Wisps of guitar strings filled the runway in a stark white Lincoln Center room. As the bass drum, heavy folk music suddenly boomed, so did the runway floor, and in turn, the audience.

Every other designer has at one time or another been influenced by some desert or other (the Sahara, anyone?) and Perry Ellis 2012 Spring/Summer is no exception, climbing aboard the American spirit with an ode to California desert-land with a sprinkle of prep.

If one thing could give hint to his inspiration, it would be horizontal lines. Whether tangible on cardigans or implied in the structure of the garment, they evoke new opportunity like the gold rush in the 1920s. Bandanas were slung around models’ necks à la cowboys, as if Ellis were the king of draping alongside the royal Donna Karan.

Patterns appeared like heat maps or the red mountains of Nevada, and the other spectacular natural geography of the West.

Bottoms were casual, capri-length, and shorts for breezy, easy living. No socks for pastel-hued shoes, though, which shows the preppy, modern twist Perry Ellis puts on Americana.

Jonathan Cheban, friend of Kim Kardashian and owner of Command PR, bobbed his head along to the beat while not far off sat True Blood hunk, Joe Manganiello, whom those on the sidelines refered to as “the hot werewolf guy.” He could have easily been a closet-case hipster with his green plaid shirt, blue-grey skinnies, and semi-clunky boots. Seated next to a cute blonde, he embodied the laid-back attitude of the Perry Ellis 2012 Spring/Summer collection.