NewYork fashion weekBCBG Max Azria is entering its twenty-fifth year in business. But judging by today's runway show, the brand isn't experiencing any kind of quarter-life crisis. At a preview of the new collection over the weekend, co-designer Lubov Azria said that she and husband Max approached this season by reflecting on their archives and identifying the pieces that felt the most meaningful. "In the end, we realized that it was less about particular pieces and more about the overall process."

So instead of looking to the past, the couple decided to start with a clean slate, and reinterpreted classic men's shirts by deconstructing and reconstructing the crisp staple in a variety of unexpected ways—as though a woman equipped with scissors and a sewing kit got creative while rifling through her husband's dry cleaning. The cascading peplum on a chambray skirt was fabricated from a shirt yoke, for example, while belts were actually spliced-together cuffs. A tuxedo-inspired jumpsuit featured an untucked tail in back. Staying true to the label's feminine DNA, the Azrias softened up all that starched cotton and tailored twill with swaths of silk georgette and sheer mesh panels. In the second half of the lineup, floaty floral maxi numbers and an asymmetric black, beaded tulle gown felt more familiar for BCBG, but they didn't have the freshness as those opening shirtdresses.

Fashion Brand: BCBG Max Azria | www.bcbg.com

In the BCBG (BCBG Max Azria) clothing empire, covering a dinner suit, jeans, shoes, eyewear, swimwear and a wide range of accessories, in recent years it has expanded to men's field.