NewYork fashion week"I was inspired by traditional notions of femininity," said Michelle Smith backstage before her Spring runway show at Lincoln Center. And by femininity, she didn't mean bows and ruffles but rather real curves. Nearly every look in the collection will give Smith's woman an hourglass figure, regardless of whether or not she was born with one.

A black, almost empire-waist wiggle skirt with chevron-patterned netting up the seams showed just a flash of skin paired with the season's requisite bra top. "I'm very strategic about how much torso to show and what part to show," Smith said. And she's right—there is a certain sliver that most women are fortunate enough to be able to pull off.

Textiles are always a big part of Smith's repertoire; she does the fabric research and designs the prints herself. This season, those designs were inspired by a trip to Japan and Hawaii, and they were fun in a kawaii sort of way. The most successful was a multicolor parrot print, done on a bra top and high-waisted micro shorts layered under a honeycomb-knit camp shirt and matching bubble skirt. There were couture-inspired elements, too, including a white jacket—again in the lattice knit—with a super-swingy back. By the way, that knit, which came in black and white on a million different separates—from molded sweatshirts to below-the-knee pencil skirts—was very, very see-through. Smith guaranteed that the pieces would be lined for the hordes of buyers that are sure to come a-calling, but on the runway, it looked hip as it was.

Fashion Brand: Milly | www.millyny.com

In 2010 the brand plans to open its ecommerce shop and hopefully a retail space in the New York area while continuing to develop various additional product extensions.