Click for more looks from Milly by Michelle Smith Spring/Summer 2014.

At a hell raising ninety-three degrees Fahrenheit, Lincoln Center was subject to a heat wave all of Manhattan thought it had dodged. The temperature ceased to drop even inside the tents, where attendees of the Milly’s Spring/Summer 2014 runway show fanned themselves manically with their program folders. Perhaps it was the global warming weather working its charms, or perhaps it was another factor.

Milly’s collection for this season was hot enough alone to set the entire audience into a lightheaded frenzy. As the lights shut off and the music turns on, we catch ourselves asking: global warming who?

Creating garments that served as optical illusions that easily fool the eye, designer Michelle Smith used 3D fabrics and imposed clever layering techniques to create a perforated transparency that referenced modern Japanese architecture. Laser-cut honeycomb garments resembling mesh from afar dominated the runway, usually thrown over a less holey but equally flesh-baring piece.

Examples include a white perforated bolero jacket worn over a mesh-like tee, which was simultaneously layered on top of an orange bralette and short hot pants peeking through the hole infested fabric of a calves grazing midi skirt. The term ‘fashion inception’ comes to mind if there were one to describe this unique play on fabrics.

A bass heavy tune blasts through the speakers along with a robotic voice chanting “Eat. Sleep. Rave. Repeat.” Fittingly, rave-appropriate neon colors made surprising splashes against an otherwise neutral backdrop of black and white. Case in point: a citron bralette flashing under a perforated black sweatshirt and a pair of tangerine micro shorts lighting up a white honeycomb midi skirt. More complex prints include Japanese and Hawaiian inspired floral prints that juxtapose contrasting colors so that they complemented more than they clashed.

Perfectly proportioned in the most imperfect way, looks reflected Smith’s bold take on mixing-and-matching different shapes and silhouettes. A boxy bomber jacket paired with a curve hugging pencil skirt, a voluminous swing coat paired with high-waisted micro shorts: not too loose but not too tight, the entire collection walked this fine line without missing a step.

When it comes to pretty clothes, there are very few who can do it better than Milly. But unfortunately, pretty simply doesn’t cut it. As this show proved, Smith not only understands this hard-cold reality but responds to it by producing a collection that is innovative, clever, and original. Just beauty? Eh. Beauty and brains? We’re impressed.

Marina Zheng is the deputy features editor. Email her at [email protected].