Project Runway's Kristin Haskins Fall Collection... Very Nice!

Kristin Haskins has got fashion talent.

The former Project Runway contestant debuted her Fall/Winter Strangefruit Collection Thursday night to an intimate "in" crowd at the Lowe's Hotel Solstice Room

The collection was great.  Haskins, a former graphic artist who got her start designing T-shirts, has a soft touch when it comes to design. The cottons are plush, but there was enough detailing in the dark dress and trouser ensembles the pieces - my favorite a black, gray and white color-blocked long-sleeved dress with an asymmetrical hem - looked uber professional.

And the presentation was quite classy. Instead of a loud runway show, Haskins outfitted 14 Wilhelmina PA models in her collection so on-lookers could sashay by, wine glass in hand, and see the details. Very nice. Very New York.

Haskins' collection was inspired by Japanese paintings in the 1860s Belle Epoque era. This is what she wrote in her liner notes:

"The use of negative space, sharp diagonals, and "courtesans" dominated the style of many artists during this time. As inspiration for Strangefruit's Fall 2011 collection, I took cues from the combination of the flowing, organic kimonos of the courtesans and their lovers anchored by the prominent diagonals and bold moments in Ukiyo-e prints and Toulouse Lautrec posters."

Haskins appeared on the the most recent season of Lifetime Network's Project Runway. On the show she was outspoken and her talent was peeking through, but alas, the curly-haired designer was eliminated in the third episode.

We hope someone picks up this line and soon. Want more information on the line, go to the Website, check out Bestrangrefruit