The fluid nature of resort allows for creative presentation. For her part, Stella McCartney invited editors and fans like Kate Hudson, Lola Schnabel, and Jeff Koons out for a garden party at the West Village's rarely traversed Jefferson Market Garden. (It must pay to be earth-friendly: Mother Nature obliged with a perfect evening.) "To take what I do and do it better," said McCartney of her aim for the collection. Sure enough, the designer's signatures—terrific tailored blazers, easy T-shirt dresses, girlish organza blouses, popcorn knits—were all present and accounted for on the models lounging on gingham picnic blankets (strewn with rubber ducks and retro lollipops). Of course, she cut the pretty and wearable with typical cheek: bright bags and shoes, a brooch spelling "Mother," and a swirling sailboat print that was like a postcard picked up on the boardwalk.
