"It started with a dot," Naeem Khan said backstage after his
opulent show (which boasted the week's best celeb, Matt Damon,
in the front row). By "a dot" Khan meant a bindi—the decorative
mark or jewel worn by Indian women to ward off evil or signify
marriage—which he co-opted as the jumping-off point for an
exploration of Indian body art.  Using evening coats and gowns
in a palette of taupe, sand, and black as stand-ins for actual
skin, Khan beaded, threaded, and appliquéd the collection's
pieces with geometric prints and classic Indian paisleys. The
embellishments followed the garments' seams or played elegantly
off the body's lines and curves. They created allover prints
that looked beautifully organic. Where there wasn't pattern,
there was texture. A black pouf of ostrich feathers made for a
buoyant skirt on a cocktail dress with a top made of black,
ivory, and silver beads. Another—a breezy, dropped-waist dress
in silk faille—was decorated with both abstract felt appliqués
and small mirrored discs.  Soun