DESIGNER: Vera Wang

INSPIRATION: "Partying with Poiret"

TOP LOOKS: Knockout first exit -- silk tulle oversize tank dress with a beaded and pleated surface so dense, the model looked like a little black tulle lamb; hanging down were raw cut transparencies of the same black tulle, gracing knees and setting the romantic deconstructed tone for the rest of the show. The purple "poppy print" used in looks throughout the show. Skinny "rocker pants." Sequined dotted Poiret-style dress with iridescent paillette power shoulders

ACCESSORIES: Black leather platform sandals with thick straps that tied around the ankles. The rose's roses for Vera Wang shoes were stunning, but gave the girls a run for their money. Larger than life jewelry has become a Vera signature -- for Spring there were oversize paste necklaces that dripped down the back of dresses, bibs in chain and ribbon spilling down to the hips, and more paste clustered into massive neo-Edwardian medallions.

WHO WAS THERE: Top-level editors and buyers, packed into one small bright white room

WHAT WE THOUGHT: Vera showed a highly romantic collection in "Summer Black" with lots of "Summer Sheer." Her clothes are complicated and not intuitive in the ways they fit together. Although the designer made her name with chic and classic wedding dresses, she is actually a fashion intellectual in her ready-to-wear -- working with rich fabrics in bohemian constructions, lots of layering, complex hand-pleated surfaces, embellishments and raw finishes.

Her customer has an artist's soul, like Vera -- she is a little uptown and definitely eclectic. There is plenty to choose from this season for that just-slunk-into-the-Carlyle-in-this-old-thing look: Tank dresses, slouchy jackets, skinny pants, or maybe just a staggering statement necklace thrown over a too-big t-shirt and cardigan.