(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-06-10 15:08

Model wears a design at a presentation of the Isaac Mizrahi Spa 2009 collection in New York on Thursday, June 5, 2008.[Agencies]

Just when the Resort trend appears to be loose, flowing frocks or shapeless sack dresses, Isaac Mizrahi can turn around make a girdle dress look just as easy and about a hundred times more sharp, as he did in his Spa 2009 collection, aka Resort, which he presented in his showroom in New York, Thursday, June 5.

"This is our Spanx dress," joked Mizrahi, about a streamlined silk and wool dress (Mizrahi calls the fabric "tonic") in a bone-like color with a built-in corset. Paired with a smart Spencer jacket, it's the kind of look you'd want to wear as you board the plane.

Juicy citrus colors like tangerine were juxtaposed navy and Nile blue, as though creamsicles were raining from the sky, and a toile print inspired by the cover a notebook was on a peach acid trip.

Mizrahi does flounced dresses well, whether short-skirted and high-waisted or composed of tiered ruffles, while his Katharine Hepburn-esque wide-legged pants, in a cotton and silk blend, were designed to look dressy while still maximizing comfort.

Goddess gowns inspired by ancient Greece and Rome, such as a neon flower print gown ("Our noisiest dress," said Mizrahi) or a gorgeous pale watercolor striped v-neck gown, afforded the possibility of letting one's hair down while still looking done up when it came time to put the tailored pieces back in the suitcase for the evening.