Toni Maticevksi Spring 2010.
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Designer Toni Maticevski has not yet broken into the mainstream in the U.S. though he's a successful designer in his native Australia. His stateside insider status is partly by design. While Maticevski shows during the New York shows, he doesn't actively court retailers or celebrities. His shows, which combine a mix of fragile dresses with an occasional aggressive touch, are meant to appeal to private clients. In a zig away from runway routine, the designer does not leave collection and inspiration notes on front row seats, arguing that his clothes should be strong enough to communicate his design motifs.

While Maticevski's aesthetic veers more towards the avant-garde than mainstream, his intellectual take on classic beauty will find fans among fashion-forward women who want to wear something feminine yet subversive.

Elements in Spring's 2010 collection include hand-singed tulle, black acrylic painted T-shirts and skirts and silk chiffon strips sewn to suggest wilting flowers. The intended effect is an organic earthiness to the clothes, such as a white one-shoulder gown that floats with each step but also looks constructed out of the chiffon version of days-old lilies.

"If you look under a microscope, [leaves and petals] have all got these beautiful little veiny textures," Maticevski says. "It's almost like amping that up. But because the chiffon is so soft, it wilts over and you get these layering of tones."

"It's not just about having a beautiful evening dress," he adds. "Everything had a quirk that was a bit off-center and unexpected."

He admits his clothes aren't always easy to digest. The newest collection featured dresses in a liquid leather that Maticevski acknowledged would find few fans. "I knew a lot of people would not get it, but then I thought I'm not doing it for that reason," he says. The black dresses contrasted with the light airiness of ballgowns and skirts, he says.

"I didn't want [the collection] to be too sugary sweet, pretty," Maticevski says. "Pretty is easy to understand."