Khaite brings fashion antecedents from the power-glam school of the Eighties for SS24.

The idea of clothes as agents of protection is as old as the first loincloth. For Catherine Holstein of Khaite, protection and power go hand in hand: By announcing her power with sartorial swagger, a woman envelops herself in a protective field that radiates a force to be reckoned with.

To that end, Holstein has some philosophical fashion antecedents in the power-glam school of the Eighties, and, more directly in terms of her modernist approach to sexy dressing (and a few specific silhouettes), Tom Ford, when he referenced that decade. Holstein showed in the cavernous Park Avenue Armory, on a spare set that used high- drama lighting to enhance the urbane power vibe. She opened with a racy shirred black top over skinny leather pants, the waist cinched with a belt-buckle sculpture of two hands, clasped together in slightly menacing intrigue.

This introduced a collection that maintained a razor-sharp overall attitude while offering plenty of range, from racy shorts to billowing dresses.” And she put a big focus on outerwear. This was perhaps a nod to hometown necessity. As every New Yorker knows, when spring hits the stores from January through March, (for now at least) coat season is in full swing. Holstein’s numerous options featured demonstrative lapels and major shoulders that often got additional attention via pleats or tucks.

Throughout, the clothes were packed with such details, but of the structural variety. Hands-y belt buckle aside, Holstein mostly eschewed decorative addons, preferring to create interest via her cuts. The shirring that opened the show turned up as well in a dress and pants. She went two ways with dresses – sculpted with deep corset torsos and unfettered with soft, linear silhouettes with exaggerated, pleated lantern sleeves. While these worked beautifully, some updates on the peasant blouse seemed encumbered by excessive fabric. Even in her gentlest silhouettes, Holstein eschewed any trace of sweetness. She prefers a more knowing serenity, sprung from a baseline of urbane sophistication.