Mood Board: In Living Color

When David Hockney discovered California in the 1960s, he quickly put his grayish paintings of English landscapes on the back burner. Transformed by the freedom of the West, the artist began to burst with colors. The highly erotic, sun-kissed images of his "Piscines de Papier" series featured the soft, pastel tones of male nudes immersed in the deep blue waters of a swimming pool. Similarly, the influence of Los Angeles's endless summer informed Hockney's singular sense of style. His taste for vibrant combinations, whimsical stripes, and eccentric neckwear -- all popular on the men's runway this season -- remains a model of understated elegance.