Cynthia Rowley Spring 2016 NYFW Collection

Cynthia Rowley has eschewed a traditional presentation format for a few seasons, opting to present a digitized experience instead. This season, she took it to the next level. She shot her spring look book and accompanying video on the beaches of Montauk, N.Y., using phantom aerial-drone cameras flown in with technicians from China. In doing so, the designer said she aimed to create an immersive, transportive experience with sweeping camera views that showed off the detail of the clothing as well as the beachy landscape. “I wanted it to have that same riveting feeling…of watching a surfer catch a wave over and over again,” Rowley said.

Though there wasn’t a single overarching theme in her eclectic spring lineup, the collection seemed divided between clean, modern silhouettes in bonded neoprene with laser cutouts and more flowing silhouettes featuring funky circle prints and studded hardware, the latter looks seeming to riff on the Sixties and Seventies. “People have been saying it looks like a mix of Japanese, Native American, Western, Austrian,” Rowley said.

As usual, she gave her girl plenty of party frocks, such as a silver-sequined Henley top, a fully beaded white dress with a cascading flower pattern and a purple skirt made of shredded chiffon. The standout looks were done in black-and-white denim decorated with floral embroidery and sexy lace-up details. Fusing a mélange of references, the feminine collection, full of her signature dark-based florals, struck the right balance between playful and sophisticated.