Cédric Charlier belongs to what you might term the Neo-Classic New Guard. After working under Michael Kors at Céline and Alber Elbaz at Lanvin, he showed his first solo collection in February of 2012; his often ageless, always elegant collections have been a part of Nordstrom's Designer Collections for about two years.

Nordstrom's vice president of designer collections, Jennifer Wheeler, says Charlier is just the sort of talent she wants in our stores; his way with color and small but impactful details elevates time-honored silhouettes, and he manages to gracefully coast in and out of each season's most relevant motifs and elements.

Take a look at how he's mixing crisp shirting, sunny blue tones and soft, movement-ready shapes for spring -and find out what our VP says is Charlier's essential wisdom.

Charlier presented his collection on a river-level walkway of the Cité de la Mode et du Design.

If you looked out one way: the river. If you turned in toward the runway, you got the hyper-real urban colors of industry and expression.

The line itself felt ready for both the city and the natural environment. Sturdy, go-anywhere gladiators underscored blue and white pinstripe cotton, and strong, wide, obi-like wrap belts were featured prominently.

There was a feeling of both nautical ease and menswear in the air, and yet also of wide-open plains-like taking a working holiday in a seaside house on a prairie.

After the show Wheeler told me she especially appreciated the patchwork-like summer dress and the reimagined blue shirt pictured above, as well as the spring-hued camo variation of the jacket pictured immediately below.

"He makes things interesting with his details and his fabric choices, and I loved that he showed everything with sandals. He knows how women want to live their lives," she told me.

Later this week I'll be meeting with Charlier in his studio and showroom to talk more about his process and what's in store; check back as we wrap up Fashion Week with that more detailed discussion.

Nordstrom's Jennifer Wheeler (right) with the head of Cédric Charlier's sales team

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Shop: current season Cédric Charlier

-Laura Cassidy