Baby Phat/KLS by Kimora Lee Simmons RTW Spring 2009

While heavy traffic in the “Fab Lane” was surely to blame for the hour-late start, it was smooth sailing once the lights went up on Kimora Lee Simmons’ lineup. Perhaps owing to her jet-set lifestyle and a recent vacation to Africa, Simmons, who also celebrated Baby Phat’s 10th anniversary, approached a Seventies theme from two angles: with pretty Halston-esque jersey dresses in sherbert hues — tangerine, lilac, mint — and safari-inspired pantsuits and belted vests. She pays attention to trends, with this season’s harem jumpsuits as examples, but her quest for the new and now was puzzling, as with those Native American looks and frocks that hewed too closely to last season’s florals and lace. Subtlety — perhaps an unfamiliar concept to the larger-than-life Simmons — proved key here.