Paris Fashion Week: 6267 - That dress!

Ever since Roberto Rimondi and Tommaso Aquilano of 6267 sent their S/S 2008 collection down the runway in Milan last week, everyone has been talking about that dress.

In her glowing review,

said the big surprise of the show came "when the models turned to show a wide dress morph into a sinuous shape at the back. It sounds tricky, but the idea worked,

offering one of the most intriguing contrasts of the season." Of the show's standout piece, Nicole Phelps of Style.com said that "Rimondi and Aquilano have an untapped avant-garde streak: Coming, the dress looked like a sculptural, full-blown trapeze; going, it revealed itself to be a body-skimming, provocative sheath."

(Note: Unfortunately, no photo of that dress, but another one with similarly constrasting construction is pictured to the left)

Lucky for me, though I missed the show in Milan, I was invited to tea at Place du Marché St Honoré in Paris yesterday evening to take a closer look at the collection. I dragged Jason Campbell of the JC Report along with me -- and we were not disappointed and not alone.

The design duo welcomed a steady stream of buyers, many of whom had already placed their orders in Milan, but still came by just to say hello. The biggest contingent came from New York, with buyers from Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman and Edit, a new boutique shortly to open on the Upper East Side, all in attendance.

There is no doubt that this was one of the best collections of the entire fashion week season, with an impeccable polish and luxury finishing that belies 6267's short history. When so many young fashion brands struggle with production, how do Rimondo and Aquilano do it?

Their secret is a close partnership with Castor srl, the Italian production house run by the Picozzi family, who have worked with the designers from the start and who bring years of experience in Italian luxury production and product development. With Castor's in-house atelier and connections to some of the finest luxury RTW production labs in Italy, the designers are able to stretch the boundaries of their imagination with exclusive fabrics, digital prints and one-of-a-kind construction that have even the toughest critics singing their praises.

It's no wonder people at Prada and Dolce & Gabbana are paying attention. This is definitely a label to watch.