When last we encountered Tess Giberson, at an appointment for Resort, she was talking about a book she’d stumbled on, a survey of Palm Springs pools. This season, Giberson was referring to the book again—except this time she’d raised her gaze from those pools and taken in the larger “water environments” that denizens of Palm Springs had built in their backyards in the desert. The most evocative looks here conjured the mottled tone and texture of the desert and its ceiling of pale blue, endless sky—to wit, a beige crocheted singlet studded with beads, a nubby striped linen trench, and all the good-looking, very wearable pieces in sky blue stretch cotton. All that was juxtaposed with a riff on synthetics, like the pleated skirt of silver foil. Some of the organic vs. synthetic interplay was hidden in the clothes: A graphic black-and-white jacquard pattern was echoed in pieces woven from technical yarns. Elsewhere, Giberson made the point straightforwardly, as in a half-crochet, half-metallic dress.

On the whole, the collection had a lot of appeal, though for every standout look, like an indigo jumpsuit or a breezy gown of pleats, there was one that felt somewhat out of sync, such as a leather cropped tank/track pant duo. There was also a certain repetitiveness to Giberson’s sheer theme, although those pieces at least helped tell her story. After all, if you were hanging out in a simulated water environment in the Palm Springs desert, wouldn’t you want to wear something as close to nothing as you could?