I want to keep a luxurious look in daywear,” Reem Acra said backstage before her show. Luxury has never been a problem for this designer, but for the past few seasons she’s been experimenting with cool, too, and one gets the sense she’s still figuring out how the Reem Acra royal does day. This season, the solution lay partly in leather. Working with the fabric for the first time, Acra described the embellished leather jacket she created as “the link between day and evening.” The jacket in question bore little resemblance to its moto or bomber ancestors: collarless, zipper-less, buckle-less, it made up for all the less-es with a dense smattering of colorful crystals. It could work for day, but not the sort of day one spends in an office. Cooler was a leather dress. Long, with a deep V at the neck and nary a winking crystal in sight, it called attention to the model’s curves without trying too hard. There were more sequins and an oxidized animal print to be had, but after all the flash, it was that unembellished, well-tailored dress that stuck out.
