Rad Hourani Couture Fall Winter 2014 Paris

The trouble with Rad Hourani is that after observing his work for a few seasons, couture or ready-to-wear, there isn't much left to say that doesn't sound like a repeat. As the pitch of unisex, label-less garments holds, the need for a uniform - one intimately and intensely personal rather than across individuals - comes across as a way to break free to be.

Although this time more than ever, his collection felt hooked into the undercurrent of contemporary wear in couture, there is no denying his narrow, long silhouettes are unequivocally his. To say he is on any other trend than Rad-ness, would be wrong.

So again with the boxy proportions of handsome outerwear, with their trailing additions giving some leeway in styling; slender legs with square heels for everyone; metallic tweed and a dash of sparkling sequins, for perhaps a more celebratory mood, have something to grapple with to distinguish this iteration while not kowtowing to seasonality.

But beyond this, there is something in Hourani that increasingly feels like the designer sits on the brink of something larger, fearful perhaps of committing to anything that may permanently brand him. In turn, you can't help feeling that extolling overlong on his work is little but clutching at straws to categorize the unlabeled.