If love is a battlefield, then when you head out on the town this summer in search of Mr. Right, suit up in something from emerging designer (and former performance artist!) Karelle Levy of KRELwear Knits, our Fresh Faces in Fashion alum and the latest winner of the national Style Wars competition in New York City. (For those of you who don't know, Style Wars is the fashion equivalent of an "8 Mile"-esque M.C. battle, where designers are challenged to whip found objects into runway-ready looks.)

"I was totally confident, and went in with a bunch of different colored tape (duct and masking), two pairs of scissors tied to my waist, and my costume which I made out of color tests for some past collections," Levy told us. "I had no pre-conceived ideas about what I was going to make, and I didn't really pay much attention to the other competitors." But her MacGyver-like skills under pressure aren't the only thing that's caught our eye.

This Paris-born, Miami-bred talent's knit pieces for Summer 2008 are positively swoon-worthy thanks to her "toobular" design background. Translation: Each garment is made on the fly, with very few seams, creating one-of-a-kind looks that embrace fabric flaws and can be worn in multiple ways. Lightweight and super-comfy, Levy's flattering tops and dresses embrace the female silhouette in all the right places, making them an easy go-to-uniform for everything from a casual lunch on Lincoln Road to an alfresco dinner date with ocean views. They're sophisticated, but just funky enough to raise a few eyebrows; not that we'd expect anything less from a woman who honed her skills at Sfate & Combier, one of the top silk houses in France.

Ready to fall into to Levy's luxurious web? Swing by her Wynwood Art District headquarters and slip into some of this style veteran's seductive summer knits today!

KRELwear Boutique is located at 180 NW 25th Street, (305) 576-4765.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:fashion, spring 2008, Style Wars

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