When Nuj Novakhett's parents sent her to New York City for a year of study abroad, it was with the understanding that she'd return to Thailand to finish a family-approved degree in political science. Instead, the poli-sci rebel promptly enrolled at Parsons, and as the shoppers currently snatching up her dresses at Satine can attest, she never looked back. Now entering its fourth season, Novakhett's eponymous line syncs up nicely with its designer's nutshell bio: Gamine frocks and sprightly, menswear-inspired separates seem tailor-made for brainy girls with a fashion gene and some wanderlust. "I see the Nuj Novakhett girl as a New Yorker who travels all over the world," says Novakhett. "She's unassuming, but you can sense a strong presence." Though she keeps an apartment in Manhattan and travels to the city regularly, Novakhett is based in Thailand, and she also notes the influence of her native country on her clothes. "It's so hot [in Thailand]," she says, by way of explaining why she thinks her Spring collection has proved such a blockbuster in L.A. "I work really hard to pick out fabrics that can stand the heat."