Mar 10, 2002/ FWD/ --- Much attention has been paid in the past year to 24-year-old Benjamin Cho - and with good reason.

He is undoubtedly one of the most skillful designers coming out of New York today, a fact that prompted Vogue and Style.com to bankroll his show last season, and got makeup giant Shiseido to do the same for fall 2002.

At a Japan Society auditorium full of fashion's international heavyweights (French Vogue's Carine Roitfeld was seated beside Vanity Fair's Anne McNally), Cho presented a small but precise collection (16 looks in all) based around his love of lacing.

His technique of beautifully and intricately detailing pieces with corset-tight laced ribbon has become his trademark.

Whether woven to create an hourglass effect, or into circular patterns around a fitted blouse, the effect is one of artful sophistication.

Careful not to make his creations too elevated or polished, however, Cho chooses to leave the hems on the dresses unfinished and unraveling.

The downtown designer even added a dash of humor to the collection, applying his lacing theme to a pair of Customized Converse thigh-tops.

When Cho is not lacing, though, he's pulling meticulous pleats.

Model Kiara, in a lavender cocktail dress with fabric gathered gracefully to the side, caused much note scribbling.

But the final number managed to top even that - a look composed of inter-laced arm-warmers and an enormous Japanese gazebo hat that dwarfs anything in Isabella Blow's repertoire.

With such heavy couture tendencies, a stint in Paris might serve Cho well - though New York would sorely miss him.