"It s not Russian, it s Indian," said Naeem Khan at his civilized Fall presentation in his now year-old showroom, pointing out the embroidered swirl of Kashmiri paisleys covering a grand opera coat. (As he tells it, the piece took 40 people almost two weeks to make.) Actually, there was a sort of sartorial Eastern itinerary happening here, from the Muscovite chic of fox-trimmed gilets and luxurious skirts to the more blurred (but decidedly east of Greece) origins of a Poiret-esque kimono coat and emerald velvet caftan. Most exciting were the richly worked separates (for which Khan says there s increasing demand). Unlike a gown, these can be worn over and over and in umpteen different ways. But when it came to serious evening, Khan s approach was pure American glamour, with standouts such as a silver paillette dress that looked like it was made of crushed glass, a smoky brown chiffon number encrusted with hunks of crystal, and a white tulle goddess dress with an elaborate necklace halter. Just don t expect to see any of them this Sunday night, as Khan has opted out of the red-carpet races. "It s just too tight this time," he said. "It s the retailers or the Oscars." Ironically, this is the first season he s working with perennial Oscar commenter, stylist Mary Alice Stephenson. But no matter—it must be a happy partnership, because this was one of Khan s strongest collections.
