NEW YORK, United States — This past February, Sies Marjan designer Sander Lak's debut collection was the serendipitous hit of New York Fashion Week. His Spring runway show, staged in the warmly lit library at the New York City Bar Association, proved he is (admirably) self-possessed enough not to choke. And good on him for that. It was not simply a solid second effort, but a collection that reflected his authoritative sense of colour and shape. Clean bandage-wrapped tops, softly crinkled satin cargo shorts and lacquered anoraks in crude pastels and acidic neons exemplified the terrific tension in his work: a push-pull between the faded and the saturated, the shiny and the matte, the slick and the roughed up.

Lak's clothes, from the shimmering blood-orange slip dress to the Barbie-pink satin trousers, have bite. And he’s happy to be selling apparel only, for now, even if the exaggerated flared-heel loafers he showed on the runway today will get nearly as much attention. “It’s such a joy,” he said after the show. “No sunglasses and hats and things. We don’t have to put a tent up, you know, ‘Catering by Blah Blah Blah.’ Just look at the clothes, the beautiful girls, and that’s it.”