Running a fashion label is enough to keep just about anyone busy (especially in this economy), but Naeem Khan has been secretly developing a second career—as a fine painter. “I’ve been painting for the last couple of years,” Khan noted, “and my artwork has really been taking off.” (Khan and his friend, Stanley Casselman, create under the collective name KACE.) No surprise, then, that the designer’s spring collection took inspiration from his painterly endeavors of late.
This season, he said he wanted to get even more creative with his signature glitzy finishings. The opening look, for one, featured a blazer and skirt made of hand-dyed raffia—all designed to look like it was watercolored in soft pastels. “The whole collection follows the colors of my paintings,” he said. “I took the same process—but with clothing.” The second look was a sheer mini dress covered in hand-beaded colorful florals, some adorned with fringed stems. With Khan, it’s his handwork that shines, and it was nice to see him take an even bolder approach with it than usual.
You could tell he had a lot of fun with development this season. A statement-making cherry blossoms gown was made using laser-cut fabric petals. A pastel-blue mini dress, covered in feathers, looked extremely party-ready—as did a beaded fringe mini dress that ombréd from sky blue to silver. He paid special attention to composition and scale: the white pearls that embellished a simple black top coat graduated from sparse to more heavily-bunched at the waist, to give it an hourglass effect. It’s a piece so fanciful it could be on display at a museum.