That evening, in what qualifies as a first for the industry, they sequentially presented Fall collections for Monse and Oscar de la Renta in the same venue. They’ve been charged with bringing some youthful verve to the Oscar brand—with freshening it up. Despite their training and the many months of prep time, this was a disappointing first attempt.

True, it captured the dressed-up sensibility that was the house founder’s calling card, and, yes, it had a more freewheeling sense of pace than the stately Oscar processions of old—those were points in its favor. But it lacked in finesse and a certain degree of taste. The strappy sandals were painfully difficult to walk in. Colors were often garish. And some of the pieces, well, it was a real puzzle what they were doing on an Oscar runway—a multicolored diagonally striped sweater and matching leggings come to mind. Where Oscar’s parade of evening dresses used to surprise and delight in its variety, this failed to do so.

Kim and Garcia have the goodwill of many, so the thing to do now is put this behind them, and book a sunnier space for what will no doubt be a stronger sophomore collection.