When I first looked at some of the pieces in the spring collection for BCBG Max Azria the first thing that came to mind was harnesses.  It was very subtle on some pieces while clearly evident in others.  It was actually a good balance that didn’t make it look too harsh.  Lubov Azria told style.com, “We have day harnesses, we have night harnesses.”  The design team listed photographer Helmut Newton as the inspiration for this collection.  He was known for his erotic and sexually charged images often seen in fashion magazines like Vogue.

The collection was mainly black and white with small pops of colour in soft shades like coral or cream.  The look of harnesses are often associated with sex and S&M which brings us back to the Helmut Newton reference.  Some say the popularity of the book ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ also had a little bit of influence in this collection.

Although it has its sexual references it’s also a very modest collection with the lengths of dresses long and fluid rather than short.  Mrs. Azria was quoted in style.com saying, “I don’t think you need to show a lot of skin to be sexy.”  The garments all had soft movement and although strapped in harness detailing it still had a delicate feminine, element to it.