"People see me as knit girl, " said Koi Suwannagate backstage before her show. "I want to show them what else I can do." Luckily, that didn t mean a departure from her signature cashmeres—tees and rosette-studded vests still came in Suwannagate s favorite wool, but here she lined them with silk or jersey to keep them wearable. Delicately embellished dresses, meanwhile, assumed sheer and floaty, pleasantly summery forms.
Inspired by a vintage butterfly print, Suwannagate made that fanciful bug the mascot of her Spring outing, and it flitted around on hand-sewn Swarovski jewels and appeared in the fuchsia organza wings that flew down the back of an ivory cashmere cardigan. A collaboration with L.A.-based husband-and-wife artists Josh and He Yang led to a sherbet-hued fabric made from yarn with the texture of a cocoon; it was sweet enough on its own, but when combined with, say, a gauze top with butterfly embroidery, the effect was too overdone for Suwannagate s light and loose sensibility. On the other hand, the pair of floor-sweeping silk gowns that closed the show captured the fairy-tale spirit of her best pieces.
