Wang had a couple of star turns at the Met gala, dressing Emily Ratajkowski in red and the cochair and inaugural poet Amanda Gorman in blue. She herself wore a white cape. They made an on-theme, even patriotic, trio given the exhibition’s focus on the American fashion lexicon. Her new lineup is as vivid as those celebrities’ dresses, in shades of chartreuse, lime green, lilac, and turquoise. Wang’s preference for the color black is well established, so there was a novelty factor to her palette this season too.

A tank top was printed with the words “Not my first rodeo.” Wang has rounded the three-decade mark in business, but she’s keeping her eye on the way young people are dressing on the street. “I’ve noticed a trend toward people being more naked,” she said with a laugh. “I don’t think that’s quite where we’ll ever go—it’s not us. But I tried to bring a certain amount of sensuality.” Cue the collection’s many shorts, some flat fronted and others with blouson-like volumes, which she paired with sweeping capes, off-the-shoulder bandeaus, or bikini tops and blazers. Wang proved just how versatile shorts could be when she wore hers with that white cape and over-the-knee boots at the Met.