BCBG MAX AZRIA SPRING 2011 RTW

ARIZONA MUSE (NEXT)

Sheer simplicity. At BCBG, Max and Lubov Azria continued the exercise in functional minimalism they began last Fall with a Spring parade of airy silk dresses and jumpsuits, both short and long, so light they very nearly threatened to float away. The show opened with a grouping in white that imperceptibly shifted to an ash gray and then cycled through a neutral rainbow before landing on black.

LISANNE DE JONG

Anything bright was relegated to a cameo appearance: a tiered overlay here, a single shock-pink frock there. These hot spots brought a point of difference into a potentially repetitive collection—as did the touches of femininity added by tonal embroidery and lace.

SIGRID AGREN

The latter was a standout on the finale dress, a long sheer tank that was foreshadowed by a lacy image printed elsewhere on silk. For a brand that can occasionally take a head-scratching direction, this was a happy little moment of serenity that seemed to please all assembled and that definitely has commercial legs.

MARIKE LE ROUX

SHU PEI QIN (NEXT)

MADDIE

MARIE MOREAU

CELINE VAN AMSTEL

LINNEA REGNANDER

SOPHIE SREJ

SIMONA ANDREJIC

ANDIE

DEBORA MULLER

SAMANTHA GRADOVILLE

BARBORA DVORAKOVA

LISANNE DE JONG

EMILY DiDONATO

NIMUE SMIT

SIGRID AGREN

KRISTINA ROMANOVA

ARIZONA MUSE (NEXT)

SHU PEI QIN (NEXT)

LINNEA REGNANDER

MARIE MOREAU

MARIKE LE ROUX

ANDIE

CELINE VAN AMSTEL

MADDIE

BARBORA DVORAKOVA

DEBORA MULLER

EMILY DiDONATO

SIMONA ANDREJIC

SOPHIE SREJ

NIMEU SMIT

LISSANE DE JONG

SIGRID AGREN

ARIZONA MUSE (NEXT)

MAX AZRIA

RICHARD CHAI LOVE SPRING 2011 RTW

JAC JAGACIAK (IMG)

For Spring, Richard Chai flipped the script on the typical fashion strategy of putting your flashy best on the runway while keeping those more subtle, plain-Jane pieces at the showroom for buyers' eyes only. "All the prints, the embellishment, the embroidery, all of those things are still in the collection," said Chai, speaking at his studio the day before his clothes hit the catwalk. "But what I'm showing on the runway is not that." That might sound counterintuitive, but the approach has its benefits. When you're not distracted by the sparkle of a sequin, your eye can focus on form—and form was definitely the story chez Chai this season.

FRIDA GUSTAVSSON (IMG)

The look could be described as chic urban nomad—all fluid layers built on a foundation of Chaplin-esque trousers, long and full Martha Graham-inspired skirts, flared culottes, and palazzo pants. Chai called the palette of nudes, grays, and blues "super-neutral," and in lieu of color, he created interest by playing with transparency in sheer-backed tops and by layering nylon body stockings throughout. The effect was a ghostly deconstruction, but that liquid element was grounded by sporty-sexy bandeau tops and tailoring in the form of elongating blazers and trenches in weathered-looking technical fabrics.

SHU PEI QIN (NEXT)

There might have been nary a sequin in sight, but the combination of transparency and layering did push the look in a fashion-y direction. Yet Chai insisted that, when dissected, the collection was full of simply great pieces to wear. "It's an amazing trenchcoat, an amazing T-shirt—that's the premise of Love," he said. The trick, of course, is to lend those items a fresh point of view, and happily, Chai continues to stand out in the same-y contemporary world.

JULIJA STEPONAVICIUTE (IMG)

HEIDI MOUNT (IMG)

Kamila Filipcikova

SOFIA PARAS (FORD)

Jacquelyn Jablonski

Ming Xi

Chloe

Anabela Belikova

Liu Wen

Ruby Aldridge

Ilva Heitmann

SIMONE

Hanne Gaby Odiele

Shena Moulton

Valerija Kelava

Irina Kulikova

Fei Fei Sun

Naomi Preizler

ROSE CORDERO

Alana Zimmer (FORD)

Suvi Koponen

Joan Smalls

Sigrid Agren

Patricia van der Vliet

JENNY SINKABERG

Melissa Tammerijn

RICHARD CHAI