There are plenty of places to hold a fashion show besides Lincoln Center New York Fashion Week locales, and the Saunder Spring 2013 presentation made good use of one of the best. Held in a soaring room at the Industria studio in the Meatpacking district (a favorite for magazine photo shoots), Emily Saunders' well-attended third collection show kicked off Fashion Week a day before it officially begins.

Moving away from her usual stable of neutrals, Emily played with brights and different silhouettes more than she ever has. The collection, which she describes as "inspired by a nostalgia for the seaside town where [she] grew up," can be separated into two distinct groups: the clothing bounced between looks anchored by pajama separates in bright, blocky prints and floating bronze and white gowns. It all gave the effect of little girls playing in their mother's closets, perhaps after a day at the beach (the hair was wet and swept in to messy ponytails) or at a slumber party.

The biggest issue was the footwear--the usual Saunder staples of chunky black suede and leather heels didn't do much to set off the clothes this round, though you can't really fault Emily for that as she didn't design the things. The white and salmon tailored jackets with lapels a la Maison Martin Margiela more than made up for that, and displayed a quickly developing talent for structure on the part of Ms. Saunders.