The founding Imitation of Christ designers, Tara Subkoff and Matthew Damhave, march to the beat of a different drummer. They're known for making an art of refurbishing second hand clothes and vintage into one-of-a-kind runway pieces. They've also earned notoriety for runway high jinx and indifference to the fashion press. Locations, like a funeral parlor, and themes, like a big tent circus, are offbeat plays that explored the nature of the designer-press relationship. In spring of 2002, Imitation of Christ pulled a switcheroo: editors entered the show by walking down a runway while models wearing the collection sat in the press seats, taking notes. The following year, they topped that with, what else, topless models pushing Dyson vacuum cleaners. The anti-establishment antics have won them a large artist fan base, which includes actresses Chloe Sevigny (who actually served as their creative director for a while) and Scarlett Johansson.

As provocative as the shows are, Imitation of Christ's statement collections are surprisingly easy to wear. After cancelling the fall and winter 2007 collection because of production issues, Subkoff sought to sell the brand to those who could help deliver to the swelling demand. Imitation of Christ is back, but sans Subkoff. New boss and former Sass and Bide chief, Josh Sparks, is reintroducing the brand through a diffusion line that's shorter in name but not in expectation, called Imitation. Take a look and tell us what you think about Imitation for spring 2008.