NYFW: Naeem Khan SS 2012

“I love showing on the last day of New York, because I feel like it’s the finale,” Naeem Khan said before presenting his Spring collection. The designer’s decadent lineup punctuated a week that was full of over-the-top colors, fabrics, and prints. Khan’s dresses, which you’ll likely see on a red carpet soon, took a reported 600 pairs of hands to make.

Edith Head (the famed costume designer) and Ava Gardner inThe Barefoot Contessa were the muses behind this collection. Imagine a modern starlet, wearing the long-sleeve gown with “scratched feather beading” that gave the appearance of cracked ice, and a white cocoon-shaped number with spare sunburst beading. Khan was happy to report backstage that business was up 30 percent this year, and considering the current cutthroat economy, it’s encouraging to see the designer thrive in a niche market.