Sachin and Babi Ahluwalia staged their first runway show today, a major moment for the husband-and-wife design duo (not to mention a nice way to spend Valentine s Day together). After seeing the first few looks in motion on the catwalk, it became clear that this season was not only an upgrade for Sachin + Babi s presentation format, but also for the clothing itself. Backstage after the finale, Sachin explained that for Fall, they wondered, "What would a love child between between Jim Morrison and Kate Beckinsale look like? And more importantly, how would she dress?" So needless to say there was a lot of leather here. "But she isn t a tough girl with this hard exterior," Babi clarified. "We wanted to show the more delicate side of leather." A lipstick red lambskin shift dress, for example, was broken up by pleated chiffon on the torso and hemline. And an embossed crocodile suede flared skirt was balanced out with a gauzy T-shirt and plush navy fox fur jacket. S + B ramped up its eveningwear offerings this time around, too—perhaps to attract more of a Hollywood clientele. We wouldn t be surprised to see Gwyneth Paltrow (or any A-lister fond of flaunting her toned gams) turn up on the red carpet in one of the saturated jewel-tone gowns with double thigh-high slits. Overall, this collection indicated a new, more refined direction for the two-and-a-half-year-old contemporary label.
