For most Partow collections, there’s no singular concept that sparks the design process, no lone image tacked to the moodboard wall before the rest of the ideas fill in. Most often, a collection is driven by the fabric first, and this season was no exception. The brand has recently built out an Italian-based team and has engaged with both new factories and new techniques. With these opportunities, designer Nellie Partow was eager to show off a fresh, albeit subtle, bag of tricks.

One aspect of newness appeared in the hand-draped chintz cotton that was present on both an asymmetrical blue dress and a white top of the same one-shouldered design. The fabric’s smooth sheen and sloping shapes demonstrated fluidity while hidden boning lent unexpected structure—a conversation between “ease and control,” as Partow described it. A colorblocked button-down shirt presented a similar, but more visually apparent contrast, with the white swatch across the bottom half giving the illusion of a boxy crop when paired with a pair of black, wide-legged pleated pants.

Of course, Partow also couldn’t resist tinkering with the rest of the American sportswear classics once again. Front-pleated denim and a healthy suite of blazer options are as central to the brand as they are to the category. A modern crop or an angular extra pocket added a sense of polish that the designer finds easily reflected by the sophisticated wardrobe of a New York woman. “I think I’m always trying to find a reality steeped in what is going on in a woman’s life and what she needs,” said Partow. “And so I’m always looking for how you create that and then push the envelope.”