black cameos, rhinestones and
an array of other materials,
Karen Thompson's accessories
provide an upbeat and witty
trendiness to her elegant and
timeless clothing.
Originally from Worcester,
Massachusetts, Thompson set-
tled in San Francisco eight
years ago with her husband.
She holds a degree in art from
San Francisco State with em-
phasis on textiles and cera-
mics. With no formal training in
patternmaking or draping, she
began her business seeing
fashion as a bridge between
sculpture and the commercial
world.

A pillar of the
wearable art"
movement, Marika
Contompasis has
just begun to
transform her
artistic vision into
everyday clothes.

GRAND OPENING

•

"

Today, Karen Thompson is
blending the looks from the
40s, 50s and 60s with the in-
fluence of the city environment
in which modern women live.

Abel Villarreal

For five seasons, this San
Diego-born designer has been
creating clothes that reach
back in time to another era.
Formerly an assistant to promi-
nent California designer Nancy
Heller, Villarreal says he
believes in keeping his designs
as "pure as possible."
Translating and expanding
any one of life's minute details,
Villarreal is able to create in-
novative styles for his collection
of dressy daywear and
separates.
"I'll take anything from a
button to a baseball game and

Hours: Monday-Saturday 10 a.m.- 6 pm.
Thursday 10 a.m. - 9 pm.

800 N. Woodward Ave.,
Suite 101, Birmingham, MI. 48011
(313) 645-0311

March 1986

109