Candy Girl

One of the standout looks from the new womenswear label Hubert is a snug, bubble-gum pink body stocking. "I was inspired by candies," says Danish designer Rikke Hubert of her fourth collection. "For this season, I had an image of candy and pastels mixing together in the heat of the summer." The body stocking certainly appears delectable. Sparkling inky stripes spin around its pink bust like a starlight mint, and a braided halter loops around the neck like a licorice twist.

Candy can have a sinister side, though. There's a sugary wickedness to gorging, knowing full well that too many sweets have some dastardly side-effects. Hubert captures some of this darkness—and stops things from getting too maudlin—by coating most of her pieces in lustrous blacks. One such item, a breezy cotton blouse on three of its four sides, transforms into a cropped waistcoat up front, revealing a daring stretch of skin. A hooded wrap dress swallows the wearer in loose, drapey folds, turning a poisoned apple into a suddenly appropriate accessory. The zigzagged neckline on a bindingly tight minidress recalls either the edges of a cupcake wrapper or what remains after a particularly gnashing bite.

"I'm influenced by the dramatic fabrics and shapes you see from a lot of Danish designers," says Hubert. "Jens Laugesen and Stine Goya create very striking clothes, and girls in Denmark aren't afraid to wear them." Growing up on a horse farm outside Copenhagen, Hubert recognizes that "the equestrian life seems pretty much the opposite of fashion. But my mom was always making clothes for me and my sister, so she showed me how to use the sewing machine." Later, Hubert left her steeds and moved into the city where she attended the Fashiondesignakademiet.

Even when the sugary theme has worked its way out of her system, as it does for the upcoming fall collection, the black stays dyed in the wool. The Depeche Mode lyric "she's dressed in black again" thunders through her sketchbook, producing a line of sleek silhouettes that drip with sexuality. The low-cut shawl tops and high-cut cocktail dresses require a girl who's confident and leggy. And to get gams like that, we recommend keeping the sweets in the closet instead of the pantry.

The sweet new designs of Rikke Hubert.