Don't get me wrong.

Seeing the collections of such fashion legends as Ralph Lauren, Oscar de la Renta, Michael Kors and Donna Karan has always been a highlight of fashion week in New York — and will continue to be. The production values are first rate, the clothes are special (even during the occasional less-than-stellar season) and, at the end of the show, when the designer acknowledges the audience with a brief wave — or in Kors' case walks the full length of the runway — I still feel a surge of excitement even after nearly a decade of viewing collections.

But sometimes a greater thrill occurs from seeing the work of a designer I'm not that familiar with and realizing something really special is going on.

If that happens once during the 10-day orgy of fashion shows that occurs twice a year, I feel lucky.

On Saturday it happened three times.

Pinch me, can I be dreaming?

Billy's big moment

I wouldn't exactly call Billy Reid a new designer. He's been in the fashion business long enough to have quit it once (back in 2002). Fortunately, the Louisiana native who calls Alabama home and has stores in Houston and Dallas, came roaring back, thus proving a example of how talent can win out with persistence. Plus, he's a genuinely nice guy.

A couple of years ago, if he held a presentation during fashion week, probably only a handful of people would have shown up. But in the last year he has been honored twice as an emerging fashion talent, winning the CFDA/Vogue Fashion Fund Award and the GQ/CFDA Best New Menswear Designer in America Award. So it's no wonder that the fashion elite showed up to support the new/old kid on the block when he presented his fall collection Saturday night in the penthouse of Milk Studios near the Meatpacking District.

Vogue magazine editor Anna Wintour got a private tour of the collection beforehand; Barneys executives were congratulating him and (hopefully) placing orders. Everyone was hugging and tugging at him and offering what seemed to be heartfelt congratulations.

Spiffed up for the occasion in a dark cashmere sweater and suit, Reed looked a little dazed by all the attention. But Willie Nelson played on the sound system and beer in longneck bottles was served, so it still felt a little down home Texas.

As models posed in the background around a couple of antique wood tables and a portrait of someone's Southern grandfather, Reid said he had worked to make this collection "a little more refined." He toned down the color palate, using more neutrals, and mixed in knitwear with tailored pieces. His collection is relaxed and classic, but tweaked just enough to lend a little edge. New Orleans Times-Picayune fashion writer Susan Langenhennig pointed out the nutria fur lining a man's vest, and crocodile loafers (for men) and pumps (for women) — all made from animals raised (and killed) in Louisiana.

Reid remains primarily a menswear designer, but in this collection he added a sprinking of great looks for women — one creme-colored dress covered in black netting is an interesting update of Southern gothic. And one female model carried a crocodile clutch with its tail intact — certainly a conversation piece at the club.

So how did Reid spend the $350,000 combined prize from the two awards? Mainly on "logistical things," like a warehouse, he said. Before that, everything was sent out from the Florence, Ala. store, even if he and his small staff had to move the current merchandise around to make room.

"It's out of this world," Reid said about the whole experience. "It's one of the coolest things I've ever done in my life."

Altuzarra's edgy elegance

As the Reid party continued on upstairs, the fashion A-team flocked to Joseph Altuzarra's runway show downstairs on the second floor of Milk studios. Altuzarra was a finalist for the CFDA/Vogue Award that Reid won, and a lot of people in the business were surprised he didn't because the early buzz surrounding him has been so deafening.

But Altuzarra is only 28 and this is only his sixth collection, so I guess voters figured he will have plenty of time.

As a gauge of his star power, Alicia Keys was on the front row, squeezed in next to Wintour's daughter, Bee Shaffer, while designer Alexander Wang, fresh from showing his collection only a few hours earlier, was on the other side of the front row. (Keys took the back stairs afterward to make a quick getaway, but her heels were so high her security team had to assist her as she gingerly made her way to the first floor.)

Born and raised in Paris and educated at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, with stints at Marc Jacobs, Proenza Schouler and Givenchy (under Ricardo Tischi's guidance), Altuzarra combines the sophistication and edginess of European design with an American sportswear vibe. He mixes chiffon blouses with tweed slacks, throws fur-covered parkas and aviator jackets over print dresses — nearly every look in the collection had a winter coat — and features pencil skirts festooned with D-rings, buckles and hardware. To top it off, each model wore fur-trimmed stillettos.

Each look has a little something edgy: Some jacket lapels are frayed; a sleeveless belted shift takes on a good-girl-gone-bad tone in black S&M leather. The ultimate mix-and-match came at the end when a model wore a spangly cocktail dress meant for night with a white parka meant for day. (To view the full collection, go to style.com.)

It was a thrilling show, even if I couldn't remember how to pronounce Altuzarra's name. With visions of non-stop coverage of the Egyptian fight for freedom, all I could think of was Al Jazeera.

Hey, it's close.

Hexa of a show

Sometimes you just have to trust a publicist.

They'll usually do just about anything to entice you to see their unknown client, who more often than not, doesn't live up to expectations. But when Mari Fujiuchi encouraged me to see the Hexa by Kuho show, I took her up on it.

I have never met Mari — we have an e-mail relationship — but when she explained that it's a relatively new collection by Korean designer Kuho Jung, who is well-known in his home country as creative director for the Samsung apparel division, my curiosity was piqued, especially since she reps another always interesting designer, Thom Browne.

What I found was an intense, fascinating collection with echoes of a Paris production.

The large room with a wooden floor in the Park Avenue Armony on New York's Upper East side was pitch black except for a few spotlights. A wall of mirrors facing us and a chattering soundtrack distorted the setting even more.

Once the show began, models came out, one by one, each standing under a circle of light. All were wearing elaborately draped smock-like dresses and identical pageboy wigs. When all had come out, they took off the dresses — a demure bodysuit was underneath — turned the designs inside out — and put them on again.

Suddenly, there were bursts of subdued colors — greens, corals, yellows — gathered and tucked in dramatic ways. Some pants featured a drop crotch, others had one billowy leg and one skinny jean. Dresses were textured and draped in unusual ways. It was a swirling mass of excitement — a reminder that fashion can be thought-provoking even if it doesn't immediately make sense.

Long after the more commercial collections have debuted this week, this is the one I will remember.