“It looks like a Moroccan tea room, or a market in Rajasthan or in Paris,” says Stephanie von Watzdorf about the new pop-up shop for her military jackets, tunics, scarves, and totes at Ron Herman on Melrose Avenue in Los Angeles. The New York-based designer describes herself as a “hunter for global goodies,” with an eye for handcrafted bohemian jewelry and accessories, and the spoils of her travels are on display at the boutique this summer. Von Watzdorf’s line, Figue, is named after trees that bear the tasty fruit on the Italian island Isola dei Galli, which is a fitting moniker for a designer who finds herself drawn to farmer’s markets, bazaars and open-air souks. Herman, owner of the eponymous boutique, invited von Watzdorf to recreate her vision of one such eclectic marketplace inside his shop, and the designer herself will be on hand Thursday, August 6, from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. “My eye gravitates toward things that are colorful and shiny as I wander from booth to booth,” says von Watzdorf of her travels abroad. This fall, her collection is rife with carpet patterns, beadwork, feathers, and dark jewel tones. She cites Joni Mitchell’s comfortable bohemian style as inspiration. Indeed, the ladies of the canyon who venture down Crescent Height Boulevard will find a fellow traveler in von Watzdorf.

By Elizabeth Varnell

Pictured: Figue designer Stephanie von Watzdorf.
Photo by: Michael Lucas