Waris Ahluwalia in the front row is a sure sign of fashion hipster credibility. How does Cynthia Rowley acquire such cred? By pulling cute stunts like this: The room goes dark and Gotham Hall gets very quiet. All of a sudden a large white wall falls with a shocking thud to reveal a forest diorama. Lights and music burst on as the first model struts out to thunderous applause.

Applause at the start of a show is pretty rare, so my expectations were high. The collection was an eclectic mix that included all of the following: floral prints, a leather jacket, cosmic metallics, layers in the shape of forest flora and much more. It was quirky, it was feminine, it was beautiful.

Find her line at her West Village boutique, and check out several whole seconds of Canon Powershot video coverage below.

Cynthia Rowley Fall 2008 from New York Shopping on Vimeo.