The A Letter show promised more than it delivered. Matt Empringham and Freddy Coomes had each model walk around the room twice, as much as practical concern with a five-model cast as a bid to give their work maximum airtime.

Backstage, Coomes talked about wanting this collection to be “more grounded in clothes people can actually wear and enjoy.”

On paper was a twist on archetypal British staples — donkey jacket, vintage men’s chinos, a Ben Sherman gingham shirt and St. Michael’s underwear, to name but a few — with DIY details that sounded intriguing, such as zigzag stitches on underwear elastic, raw-edged transparent jersey and calico spliced into silk.

In reality, the ensemble came off as unfinished with, say, slipdresses given boxy shapes that had necklines floating uncertainly, pocket linings peeking out unintentionally and hems left half-unstitched.

Transparent backs that left nothing to the imagination belied the design duo’s intention of realistic clothing, while the announced source wardrobe remained mostly out of sight.

Also nowhere to be found was the diaphanous charm of last season, amounting to a collection that stumbled instead of delivering the “really nice step forward” Coomes felt he and Empringham had taken.