New York Fashion Week: 3.1 Phillip Lim

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Our friends over at Racked NY are currently in the thick of New York Fashion Week, and we'll be posting some highlights of their coverage. This time around: laid-back luxury for the it-set from 3.1 Phillip Lim.

Show location: The Tent at Bryant Park
The skinny: Between the red runway, the angled mirrors, the mix of bluesy Bob Dylan and Phoenix on the soundtrack, and the heavily textural dresses and tops, Phillip Lim's spring 2010 show was the best kind of sensory overload.
Celebs spotted: Leighton Meester, Lauren Conrad, Alexa Chung, Cory Kennedy, Amanda Setton, Olivia Thirlby, and we hear unconfirmed rumors of Sting (?)
The takeaway: You will wear this, and you will look sexy in it. Lim managed to make a collection full of luxe details (leather skirts, embellished dresses, lace) look natural and understated instead of flashy. We were especially into the metallics, which had the muted sheen of a wet city window instead of the disco glitter we've been seeing everywhere else.

2:02pm: We're into the main Tent for the 3.1 Phillip Lim show and already we've spotted Nina Garcia from Marie Claire.

2:05pm: Phillip Lim always puts some effort into decorating his runways. This time there are angled mirrors at the end, reflecting the red runway

2:06pm: Second Lauren Conrad sighting today. Doesn't she have like, clothes of her own to go design?

2:12pm: Rachel Zoe's assistant Brad is here, and people are totally swarming a brunette with hair in braids. Could it be Alexa Chung?

2:17pm: We see Elle's gorgeous Robbie Myers and Kate Lanphear, although they are not seated together.

2:20pm: Thinking that this girl in a pink button-down shirt is Amanda Setton of Gossip Girl. Not quite sure yet.

2:23pm: Oh no! Bryanboy twittered us that he's running late. Run, Bryanboy, run!

2:26pm: Wow, Cory Kennedy is here. That usually means that The Cobrasnake is to be found doing his usual crotch sniffing photography in the vicinity.

2:28pm: Richard Chai is here because he is friends with Lim, which is very nice. Oh SNAP! Leighton Meester just arrived, thereby eclipsing everyone one in the mind of the paparazzi.

2:30pm: Show is starting any minute now as they let in the group of standing guests.

2:35pm: We hear that Bryanboy has just barely made it, and now it's starting!

2:36pm: The red runway is breathtaking underneath the lights. The music is playing Bob Dylan's "Mr. Jones."

2:39pm: First look out is a red pantsuit. Refinery29 just tweeted an amazing picture of the first looks out at Lim here. The red light kinda ruins the colors.

2:41pm: We are seeing very rich colors; scarlet and lavender and gold with leather and—yes—city shorts!

2:43pm: The bedazzled trend continues with sequins at Lim.

2:45pm: Actually seeing a lot of shorts in red and black, even metallic.

2:46pm: We have cropped trenches, long trenches, trenches trenches trenches! When there is a dress, it has applique on the front.

2:48pm: And it's over. The finale reminded us these dresses sport very exposed back zippers, a la Narciso Rodriguez. Stay tuned for the full review and gallery!

· Offsite: Phillip Lim's Got The Beats (menswear) [Racked]
· All Fashion Week Spring 2010 Stories [Racked]