CONTINUED

   On the more aggressively sexy side of the coin, there’s no beating her body-hugging trench coats in white and black patent leather. Her sexy white knit and blue cotton tank dress alluded to the barely contained sensuality of the wearer, which, in so many cases, is so much better than wearing a garment that screams that you are "easy" from the mountain top. Her most successful pieces are those in which her bad-girl desires are matched point-for-point with her good-girl instincts. Such a case is her multi-coloured gingham bow shirt worn with a black patent leather miniskirt. As worn by the tall and sexy Karolina Kurkova, the point couldn’t be made any clearer: under the calm, obedient exterior of every good girl who does what she told with a "meek" smile is a danger-loving, hard-living woman yearning to break free and claim her moment.
   This is also a very tightly edited collection, a very rare occurrence during Fashion Week when some designers are of the opinion that a 90-piece collection—filled with repetitive design ideas and others that should not have made it that far to begin with—is a good thing. There was not one piece of clothing shown that didn’t deserve to be seen. From beginning to end, she was disciplined enough to not stray too far from her centre. It was a pleasure and an honour to view this collection.
   As it becomes increasingly clear that the Old Guard that presently rules from fashion’s Mt Olympus (Ralph Lauren et al) faces questions regarding the issue of succession at their respective design houses, we all are looking around at the emerging stars of the moment and wondering if they have the right stuff to develop into strong contenders for this heavy crown. Based on what I have seen from Ms Sarafpour over the past two years, there is no question that, if handled properly, her career is on a sound projectory upwards and it is quite likely that within the next ten years, she will be playing a major role in the new renaissance of New York fashion. •

Phillip D. Johnson is features’ editor of Lucire.

This is a very tightly edited collection, a very rare occurrence during Fashion Week when some designers are of the opinion that a 90-piece collection—filled with repetitive design ideas and others that should not have made it that far to begin with—is a good thing