February 6, 2006

The venue—a mirrored salon in the Carlyle Hotel—spoke volumes. Steven Cox and Daniel Silver, unabashed purveyors of fashion wackiness, were taking their label Duckie Brown uptown, and to prove the point, the first outfit was a dark gray houndstooth crombie. "It's our most serious, most classic collection," said Cox, confirming the shift in sensibility. "And our most experimental," he quickly added.

If at first glance the uncharacteristically somber palette appeared to give the lie to that statement, a closer look revealed Duckie's signature odd cuts to be present and accounted for, especially in full trousers draped and gathered at the waist. And items were doubled up in trompe l'oeil effects: a waistcoat over a jacket, both with a lacquered sheen, or wrap shorts over full trousers with a matching jacket.

The peculiar little details that have always distinguished Cox and Silver's clothes were more subtle than usual. A white shirt was beaded in black, suggesting it had been slashed by animal claws. Silver said they'd been inspired by a children's tale about a scary night, which was a salutary reminder that part of the charm of the Duckie Brown label rests on the fact that it's in touch with its inner child. The final jacket, whorled in bright colors, was further proof that, for all the new seriousness, Cox and Silver haven't lost that touch.

— Tim Blanks