Paris fashion weekThere are two ways for a designer to approach embellishment. The typical one is to treat embellishment as decor, a little bonus pizzazz on the surface of a garment. The other, rarer one—to which Sharon Wauchob subscribes—is to make embellishments absolutely integral to the personality of the clothes on which they appear. In Wauchob's show today, you could hardly have imagined the satin tops with dotted feather embroidery without those feathers—the pieces might have worked plain, but they would have worked in an entirely different way. Ditto the smocked chiffon gowns, with their starry scatter of crystals, or the satin pencil skirt with a mossy burst of embroidery near the hem. Not all the looks in Wauchob's latest collection featured embellishment, but it was the embroideries, especially, that marked them as unique.

It wasn't all a stitched-and-feathered affair. Wauchob had success with simpler pieces, too. There were on-trend slipdresses and camisoles in lace and silk satin, as well as a slew of nice jackets and coats—a surprising number, in fact, given the season—with the standout being a robelike coat in reflective velvet, which pulled off the feat of seeming both relaxed and glam.

Fashion Brand: Sharon Wauchob | www.sharonwauchob.com

Sharon Wauchob is one of those designers who flies under the radar of most big editors but who gets plenty of respect from top retailers.