EIGHTIES REVIVAL At the finale of the runway show for her spring 2009 collection yesterday, designer Nanette Lepore and her daughter, Violet, appeared wearing T-shirts bearing the plea, “Save the Garment Center.” Ms. Lepore’s show at the Promenade under the Bryant Park tents made the best case for what can happen when a young talent is nurtured by the fashion industry in New York — the designer has said she started “with a $5,000 loan and a dream.” Her collection was creative, focused, and simply beautiful. The contrasts of patterns and textures worked well, as in a floral print blouse paired with a loose turquoise and white beaded jacket; a fitted striped dress with a crisscross overlay of thin turquoise ribbon, and a floral print dress with a sparkling dark gray band at the hem. Ms. Lepore is a master with jackets, and the ones she sent down the runway came two ways: straight, long, and narrow, or with fitted waists, ruffles, flounces, and puffed sleeves. A belted sweater that was long in the front and cropped in the back was a clever look.

Tory Burch has built her eponymous brand with a glamorous take on casual resort wear. In her spring 2009 collection presented Tuesday night at the Matthew Marks Gallery, the strongest new spin on this formula was a vivid salmon evening gown cinched with a tan leather belt. But the rest of the line featured hippie, military, and even preppy-punk looks that her most fashion forward clients (or the ones too young to remember how they looked in balloon pants) will go for. For an indication of which looks will do well for Ms. Burch, one needs look no further than what she herself wore to her presentation and party in Chelsea: a floral tunic dress and a huge glittering floral and pearl necklace by Louis Vuitton. Ms. Burch is smart, though: She knows that in addition to her clients such as Lynn Wyatt and Marjorie Gubelmann, who favor the classics, others with a taste for the bohemian, including Marcia Mishaan and Gigi Mortimer, will likely appreciate the latest collection.