Designers play peek-a-boo at N.Y. Fashion Week

NEW YORK -- Now you see fashion, now you don't.

Illusion was one of the key trends to emerge as New York Fashion Week entered its fourth day Sunday, with sheer looks making a quiet statement.

Strategic use of sheer fabric -- here on sleeves, there on a neckline, overlay or skirt -- gave the illusion of bareness without revealing too much. The look was naturally sexy, without being vulgar.

The light, airy feel of the clothes went with a generally optimistic feeling that has prevailed at the spring 2011 previews at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week.

VICTORIA BECKHAMPicture this: Victoria Beckham in a white matte gazar gown with sculptural pleated shoulders and a waistband adorned with linked microbeads. The dress was part of the spring collection Beckham offered at an elegant mansion off Fifth Avenue to a small, select group of editors, retailers and stylists."I pushed myself with this dress," she said, vowing to wear it to the next big fashion event.The Cadillac-pink shift dress with an asymmetrical, curved neckline is also headed to her personal wardrobe as a daytime traveling dress, and the masculine leather weekender that's part of her new handbag collection can be for husband, David Beckham. Of course, there's a Victoria bag, too -- a polished, squarish shape.Beckham takes the unusual step of personally narrating her show, and with each explanation of a boned bodice or bias cut, her credibility shoots up. She is now treated by the industry as a celebrated designer, not a celebrity.The themes of her spring dresses -- and the collection was only dresses -- was a celebration of curves, she said, taking out some of the corsetry that she previously built silhouettes on, replacing that with oval panels on the bodice that she said would give the same flattering shape with more comfort.DEREK LAMDerek Lam made a strong statement about style next spring without making any noise. The designer defined the quiet chic that has populated many of the runways at the almost halfway point of the shows.The soothing palette in shades of ivory, tan and parchment got boosts from quick contrasts in navy, black and a bit of indigo denim.Silhouettes were lanky and easy. An embroidered poncho worn with a belt looping through the front side only would make a chic daytime dress, and a cashmere silk tank dress-sweater combination in oatmeal was the sort of no-frills look that a woman would reach for again and again.Jeans got the trouser treatment, elevating them to Lam's usual luxe level. And who couldn't use a sleeveless trench dress with the flouncy back peplum that the designer used on several jackets?Airy dresses -- including a blue-and-ivory, scallop-print tiered maxi dress with a halter neckline -- were sheer at the bottom.CATHERINE MALANDRINOCatherine Malandrino took a trip to an artists' village in the south of her native France with crackled leathered bolero jackets, flowing gowns in breezy jersey and wide-legged trousers in terra-cotta, olive and clay.She was true to her free-spirited roots as her models stood as statuary on pylons in a Lincoln Center courtyard.Black macrame gladiator sandals to the thigh were paired with slash tops and teeny knit bottoms. A long dress worthy of the beach was hand-crocheted in ivory with open ovals from the chest to the bellybutton. Jackets in leather and macrame included suede patchwork and metal studs in short-sleeve and sleeveless versions finished with single and double zippers.Worthy of a walk in the sand or drinks on the terrace were her loosely pleated, high-waisted trousers in washed linen, harem pants and print tunics and tanks.Malandrino's palette paid homage to ceramics maker Roger Capron and the southern French village of Vallauris.CYNTHIA ROWLEYIn the rarified world of Lincoln Center, perhaps it's the equivalent of borrowing a cup of sugar: Designer Cynthia Rowley, to debut her spring fashion collection, asked the new neighbors at the New York City Ballet if she could borrow its backdrops for her show.The ballet company obliged, so Rowley's lovely, polished clothes were presented with sets of "Swan Lake" and "Romeo and Juliet" standing tall behind the models.The swing toward sophisticated styles is part of the evolution of fashion, Rowley said in an interview later Saturday.The first look out was an otherwise simple taupe dress, but cutout dots like a Connect Four unit made it new and interesting. The same goes for all the transparent panels on sweaters and polos, and the colored pebblelike embellishment on shirts, shorts and a cocktail party-ready shift dress.PRABAL GURUNGPrabal Gurung is showing the growth and maturity of a designer who wants to stick around.And the industry seems ready to support this Singapore-born, Nepal-raised young man for the long haul. Top-name retailers, editors and stylists, including Rachel Zoe and Ikram Goldman -- known to work with first lady Michelle Obama -- gave him hearty applause.Gurung took a bit of a risk on his third-ever runway, starting with colorblocked cashmere knits. It was a statement worth making: Gurung wants to dress real women -- women of style, mind you, but not those obsessed with trends.Styles included a slim-fitting white scuba sheath with blue satin inserts, or an ivory silk crepe version with asymmetrical tulle inserts. The sand-washed silk duchesse trench and its curved insets were the right modern twist for a venerable classic.Z SPOKE ZAC POSENZac Posen, clearly pleased with the runway show, pumped his arm in the air as he took his bow to mark his return to the main stage of New York Fashion Week.Posen had been the toast of the town for several seasons, lining his front row with top-tier celebrities, staging elaborate musical performances and turning out photogenic, theatrical clothes -- clothes that very few people would have to occasion to wear, by the way.He recently switched gears, doing more intimate shows of more practical daytime clothes away from the tents that are the hub of the seasonal previews. And then he announced that he was moving his collection catwalk to Paris.Still, there was his contemporary Z Spoke collection to show, and he did his preview with the swagger that he had before.Z Spoke doesn't have the craftsmanship or drama of his signature label, but the fruit salad-inspired styles -- really, T-shirts with apples and pineapples, among them -- were colorful, cheerful and trendy, and would look appealing on retailers' racks.CHARLOTTE RONSONCharlotte Ronson stayed so true to her grunge roots, she may well have raided Courtney Love's closet.Ronson showed some floral dresses with slouchy hoodies with models wearing beanie hats. For shoes, it was high heel booties, strappy heels and espadrilles with scrunched up socks.Ronson said she was inspired by the "vibrant romance of Spain," so she used a lot of floral prints and Moorish-type embroidery, which she paired with the androgynous feel of grunge."It's definitely the grunge era. I grew up in that. That's when you are discovering your own sense of style and it meant a lot," she said. "That's kind of my style too."It may be a style best left in the past for those beyond their teenage years. But one striking outfit was a black silk embroidered top with a matching long skirt with tiered ruffles.