I’ve just come back from a long, pleasant chat with May Tee, a locally based apparel designer about to launch her first collection, Soft Sculptures, for Fall, this Saturday with a trunk show at Mario’s downtown from 10 am-5 pm. There you can view the 10-piece collection (two blouses in silk crepe; two jackets, one pair of pants, two skirts, and three dresses in silk lined wool jersey), get sized, and pre-order, with shipments expected to arrive in late summer, with plenty of time left to anticipate the weather getting cold enough to debut them in your wardrobe (is there any other reason than fall fashion to anticipate cold weather?).

The pieces, in a word, are impeccable, despite that this is really career #2 for the designer, whose background is in computer science and engineering (though that includes a stint as a system analyst for Prada). Nonetheless, she went back to school for design, and has been a student at both Parson’s and Central St Martins. She’s worked both as an intern for Missoni and at Intel in Hillsboro, but these days you’ll find her as a sales associate at Mario’s, a perfect incubating environment for a designer in the process of refining her look and taste.

The emphasis in the pieces is clearly simplicity, and ease of wear. Being able to dress efficiently, with strong pieces that quickly ready you to walk out the door, are a clear priority. They can be effortlessly dressed up or down, are almost entirely ageless (take this gray dress:

Some leggings and flats, and a 15-year-old could wear it. Add a strong necklace and it-shoes, and it’s edgy enough for a fashion forward twenty or thirtysomething, and with a blazer and pumps it would not look amiss on a woman of 60 or more.), and each piece is rendered in a natural fabric that travels well—wrinkles fall out overnight on a hanger.

May Tee’s primary design muse is Isamu Noguchi the sculptor, particularly his stone pieces, and their concepts of smooth angularity blended with occasional texture. Very architecturally motivated, she prioritizes shape over patterns (so much for that stint at Missoni!), eschews florals and frothiness, and opts for a very clean, almost masculine aesthetic.

Though most of her direct influences are found in the fine art world, she also name drops Prada, Issey Miyake and Yohji Yamamoto (she points to her Malaysian origin as a possible explanation for being inclined toward the designs of fellow Asians), and Marni as designers with whom she feels a particular affinity.

I’m putting (at least) one of May Tee’s dresses on my personal must-have list (okay, wish list) for Fall, and I highly recommend attending her Saturday event, even if just to meet the best Portland designer you’ve never heard of before.