Paris fashion weekPhillip Lim got deep into geology this season. And when asked, after his show, what got him so interested in the earth and its elements, the designer replied, simply, "standing on solid ground." Hmm.

The comment was interesting not only because it was pretty opaque but also because the thing Lim got at really well in this collection wasn't earthen solidity but flux. That was especially true of this season's standout looks, which featured geode-inspired embroidery on organza.

Geodes, for those readers who haven't visited a natural history museum in a while, are those rocklike mineral formations that split open to reveal swirls of many-hued crystal; they are a record of a moment of becoming. Lim's embroideries captured that, as did (to a lesser degree) his geode-inspired silk prints. Elsewhere, Lim took on the variegated palette and texture of seemingly monotone landscapes, translating that quality into metal-mottled, patchworked, and pearlized leathers.

The pieces themselves never felt obnoxiously literal, though; women are going to like a fluid, knee-length skirt made from contrasting leathers whether they get the backstory or not. And Lim being Lim, there were a ton of garments here that were all about commercial rather than conceptual appeal—to wit, the wide-leg cuffed trousers or the pieces in sherbet-toned jacquard. Lim is an avid explorer; he just chooses to do his exploring close to home. On terra firma, as it were.

Fashion Brand: 3.1 Phillip Lim | www.31philliplim.com

New York Fashion Week Spring 2007 One day in the morning, Vogue editor Anna Wintour U.S. Assistant to Feili Lin (Phillip Lim) to wake up and look at clothes that Anna, after the fashion of the Empress Wu said, Phillip Do not worry , you will succeed, and we will have a good report.