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January 31, 2006

Like a broadcast from an alternate universe, José Lévy's collection for Emanuel Ungaro offered a vision of menswear so outré it was impossible to place in any kind of contemporary context. Show notes informed us that the Ungaro man was a tiger, a quality underlined by the big-cat growls that punctuated the soundtrack. But this kitty seemed both lost and curiously clawless.

Tiger prints appeared throughout the presentation as a design in black on the back of a white turtleneck, or picked out in caviar beading on an evening jacket. Another favored motif was an orchid, which adorned a white sweater in a black patent appliqué or constituted a print on a jacket. Then, just as we appeared to have settled into a uniform black-and-white palette (with black patent shoes and black leather gloves as accessories), there arrived a blouson in searing-hot pink, with matching jeans, then the same in purple, and a shirt that exploded into strawberry pink ruffles. Somewhere, a cruise ship band needed its costumes back.

A cummerbund clasped with a star-shaped chunk of quartz left a last lingering impression. Back to those show notes for the final comment. "Scary Chic," they promised. Well, half-right, at least.

— Tim Blanks