Hussein Chalayan’s spring collection was a direct progression of the “Moor’s Chorus” he presented for resort, here amplified for the runway. He made traditional North African attire look sportswear-chic, interpreting it as languid tailoring — loose jackets and long skirts and pants, cut up the side in an open panel that revealed shorts underneath.
Chalayan breezed his way through desert motifs, reworking the exact blue-and-white Moroccan lattice prints of resort in loose separates, and showing draped gowns with the image of a woman in a burqa on the front. He had a few nifty tricks up his conceptual sleeve, such as a black jumpsuit with a jacket hanging off the back like a cape; and what appeared to be a dress and jacket was actually one piece — when taken off, the jacket fell into another layer on the skirt. But otherwise this was a play-it-safe Chalayan collection.