There are certain elements of the fashion world that don’t make much sense to the rest of the world. Each season brings styles — outrageous colors, avant-garde shapes, see-through blouses — that inspire the question: Who’s going to wear that?

While experimental energy pushes fashion forward and offers up some visually stimulating projects, there is a sense of relief at seeing beautiful and comprehensible clothing. And in fashion, the way to spell relief is Michael Kors. Not only does his approach make sense, his presentation of the collection and brand is straightforwardly enthusiastic about style. The music is upbeat. The models don’t wear toy airplanes on their heads. There’s no need to brood or noodle the clothes. They’re not conversation starters or demi works of art. They’re for looking fabulous on the city sidewalk, beach, private jet, or just about anywhere.

For fall 2008, Mr. Kors evoked a theme that is a familiar one for him: the good life, with a Hollywood flair. A thematic reference was especially strong in the menswear: The gents on the runway looked like they had walked out of the film “L.A. Confidential.” Here were detectives, reporters, and a few agency mail-room upstarts wearing fedoras, heavy-rimmed glasses, neat sweaters, and sharp suits.

For the ladies, flattering pencil skirts, wide swing coats, and sheath dresses were presented in a candy-colored palette of purple, pink, cream, and camel. The shapes here emphasized hourglass figures and classic femininity — with an extra plunge here and there. A cashmere pullover looked basic from the front, but with a deep V against the back, it showed off some skin. A sheath dress in camel glenplaid had a low-cut sweetheart neckline — shown with a swingy mink coat — and was every bit the dress a young star would wear.. Some conservative looks didn’t quite cross over into glamour-gal material: A pink-and-tan plaid swing coat looked garish and too vintage. But it was made up for with a series of dresses and tunics in a gray ikat fabric that looked more up-to-date. The show closed with evening gowns that are simple and beautiful enough to earn any celebrity some good red-carpet press.

If Mr. Kors plays it safe, so be it. His talent is in the ability to produce a consistent stream of attractive clothes at various price levels. It’s when designers veer off their paths that trouble starts brewing. And it happened earlier in the week at the Vivienne Tam show. Ms. Tam knows how to create flattering clothes that make sense, but her fall 2008 pieces did not. Dresses and tops came with square tents of fabric perched on the shoulders as if to make every girl a “Star Trek” general. Hemlines were too short, and a few Mickey Mouse appliqués seemed simply out of place.

That said, Ms. Tam created some winning pieces from a textured fabric so rich it looked like swirls of satin on black leather. A pretty cocktail dress covered with floral cuts had promise, as did a sheer bubble skirt filled with cutouts inside. While the high points were fun, the low points were an unfortunate blend of military and Asian motifs that inspire the question: Who’s going to wear that?