Milly by Michelle Smith Offers a Fun Take on Spring 2014

While very serious, very high end designers have been kind of hit or miss for Spring 2014, I’ve found some more wearable, light-hearted collections to be far more creative and exciting. Take Milly by Michelle Smith. Her mesh, bra tops and skin, skin, skin were far more interesting and sophisticated than many more luxe designers who attempted the same aesthetics. 

Some outfits were almost entirely comprised of an open-weave lattice knit that read as mesh and was completely see-through. But strong hourglass silhouettes and structure, along with mostly modest underpinnings in contrasting colors that made them appear more a part of the outfit than part of a boudoir, really kept the looks elegant and day-appropriate. That’s not to say work appropriate or really even appropriate for most spheres of regular American life. But in certain fashion circles, the Hamptons, L.A. or the South of France? Sure. Let’s call them yacht-appropriate. In black and white with neon accents, the looks were very moto. 

The collection was grounded by more conservative shifts and pencil skirt/shell/jacket combos in rich teal, orange and florals, a colorful Kawaii kind of graffiti wave and a fun parrot print.

This was a risky collection. But it was so fun and so well put together that the more risque aspects were downplayed for a more ladylike impression than most mesh skirts could convey. It’s sort of dazzling and belies a talent that perhaps Michelle Smith isn’t credited with often enough.