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Matthew Williamson Spring 2005 Ready-to-Wear

Matthew Williamson never lets his fans down, generally because they always know what to expect—there are rarely surprises to be found at his shows. True to that, his loyalists are sure to embrace his spring collection, called Beyond the Horizon. He set a pretty stage, with a backdrop of clouds by photographer Sanchita Islam and a front row that included Damon Dash, Amy Sacco, and Plum Sykes. But as a whole, the collection came out somewhat scattered, running from tattoo prints to nautical looks to fluorescent highlights.

That hot-hued palette worked best on a sporty striped sweater, but less well on see-through blouses worn with Daisy Dukes. His print of the season—rainbows with metallic stars—was kitschy, but cute in a seventies way. The strongest items were his fit-and-flare dresses, executed with rich peasant touches like smocking and embroidery. A tattoo-print muslin smock dress was also done well, and a gold lamé corset dress should soon show up on a red carpet near you.