wear in New York in the fall-winter,” said Hekmat, who wanted to take on seasonal staples in a fresh, modern way. “I wanted her to feel like this powerful goddess.”The designer’s inspiration this season was Johannes Vermeer’sGirl with a Pearl Earring. Hekmat took the painting’s gilded, golden feel and applied it to bags, including a sculptural acrylic style with golden foil encased inside of it. Another statement bag featured colorful rock molds all over it, to match the artwork’s baroque feel, while the Goddess clutch was shaped into the form of a golden bust.The bold bags were to be expected (Cult Gaia began as a bag brand, after all)—but outerwear is an intriguing new category for her for Hekmat. In the mix were a plush faux fur teddy coat, a looped-wool cashmere coat, and a reversible chocolate trench with patent on one side, shearling on the other—a coat so good you could eat it. She also experimented with denim, including a seamed pair of jeans with just the right amount of updates. (The cropped bolero jacket, in contrast, looked a tad trickier to wear.)Elsewhere, Hekmat gave her dresses some cold-weather flourishes. A high-neckline, long-sleeved number featured a twisted waistline and side cutouts. There was also the refined knit dress with an attached fringed scarf, and a fully-beaded patchwork LBD that had hefty weight to it. For evening, a strapless deep-green mini dress was created with turkey feathers, and black sweetheart gown featured an ab-bearing cutout and bowed hemline. “Bows are like pearls—they’re timeless,” said Hekmat. Given that celebrities have been wearing Cult Gaia all summer long, the designer shared who she could envision wearing such pieces come fall. “Hailey Bieber—I love her pregnancy style,” said Hekmat. We would have to agree.
21 August 2024
Cult Gaia designer Jasmin Larian Hekmat took a walk outside to get her creative inspirations flowing this season. “My constant source of inspiration is nature,” she said. Here, that resulted in a cool palette of earthy tones—blues, creams, and greens—that were incorporated into her signature mix of easy, vacation-ready pieces. “With this collection, I really wanted to bring it back down to earth,” said Hekmat. “It’s definitely the most grounded collection I’ve ever done.”Florals, naturally, made hefty appearances. In particular, Hekmat became obsessed with irises, utilizing the flower in a variety of ways. “It’s one of the most beautiful flowers,” she said. It appeared as gold hardware on her handbags, and was molded out of leather to create a shapely statement top. The designer also looked to water and the ocean for design cues; a slinky knit dress featured fringes of crystals cascading down it, like raindrops, while a pleated blue mini dress felt reminiscent of rolling waves.Given Cult Gaia specializes in getaway attire, the focus on nature wasn’t a surprise. To make it feel fresh, Hekmat focused on experimenting with new materials, including satin for a long, powder-blue coat with molded flower embellishments along the sleeves.Handbags continue to be the brand’s bread and butter. As with the clothes, Hekmat looked to natural sources to inform her shapes; a new Squash top-handle bag, for instance, resembled a gourd, especially in hunter green. Her heels meanwhile featured stilettos shaped into calla lilies. Hekmat said her customer isn’t afraid to embrace such statements. “We exist to inspire her—and to make you look twice.”
4 June 2024
Almost every piece Cult Gaia makes has a key distinguishing detail that makes it justthatmuch different. The knee-high snakeskin boots have a heel that sits at a 45 degree angle, the blue sequin gown is injected with feathers, the bikini is made with raffia. With plenty of bags and shoes that look almost like art projects, designer Jasmin Larian Hekmat has to find a way to make the collection functional and solidly-constructed as well. “I went really hard on craftsmanship, almost obsessively so,” she said of spring 2024. “I feel like I was super conceptual for a while, but now I’m like ‘we can do it, and we can make it super wearable.’” She emphasized the textures—silk, raffia, plissé—and the elements done by hand, such as patchwork and fraying hems.Not to worry, though: the result was still pretty abstract, as seen in the geometric, blocky heels as well as the pleated architectural dresses in emerald green that Hekmat referred to as couture. Spring 2024 felt spiritually similar to resort 2024, which also offered a range of funky beachwear. In fact, some silhouettes continued into spring, such as the silky matching set with a bandeau resembling long feathers or leaves, and the dresses made of raffia disks. Cult Gaia is a summery brand after all—evident in the sandals, the partywear, and, of course, the cut-outs.
13 February 2024
Jasmin Larian Hekmat, the designer behind Cult Gaia, planned her resort 2024 collection and show for nearly a year before the big reveal in her hometown of Los Angeles last night. She called the new lineup Under the Sun, but she was channeling the solar power not of southern California but that of the South of France. “I’ve always loved the ease and glamour of St. Tropez. To me, it’s quintessentially Cult Gaia,’” she said. That tracks—Hekmat is fluent in resort fashion, and speaks it all four seasons of the year at her label, which has become synonymous with hot weather wear.To give the show a certain je ne sais quoi, she presented it at The Academy Museum of Motion Pictures. Guests passed through the sleek glass Barbra Streisand Bridge and entered the open-air domed roof. A pale citrus carpet blanketed the floor, echoing the sunshine and yellow sea walls of St. Tropez. In the distance, the Hollywood Hills were lit with a golden-hour glow.Given the size of the stage, she made sure to bring newness. Jeans, cut from substantially weighted denim in a carpenter silhouette, were a fresh development. Elaborate floral embroidery and beading nicely contrasted the workwear details. There were simpler knit shorts sets for day, or day-to-night, depending on the wearer’s mood; corded cage dresses to cover up with by the pool; and gowns with poufs and trains for event dressing. A common thread throughout Hekmat’s collections is the contrast of nature with architecture, which came through in artisanal details like embroidery, glass and pearl beading, and raffia fringe. In a play for sustainability, raffia dresses and skirts were crafted with leftover scraps from bags of seasons past.When it came to the playful accessories that the brand is beloved for, Hekmat didn’t disappoint. This season they included oversize straw hats, sculptural costume jewelry, ornate platform shoes, and bags for every time of the day. It’s easy to forget that Cult Gaia started as a flower crown hustle, back when Coachella was a respectable music festival to attend, and wearing said headpiece was not yet a punchline. Hekmat has moved way beyond all that, and the brand is better for it.
15 November 2023
Jasmin Larian Hekmat is not interested in designing the perfect LBD or the perfect pair of trousers. Instead, she makes clothes that make people think, “I’m going to wear this to a wedding and everyone is going to ask what it is,” she says. Hekmat uses feathers, plissé, and fringe with abandon. For fall, the designer was thinking about how “ice can make colors feel more iridescent,” which was reflected on a number of frosted green and pink pleated items; but mostly on the look book set, which mimics a glacier.Of the apparel, the mint strapless dress with a mermaid-like bodice is the standout of the collection; though a hot pink fringe midi-dress will surely appeal to the brand’s devoted fans. Above all, a Cult Gaia collection is about the accessories, which aim to be unlike anything else on the market; take the crescent-shaped bag with a collection of gold beaded strands for a handle, or the emerald green evening bag with a straight bar handle and three tassels. Being unique and novel is a priority for Hekmat—always. “If you’re not going to want to put it in a box and display it, then what’s the point?”
22 August 2023
It’s no secret that consumers look to Cult Gaia designer Jasmin Larian Hekmat for her beachy vacationwear, so naturally her prefall assortment zeroed in on getaway style once again. This year Hekmat focused on what she called the “harmonious fusion of sea and land”—infusing natural, earthy elements into an assortment of cheery sundresses and suiting.The color palette was airy with an emphasis on breezy pastels. A pink, puff-sleeve mélange suit—Barbie-core, anyone?—could be dressed up for dinner, while a blue knit dress featured asymmetrical cutouts at the hip and shoulder for a sexier slant. Her most ambitious design was the Arya gown, made of crystal cording that reveals the form underneath—a look that’s certainly not for wallflowers.For evening she went for big statements. A ruched halter dress draped with strands of pearls looks as much like jewelry as ready-to-wear. A golden starfish-shaped bra top could be worn with a black evening trouser—or jeans and a heel. Even the take on a classic LBD had extra pizazz via the oversized copper-like buttons running along the front.To complete all of these looks, Hekmat of course had fun with the bags—one of the signatures of the brand. One style featured a pearlescent clutch set inside a bigger clear box clutch. A sleek crossbody bag also had a strap adorned with hefty wooden beads. Sure beats a beat-up raffia beach tote.
6 June 2023
Picture this: a few friends take a “road trip” but instead of traveling via car they take horses and pick up psychedelic mushrooms along the way, turning everything around them into a kaleidoscope of colors. That was what Jasmin Hekmat saw for her Cult Gaia spring 2023 collection, inspired by the 1970 movie Zabriskie Point.The collection is indeed brightly colored with Western elements peppered throughout. Cowboy chic has been trending for the past few years, but now Cult Gaia is getting on board (and about time, since the label is normally a bellwether for trends). Fringe detailing, micro and macro belts, and a studded skirt and jacket evoke the California desert without distracting from what Cult Gaia makes best: sexy, colorful attire. The way Hekmat approached making denim—by covering it in rhinestones—exemplifies this mindset. “If Cult Gaia is going to do denim, how are we going to do it?” she says. “This is a show-stopping, flattering pant. I would throw a sweater on it and it would be chill.”Indeed, this is not a collection of staples. Hekmat is interested in novelty, and hopes that every piece feels unique to the buyer. “When I see a lot of one thing, I don’t like it anymore,” she says. “If I see one thing I can give to a lot of people, but it feels one of a kind, then I’m doing a good job.” While the bulk of the collection achieves this goal of novelty, the best pieces feel actually special. See: a sandy tank dress with beaded fringe all over.
15 February 2023
“I want to eat the rack,” says Cult Gaia designer Jasmin Hekmat during a preview of her resort assortment. Not literally, of course, but she is referring to the deliciously-sweet color palette of her new playful pieces, all designed in vibrant shades of pinks, oranges, and greens. “I had all my guards down [this season] and went for color, fun, and magic.”A vacation-ready, easy-breezy aesthetic is nothing new for Cult Gaia. But Hekmat did attempt to infuse some freshness into the line for resort with some brand new references. One of her main inspirations this season, for instance, was the space-age ’60s—thinkBarbarella—which she translated into pieces with big circular cutouts on them. They worked on an orange crochet top, which was made up of several circular tubes that were covered in the summery textile, revealing the body underneath. “We focused on negative space, and how you can build on a woman’s form and shape,” says Hekmat. They didn’t work as much on the circular pink cotton bra, which felt just a dash costume-y.The architecture of Luis Barragán served as another major reference in this collection; particularly, the way he fused strong colors with texture. “I love to use a lot of texture in my fabrics,” says Hekmat. “I don’t like it to feel too slick or manufactured; Color looks best on a little bit of texture.” Her resort materials included vibrant feathers—added onto dress trims, or all-over on going-out tops—and rhinestone crystals. One hot pink, long-sleeved mini dress, with a ruched neckline, was covered in the sparkly studs. “I wanted a hot girl club dress,” says Hekmat, “but for it to still look expensive and elevated.”Not all the pieces were quite so bold, though. Hekmat also experimented with quieter designs, such as a refined brown viscose halter dress, or a white off-the-shoulder linen-rayon dress with puffed sleeves. She couldn’t resist adding flair, however, to a tangerine viscose tank dress: attaching its long train to a golden bracelet that can be worn, like a pet on a leash. “I love the drama,” the designer says.
16 November 2022
The Cult Gaia woman lives in a perpetual summer. Wherever she finds herself in the world, she is ready to party, and is armed with a suitcase filled with feather and fringe-trimmed dresses with plentiful cutouts. How does Jasmin Larian Hekmat translate her eternally sunny vision into a fall collection? She goes where it’s warm.Despite the photos of models in the desert, Hekmat was inspired by vintage après ski—described in the collection notes as “decadent”—and frost. “She’s not on the slopes yet, but she’s definitely engaging in après ski,” Hekmat says of her muse. The frost mostly comes through in the fabric choices and the shade of Frozen blue used liberally throughout, as the clothes all look best suited for a warm climate save for the handful of long sleeves and jackets in the collection. “I’m really inspired by the way fabric looks under the sun or under ice,” she says. The sportiest outfits of the bunch are an iridescent blue straight leg pant and matching cropped button-down set with long sleeves and a drawstring at the waist; and a similar set in pink, but with cargo pants that bunch at the ankle worn with a full-length collared shirt held together by two gold links. The collection notes describe the clothes as “trans-seasonal,” which can be “adapted to any climate or occasion.”The rest of the collection builds on the label’s signatures. There are the goddess-like slinky dresses with cutouts at the hips, sculptural clutches, and feather-covered bolero jackets to add sleeves to a silky mini dress. The biggest departure this season is her take on the suit: a tailored gray jacket with boxy shoulders and a sharp squared-off neckline—demure, save for the short-shorts featuring a leg slit paired with it. The takeaway here is clear: Whatever the weather, the Cult Gaia muse is sticking to her statement pieces.
23 August 2022
Cult Gaia has more than a few immediately recognizable, cult-favorite pieces. Perhaps you remember the wooden, crescent-shaped Ark bag that put Jasmin Larian’s label on the map some six years ago. Or now, maybe you’ve seen a few cool brides sporting the draped fringe Renata gown or the feathered Shannon mini dress at their post-ceremony dance parties. But despite this tendency towards quasi-ubiquity (how oversaturated can a $1,000 dress really be?) Larian says she thrives on change. Part of the catalyst is the fact that when you Google “Cult Gaia bag” or “Cult Gaia dress” the suggested term “Cult Gaia dupe” is not far behind. “The second I’m into something, I’m over it by then, so it’s about how we can change,” she says. “I like to design in contrasts, otherwise I get bored.”That may sound a bit impersonal, but her pre-fall is not. Inspired by Larian’s Persian heritage and 1960s Vogues she found in the New York Public Library spotlighting Iran, the collection goes deeper than Instagram-bait. One of the models is Mya Ghorbani, granddaughter of the performer Googoosh, who Larian says is “like Madonna in Iran.” She wears a series of brightly colored dresses and matching sets embellished with all manner of prints (created in partnership with a Persian artist), gold hardware, and extraneous straps. Sculptural hair and bright makeup help transport the onlooker into this Y2K-meets-’60s-Middle-East world.Handily, these fit into the current appetite for psychedelic prints, bright colors, clingy fabrics, and cutouts. But Cult Gaia has always offered an elevated version of the zeitgeist, with artistic touches and funky finishings to help lead the pack instead of following it. But there’s such an excess of embellishment that the more pared back versions are the most appealing. Larian has always aimed to merge art and fashion, and the sculptural flourishes can really make or break a look. The bandeau top with a giant belt buckle is a bit much, but the draped gold fringe top and the hot pink one shoulder caftan are just the right amount of extra. Similarly, the crochet dresses constructed like a puzzle with a quarter of the pieces missing are most effective in white and black. Elegance here is not refusal, but rather saying yes to only what resonates most clearly to you.
14 June 2022
“The Cult Gaia woman is a bit of a goddess,” said the label’s designer Jasmin Larian. For spring 2022, the goddess is luxuriating oasis-side in the middle of the desert, not letting her surroundings take away from her party-ready outfits. Otherworldly, indeed, though the Cult Gaia customer has her finger on the current trends. She loves drama, texture, and extraneous straps wrapped around her exposed midriff.The collection was inspired by “the way the sun hits things,” and that’s clear in the sunset-like color palette, as well as a beaded evening dress with a pattern resembling rock formations. Larian has honed several motifs over the past few seasons that feature again for spring: slinky dresses with cutouts at the waist; halter necklines; sculptural, croissant-like sleeves; dramatic, draped sleeves that hang almost to the dress’s hemline; and funky heels. A standout dress from resort 2022—a white midi with waves of cascading fringe—is back in bright pink. Larian summed up how the clothes are supposed to make the wearer feel, when discussing a knit dress: “I put this on, and I feel like the hottest thing in the world.”
10 February 2022
For Cult Gaia’s 10th anniversary, Jasmin Larian took her collection on the road to the Las Pozas sculpture garden in Xilitla, Mexico. She chose the surreal scene, she explained over Zoom, in service of her goddess message: She wanted to hammer home the Gaia vibes and the importance of returning to nature in her work. The Cult Gaia customer will be returning to real life with this collection too, and Larian has plenty of sensual, revealing things for her to wear.Suspended slip dresses that dangle from curved metal accessories and cut-out floral swimsuits are the best pieces from Larian’s resort lineup—and in the Cult Gaia world they live in harmony not opposition. She reported that earlier this month she got texts from friends who wore the swimsuit cover-ups to attend a wedding. Maybe the slips will find their way to the beach? Blurring the line between dressed-up and dressed-down is becoming more common but for events that require a bit a polish, she’s expanding into raffia trenches and bijoux-style clutches.
14 June 2021
Cult Gaia’s Jasmin Larian is a barometer for mainstream fashion taste. Her brand started out with flower crowns in 2011 and expanded to small sculptural bags and quirky heeled shoes and sandals; now she has a full ready-to-wear range. Larian’s clothes have already (pun intended) found a cult following amongst Los Angeles’s most beautiful people: Her slinky dresses are worn by Chrissy Teigen and Romee Strijd.For fall, even the most outgoing L.A. woman needs a coat. Larian offers a cropped boxy option in sand and azure. On the rare chilly day of our Zoom call (read 60 degrees Fahrenheit in California), the designer was wearing the piece, paired with her teal knit top and trousers. Expanding this kind of head-to-toe cozy wear is something she’s been working on. The goal is to offer a one-stop shop for of-the-moment outfits. And just in case fall does return some normalcy to our lives, Larian has peppered the collection with her popular cut-away dresses featuring metal jewelry details.
16 March 2021