Smart basics with a fashion-forward twist are what Tawfik Mounayer does best at Tribune Standard, his one-and-a-half-year-old contemporary label. The designer s Spring lineup brought Moroccan flair to everyday pieces. There was an easy silk shift featuring a colorful mosaic print reportedly inspired by Elvira Wersche s sand-art installations, and a lightweight metallic tweed shorts suit paired with a tank covered in shiny silver coins that softly jangled with each step the model took at the presentation. A crisp poplin shirtdress and bomber jacket made from a mix of coated cotton with sheer "clip" gauze nicely illustrated Mounayer s utilitarian approach. "I m not trying to conquer the world," he said. "I just want to make clothes that girls want to wake up and put on."
