If ever there was a designer who speaks to the trends of the moment, it’s Naeem Khan.
Zebra- and leopard-print dresses and jumpsuits? check. Bold, flowing florals? Check. Goddess gowns that reveal even as they conceal with mesh and plunging necklines, low backs and thigh-high slits? Check, check and check.
It is Khan’s ability to marry the demure and the sexy that makes his Spring Collection perfect for today’s woman. Form-fitting, neutral slips peek through diaphanous floral and leafy appliqué shells that cling to the body and finish with a swirling flourish at the ankles. Fitted, jeweled bodices, the armor of beauty, give way to layered, chiffon skirts. Sequined hoodie pantsuits with modified shoulder pads redefine that 1980s staple, another spring trend.
The play between the decorous and the sensual defines India, where Khan was born and raised. Growing up in Mumbai, he was steeped in the country’s textiles – which blaze with color, pattern, texture and life itself – as both his father and his grandfather designed clothing for Indian royals.
But Khan believed his design destiny lay in the United States. He moved here as a teenager and at 20 became an apprentice to Halston (1932-90), who rose to fame designing the pillbox hat for first lady Jacqueline B. Kennedy and whose clean lines helped shape the 1970s. With Halston, Khan learned how to cut and drape fabric to create a classic, elegant silhouette.
Ultimately, he combined his childhood knowledge of textiles with what he learned during his time with Halston to create his eponymous brand, which he launched in 2003 to sell in Bergdorf Goodman, Neiman Marcus and Saks Fifth Avenue. It’s featured in 150 retail outlets worldwide, to say nothing of red carpets graced by Michelle Obama; Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge; Beyoncé; Jennifer Lopez; Rachel McAdams; Noor Al-Hussein, the dowager queen of Jordan; and Taylor Swift.
But Khan, who was inducted into the Council of Fashion Designers of America in 2008, is about more than ready-to-wear. His plated-brass, suede-lined Zodiac clutches, with their Swarovski crystal constellations and mirrored interiors, could double as jewelry cases. (The 21-inch chain strap is detachable.)
There’s also a Deco collection of minaudières that captures the sleek geometry of the Roaring 20s, red-hot as we begin the 2020s. By going back to the future, Khan demonstrates once again that he is a man of the moment.