Runway Reviews

(NEW YORK) Obedient Sons and Daughters

Christina and Swaim Hutson put out a collection inspired by la plage, but with a slightly somber tone. Organic knits, stripes, and floral prints dominated the runway. A pair of suits had jacket's appliquéd with what looked like children's writing: "I may be, but I'm not really sure."

Verrier

It was Alice in Wonderland gone through the dark rabbit's hole Saturday evening when Ashleigh Verrier showed her Spring 2009 collection. With butterfly and fish appliqués, stones, ribbons and crystals, Verrier mixed beauty, whimsy and a great imagination. "In all fairy tales there is this underlying layer of darkness," said Verrier. "I'm always going to be feminine and romantic, but I wanted to make it edgy in a way, using motifs that were poisonous fish, spiders and toxic insects."

Réyes

Bold colors and innovative shapes ruled the runway at Réyes ths season, as José Ramón Réyes found a new muse: the gallerina! "I usually go for references of movies and books," he said, "but then all of a sudden this idea of this gallery girl started coming into my head.  She puts herself together in an eclectic sort of way, so you're going to see her in cocktail dresses made of burlap, or painter's jumpsuits that are completely sheer that she wears to the office." Sounds strange, but Réyes may be on to something; his collection had a Marni-esque quirkiness that, though a little much at moments, was completely charming at others.

Sheer blouses in bright chartreuses or tangerines had plaid bras in complementing colors that just showed through for a sliver of playful sexiness. Dresses and skirts were tiered, draped, or wrapped; an oversized blazer had a criss-crossing open back. The color palette was spot-on: kelly green, marigold, navy, and hot pink were summery without being cliché. It may have been pouring rain outside, but those dedicated attendees were not disappointed.

Ruffian

Brian Wolk and Claude Morais' rebellious prep-schooler from fall has fallen in love with a musician and moved to California for spring: "It's still our same girl, but she's a runaway now," Wolk explained. "She still has elements of tailoring, but it was mixed with softness." Ruffian's Spring 2009 collection showed a much more bohemian side of the Ruffian girl, from the crimped hair down to the fringed Louboutins.  While the Cure song "Fire in Cairo" played (the collection's theme: "It's about forbidden love," Morais explained), Caroline Trentini opened the show in a white peasant dress with full sleeves, a look that set the tone for the show.  Though the pieces ranged from romantic ruffled blouses to super-sexy "Bardot" hot shorts and nylon jackets, the strong theme kept the collection cohesive.

Ruffian's greatest strength is in its textiles: a paint-by numbers print was clever and quirky but still chic and wearable (quite a feat), and their April bouclé was their fall line's great cassette tape bouclé (literally, with cassette tape woven into the fabric), reimagined in color. "We wanted to look into more of our hobbies and stuff that we love and try and translate it into our work," Morais explained. "Braille" chiffon was another gorgeous fabric; purple with tiny gold dots, a tiered dress in the material was at once feminine and polished, but still fitting for the Ruffian runaway.

Vena Cava

Lisa Mayock & Sophie Buhai of Vena Cava brought the 70s occult phenom of Egyptomania to the forefront with their sexy collection of separates, cocktail dresses and eveningwear. Mayock called it "a little bit of Egypt, a little bit of sportswear." Egyptian inspired prints and beaded collars added an edge to the chic cocktail dresses and gowns. The collection was heavy on hardware, like gunmetal lace t-shirts and appliquéd cocktail dresses.