The Wild Bunch: Society for Rational Dress S/S 09

Long ago, smooth-talking poet Robert Herrick urged women to "gather ye rosebuds while ye may." But after clapping eyes on Society for Rational Dress's S/S 09 lookbook, we'll be gathering our fabric instead, pal. The collection—presented in a cool palette of mint green, grays, off-whites, and a dusky mauve—features a dominant theme of artfully gathered material that fans out in soft pleats, whether cinched at the diaphragm to form two draping, ribcage-sized sections, pinned back at the shoulders by epaulets on an airy cream-colored top, or bunched at the lower back of a silk V-neck minidress with exposed sides. The standout piece, the graphite-hued Belt Jumper, also gets the gathered treatment, with leather watchband-like fasteners positioned at each armpit. Pleats, sir, can we have some more?