The 2014 World Cup may be done and gone, but Rio de Janeiro lives forever in Nicole Miller’s heart. “I have some great memories,” she said backstage of her multiple trips over the years to the wild Brazilian city. Her Spring 2015 ode included a runway made to look like Copacabana’s Portuguese pavement sidewalk: a wavy black-and-white stripe that showed up on a side-slit pencil skirt and a belted trench, too.

The opening look—a crepe ruffle-hem dress with a cross front—was one of the strongest, thanks to its playful silhouette and enticing tropical floral print rendered in shades of peach, jade, and coral. There were plenty more prints, including a fractured design Miller called “origami pineapple,” which looked especially dynamic printed on a pair of high-rise single-pleat linen shorts. They were worn with a white poplin shirt, its wide sleeves hitting just below the elbow. Miller played quite a bit with ruffles, sewing them onto the hems of skinny skirts and stretchy, body-con dresses. (She made a point of minimizing pouf, though. These ruffles were flippy, not froufrou.)

A French version of Peter Allen’s “I Go to Rio” played during the finale as models made the final walk with vintage suitcases in their grip. At that point, the primary urge was to book a ticket.