New York Fashion Week spring 2014: 3.1 Phillip Lim review

NEW YORK -- You could almost taste summer at the 3.1 Phillip Lim show Monday afternoon at New York Fashion Week, where the runway and floor space were covered in salt crystals that kicked up into your sandals when you walked, like sand on a faraway beach.

The inspiration: “Raw landscapes, terrains, geode formations and life within a brute yet beautifully charged ecosystem,� according to the show notes. “A reaction to how life has become — looking for solid ground, intrinsically basic and elemental.�

The look: Big Sur Earth mother gone modern.

Key pieces: Blue geode embroidered white flounce dress; emerald metallic cracked leather patchwork skirt; cream patchwork raffia top; tie-dye pink wood grain kimono jacket worn with woodgrain pants; flat sandal booties; cracked white leather “Wednesday� carryall; mirrored Linda Farrow x Phillip Lim sunglasses.

The verdict: Lim has a way of crystallizing all of the season’s trends with his collections, and this outing was no exception. We saw spring’s new proportion in the form of a mid-length belted white trench worn with cuffed walking shorts and flat shoes, and a boxy kimono jacket worn with wide-leg, cropped pants; the Japanese influence in moto jackets re-cut in kimono shapes; the scuba influence in a leather, fringe-back dress; the must-have pleated peplum blouse (it’s everywhere); and serene hues of blue (Pantone has decreed “dazzling blue� the color of spring 2014).

There was lots to buy and love at an affordably luxurious price, which is precisely why Lim is one of the new bedrocks of American fashion.

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