Sheers. Textures. Color. You could sum up last night’s bass-thumping, high-drama shows in just those few hints of haute couture, but what fun would that be?

Better to begin where I did, next door to Wednesday night’s tents at the Embassy Suites, where kitchen and bath heavyweight Ferguson (with partners Jenn-Air and Whirlpool) hosted a pre-show mingling of local architects and decorators shop-talking their own brand of high design. From there, I headed down to the tents, where I caught up with Charleston style director Ayoka Lucas, and asked what she’s seeing, both on runways and in the crowd. Perhaps a silly question to ask as she’s gushing to a TV camera over a nearby gentleman’s tangerine chinos. But she answered me anyway: pops of color, plenty of it, and “people are showing body, they’re showing their skin this year,” she added, pointing into the crowd and the layers of sheer fabric and crochet detailing worn by many a woman.

Inside, the Style Lounge was a riot of color, starting at local jeweler Stella & Dot’s oversize beads of indigo and aqua and Rosita Jones’ brilliant nail polishes. “I’m selling lots of purple, in all shades, and the metallics are still hanging in as a trend,” said owner Angelique Cunningham. Another accessories trend was leather—cuffs with big gemstones at Heather Hawkins and at Savannah-based Satchel, a clever line of leather snap-close coozies (for the person who has everything?).

But it wasn’t just the accessories making headlines. I ran into a couple of veteran CFW tent-hoppers and asked what struck them about the crowd on this second night of shows. “The locals are out to play,” said one, noting the laid-back vibe of folks chatting each other up on corner daybed seating and at bar tables as if it was a neighborhood cocktail party.

I agreed, and noted (tongue-in-cheek, of course) that I thought the fashion world was supposed to be, ahem, a little snarkier than this? “Isn’t high fashion entitled to a little more, well, ‘bitch factor’ and sizing each other up?” The second gentleman laughed. “Hey, this is Charleston,” he said. “We’re even nice about fashion.”

Inside the tents, the shows opened with the lively street sounds of King Sing, a cardigan-and-sneakers wearing dance/singing troupe that killed it onstage right off the bat, featuring a head-turner in a tribal-minidress caught in the middle of a dancer/singer love triangle. Then retailer Tommy Bahama kicked off the shows with a collection aptly suited for the first day of spring: fresh-faced All-American boys in madras Bermuda shorts, girls in floral cotton dresses, and plenty of cool white linens, playing to our summer-loving Holy City crowd.

Next up, JLINSNIDER served up some edge with bold, animal-bone patterns on dresses and leggings, plus free-form mid-length dresses in striking solids (this gave us our first look of the night at this year’s dreamy yellow trend). The King Street retailer also offered plenty of nods to the sexy sheers Ayoka mentioned earlier, but the real story was the good-girl-meets-bad, crochet-cutout pieces paired with bold, risqué reds underneath.

Just before the evening’s Emerging Designer Competition began, Ayoka and Charleston editor-in-chief Darcy Shankland took to the stage to welcome the crowd to Charleston Magazine Night under the tents and recognize their “10 Most Stylish” from the March issue (on newsstands now)—most of whom were in attendance and looking dapper, of course.

Kids’ clothing designers Kristin and Robert Galmarini of neve/hawk got the competition off to a rollicking start. Their pint-sized models, many rocking charming spectacles (think Jerry Maguire’s little Ray), showed off soft, knit jackets; striped leggings with knee-patch detailing; and comfy gathered skirts. Chassity Evans, mother of two and purveyor of fashion blog Look Linger Love, was seated next to me and said she wanted to buy up the whole collection on the spot.

That was a tough act to follow, audience-wise, but swimsuit designer Jessica Patricia Krupa answered it with a dynamite collection that was as nostalgic as it was inspired. Her designs were dominated by handsome neutrals (whites, khakis, blacks); structured tops with ruching and criss-crossing backs; and high-waisted, form-fitting bottoms. Made me want to high-tail it poolside—a classy pool though, with cocktails and parasols.

Ayoka’s words from earlier (“Textures, girl, and sheers!”) echoed louder than ever when Angela Sum’s snow-white sensations floated down the runway. Knit wool detailing mingled with barely-there sheer, some of it in hand-dyed neons, and I can tell you, the Judges Panel was intrigued.

Ra Jang’s shiny, textured pieces and purple floral prints were edgy and interesting. There were more flashes of neon here, and so much good-looking black that I couldn’t help think it was a bit more New York than Charleston, even for fall. (Exhibit A being my row dominated by men in citrus pants.)

Nina Awasum gave us wintry textures with yarn fringe and big, billowy jackets and detailing. It was the first look we got of bold blues, which was surprising given indigo’s big return this season. Her showstopper? A long, plum and black patterned-print dress with ruffly detailing that left the ladies in the audience swooning.

Featured designer Michael Wiernicki finished out the night by showing us how he’d finish out the world, in what was essentially a “doomsday” collection. Michael Wiernicki’s “tension creating” look had a ceremonial feel to it, opening with a temptress in a black caped gown with sheer netting. The show was pure drama, start to finish, incorporating images of Egyptian statuary like Ankh crosses and gold sphinx.

And the Winners Are…
• Angela Sum won last night’s Emerging Designer competition to move onto the finals Saturday night!
• Kristin and Robert Galmarini won the Wednesday night’s People’s Choice award.

Coming Tonight!
• Come for pre-partying at the Style Lounge starting at 6 p.m. Charleston’s Top Cocktail winner Jasmine Beck will be pouring her Antipasto Cocktail, made with roasted red pepper-infused Grey Goose vodka.
• Don’t miss the evening’s Featured Designers, NBC’s Fashion Star contestants Sarah Parrott, Luciana Scarabello, and Nikki Poulos.
• Plus, see five Emerging Designer debuts and shows from Copper Penny and V2V.
• After the Style Lounge closes at 11 p.m., the festivities continue at Trio Club (139 Calhoun St.) with DJ Arthur Brothers.

For the schedule, click here.

For tickets, click here.

To check out photo galleries from last night’s shows, click here.