I hustled into the Herve Leger Spring 2010 show amidst throngs of bandage dressed women of all ages.

What I noticed first and foremost was that although most of these Leger devotees had overdone it one way or another – moms and their mini-me daughters in matching nightclub ready scuba uber-minis forcing comparisons, loads of make-up, black patent leather, fussy blond coifs and naked flesh at 3pm – the show itself was surprisingly earthy.

This is not to say that Max Azria abandoned Leger’s signature body-con hubba-hubba I expected to see. He just took his cash-cow formula and reconsidered the possibilities. He exposed it to the sun and worked from there. Passage thru the red-ropes wasn’t the designer’s m.o. this time.

>> See more images from the Herve Leger spring collection

What was nice and fresh were the fabrications, treatments and sun-softened beachy palette which evoked a pinch of country sensibility mixed with some lackadaisical surfer girl. The clothes were still sexy and bare and bum skimming and every exit pants-free, but they were nuanced, not one note: Sexy arts n’ crafts. There was crochet bits of strass, piecey denim patchwork, knotted suede and tumbled silk.

The best looks were the least expected.

Here a soft sand colored dress with a crocheted bodice and flared skirt made of ribbons and for later, the slightest black slip dress under a web of knotted black suede strips.

>> See our complete runway coverage and fashion show photos

The girls wore variations of sun-washed and faded leather cowboy booties, scrubbed and slightly tanned skin and bed-hair, nothing else. Over-all, the clothes also had a slight of hand and a wash-n-go feel that I appreciated. – Andrea Perini