"There are maybe five gowns," Naeem Khan said at his Spring presentation, held once again at his swanky Garment District studio. It s surely a sign of our times that a designer who once sent out a parade consisting almost exclusively of serious eveningwear is branching out. But that s not meant to sound doom-and-gloomy; in fact, it s quite the opposite. Though it followed the ho-hum-sounding path of commercial strategy, Khan s Spring collection was actually his most youthful, fun, and energetic so far. He called the look "punk Raj," and that s pretty right-on, merging as it did his expertise in traditional beading and embroidery with a poufy and girly silhouette, with added tangles of crystal-and-chain jewelry. Think Bow Wow Wow meets Blair Waldorf. Still, the collection shouldn t alienate Khan s core clientele, who, incidentally, aren t jaded and spoiled teens. Most of the looks here might read as dresses but are, in fact, separates—Khan s new frontier—that can be worn umpteen different ways. At times, the way they were worn here bordered on too much, but I guess these days we have to enjoy excesses wherever we can find them.
