It’s kind of like running a marathon after a marathon:

Immediately after his show Friday morning, Peter Som headed uptown to Tommy Hilfiger’s studio, where he would continue more work. (Som consults for the designer, who’s showing this Sunday).

But let’s hope Som finds some time to celebrate his own success later. Not just any collection could shake the slumber from an audience that dragged their designer heels to Milk studios by (gasp!) 9am after Fashion Week’s first night of festivities—but Som did just that.

As the first dress bounced down the runway, postures straightened, whispers hushed, and digital cameras woke up at the same time as their owners.

The culprit was not the show’s spectacle (in fact, a sleepy soundtrack of The Shins, Nick Drake, and Fleetwood Mac made the perfect lullaby). Instead, the wake-up call was the color: flamingo pinks, electric turquoises, and sunbeam yellows that pulsated life into Som’s ladylike silhouettes and fabrics (tweed, brocade, and lace).

The result was an utterly wearable, playful spring collection alive with the color and detail largely missing from the spring shows so far.

While neutrals and minimalism may be ubiquitous right now, Som’s ahead of the curve on the bounce back effect. After all, a girl can only have so many sandstone sheaths before she wants a statement party dress.

Som fills that nice for spring, and smartly so.

**All photos by Julia Silverman.