Thakoon, The Row, Diane von Furstenberg, Carolina Herrera Stephanie Colgan for The New York Times THAKOON A wing-sleeve cotton poplin and crepe de Chine dress with a birdcage bodice. "It's mostly cotton and organza," Ashley Olsen said. "We were thinking of an English garden," said her sister, Mary-Kate, clutching a paper coffee cup. The Carlyle Hotel on Monday was a long way from a garden, English or otherwise, and Ashley's laundry-sounding summation of The Row turned out to be a typical bit of Olsen reserve. Even if their collection doesn't deliver the creative blast of some other labels, the Olsens" perspective on fashion engages, mostly for its separateness. It's funny: they have won the industry's highest accolade, they have the respect of retailers, yet their clothes remain beautifully those of outsiders. They did work with papery white cotton and delicately pleated georgette for airy coats, side-draped trousers and a cool halter tunic in two shades of white. They also showed outfits in khaki, deep red and two tones of navy. But it was the Olsens" long, lightly layered silhouette that put this collection on a different level. You associate them with long things, but these clothes were far more particular, whether a neat red blazer with a cord tie and long matching skirt or a blue silk-linen dress with a low back that seemed to blend English Regency with Japanese folk. The spring collections got a kick of energy as other designers also showed longer lengths and pretty volumes. Carolina Herrera could have skipped the girly crepe shorts and jackets in her strong collection, and just focused on her long, dreamy, lightly color-blocked dresses - the best in pearl-pink silk with a scattering of red-flecked embroidery at the neck and hem. And despite a sooty palette at Theyskens" Theory and the amount of black leather, Olivier Theyskens's collection showed more vitality than last season, maybe because he gave real value to just about everything he put out on the runway, from terrific coat dresses to a crinkled blouson top to an over-scaled navy coat with a black leather mini. In her fashion, Diane von Furstenberg refers to the plot of her life - princess, yacht-borne gypsy - but it is clever enough to snip away the nostalgia. She served up palazzo pants and draped tunics, repetitively, but it's the way she used that loose attitude to refresh a suit, in terra cotta crepe with a notched white edge that surprised. Also compelling were new jackets, scooped in front and trimmed with tiny metal beads, and shown with slouchy trousers or silk shorts. And there were hybrids of a vest and soft blouse - a nod to the practical, self-sufficient woman that DVF projects. Beyond the Google glasses Ms. von Furstenberg had on her runway, technology has also give designers freedom to combine disparate elements, through bonding, laser-cutting, photo printing. Derek Lam and Thakoon Panichgul employed some of those techniques in their very grown-up collections. But even more striking was a quiet insistence of feminine shapes. Mr. Panichgul's opening number, a strapless dress in white silk duchess, followed the curves of some erotic birdcage, enhanced by a birdcage print. The dress was gorgeous. Gentleness pervaded the collection, as well as self-assurance, with hummingbirds and flowers embroidered on shifts and poplin chemises with collage fronts. Mr. Lam's woman seems to have her nose in an old-fashioned book. Which is hardly a demerit, but it does convey a healthy distance from fashion. That feels right at the moment. I couldn't decide if Mr. Lam's many knee-length skirts were meant to be awkward. In the end, I decided to admire the difference they cut. Also strong was a slim sleeveless dress in a leafy mixture of green and brown madras (who uses madras today?), a puffy white cotton pullover that was a nice departure from a flat T-shirt, and slim dresses and tops made of three layers of contrasting meshlike lace. Mr. Lam's colors are wonderfully strange: spruce with icy gray, marigold with azure blue. Again, this is part of the fashion territory that he has wisely staked as his own.