There's a certain Karl Lagerfeld quote that always makes me laugh out loud: "Prints are for middle-aged women with weight problems." (For reference, he said it to Cathy Horyn last October at the Paris shows and was talking about Nicolas Ghesquiere's blossom-heavy collection for Balenciaga.) But I like to think that if he took a gander at emerging designer Sariah Carson's eponymous debut for Fall 2008, the famed fashion curmudgeon might have a revised take on his theory.

"The collection was inspired by my honeymoon trip to Korea and Japan last summer," Carson explains. "I was able to take a few traditional painting lessons from my husband's great aunt, a well-known calligrapher in Korea. From there I developed the motifs for the hand painted prints for the collection using the graphic brush stroke technique."

For L.A. girls who prefer subtlety, there are also solid pieces aplenty, including a few wardrobe basics in black. Like Carson, I find myself drawn to their bolder, one-of-a-kind counterparts: "My favorites are the silk mini dress in cerise with dove grey irises or the more cocktail silk faille dress that is white on top with yellow gold trees and a full black skirt."

Well-cut eye candy for sure, and nothing like your dowdy aunt's old housecoat. Rebuttal, Lagerfeld?

Sariah is available at Barneys New York, 9570 Wilshire Boulevard, (310) 276-4400.

- Caroline Stanley

Similar Topics:fall 2008, Fresh Faces 2008, Prints

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