Mr. van Noten's was one of the few collections with gusto. A designer who has evolved in the shadow of similarly talented peers, Mr. van Noten works with a quiet authority that suggests longevity. Perhaps it is because his clothes often gently prod one to rethink classic combinations, to cross ethnicities and to ignore gender lines. Or it may be the nomadic aura and all its mystery and romance that hover about his collections vividly or like a lingering fragrance.

This time, Mr. van Noten's wonderfully worn hobos traveled the world -- or at least the runway -- lighted by hundreds of flashlights that the fashion company had given out, transforming the dimly lighted audience into a horde of fireflies twinkling in the night. The lights picked up models in misty brown trousers roomy enough to sleep in, rough and romantic flocked velvet jackets and rich silk and wool scarfs, with canvas and leather bags slung over their shoulders. Sometimes Mr. van Noten combined patterns like pinstripes and tartans down the opening of a jacket, so it looked worn out and patched.

John Rocha achieved the same appeal with a less rumpled, less complicated style. There was a more studied air to his black and white tweed trousers matched with black and white pinstripe jackets, gleaming mohair suits and inky jackets ornamented with jet along a collar or sleeve.

It was the newcomer Raf Simons, along with Mr. Mugler, who showed best the obsession with precise tailoring that has overtaken many men's wear designers. Mr. Simons's theater-of-the-absurd presentation, with a battalion of women dressed in his black jackets and helmets and men in orange-red lipstick to match their shirts, was a spectacle that served the young designer well in showcasing his tailoring alchemy.

Mr. Simons possesses as strong a vision as any recent fashion talent, freely combining elements of punk with the style of the traditional gentleman. Mr. Simons used his lipstick-wearing models as if they were a group of clones to display his virtuosity in sculpturing black pants, whether sharp stovepipes or wide-leg trousers that fell below the heels of shoes. The same routine called attention to his brilliant jackets. Individual models showed off black cobweb sweaters and a leather biker coat with multiple zippers.