Henry Holland has come a long way from his punchy slogan tees, and it's to his credit that his development as a designer hasn't muddled his sense of pop. The House of Holland collection on the runway today showed a ton of finesse, but it was happily unpretentious, featuring mod shapes tricked out in bright stripe, zigzag, and houndstooth patterns. Holland's best ideas here centered on the houndstooth: He magnified the print, turned it out in gradient hot pink and purple or in a more subdued, shiny blue, and then came back with several garments embroidered in a kind of disembodied version, one in which some of the checks had randomly dissolved or disappeared. Elsewhere, his color-blocked dresses in a fine stripe had a youthful punch; on the runway, at least, they looked great paired with skinny-striped bell-bottoms. Holland also had some winners in his multicolored zigzag silks and intarsia knits. The show could have used some editing—all of Holland's big ideas were repeated more times than absolutely necessary, and there were a few stray garments, like a red leather skirt with ruffled hem, or a fitted workman-style jumpsuit, that seemed a little out of place. (That said, they were perfectly nice pieces taken on their own.) On the whole, though, this was a strong outing for Holland—possibly his strongest yet.
