The cavernous, multidimensional glass sculptures of Australian artist Sergio Redegalli got Christian Siriano thinking about the “effects of transparency” for Spring 2015. The designer experimented quite a bit with layers, building dresses from sheets of striped organza, or adding spiky crystals as an underskirt peeking out from the bottom of a brocade cocktail dress. A laser-cut, leaf-like embroidery overlaid on sheer organza fabric added texture to a cap-sleeve blouse worn with a long pleated skirt. The color palette was icy, moving from white to glass-green to navy, with graduated colors in between. Many of the textiles were inspired by Brooklyn artist Tara Donovan, whose installations are made out of ordinary things like Styrofoam cups, fishing line, and plastic drinking straws. In some cases, Donovan’s influence worked quite well. For instance, a green bubble lamé looked fetchingly retro on a high-low gown and a full skirt that was paired with a navy crewneck. However, a raffia ball skirt—inspired by the fishing line—had a heftiness to it that felt off when worn with a cropped, thin-strapped tank.

Dramatic eveningwear is Siriano’s bread and butter, and he dutifully offered his client plenty of options, including a jacquard-dot gown with a supersize flounce framing its skirt and a graduated sea-foam dress made of diaphanous diagonal ruffles. But Siriano says that his customer is more interested than ever in pieces for day, so he is working hard to get his sportswear right. A white off-the-shoulder number in a stretch knit worked well, thanks to a slight curve at the collarbone. It was a tiny detail that made it look a little more “dressed,” as Siriano would say, and less off-the-rack. The designer does best when he hits that sweet spot between theatrical and traditional.