Whether it was a computer chip hidden in a tube of lipstick or infrared sunglasses, Garner's character was always ready for intelligence gathering dressed as an unsuspecting fashionista at an underground club or five star hotel bar.

As it turns out, there's a history of covert clothing worn by female spies, as designer Angel Chang explained at an exhibition of her Spring '08 collection at Ralph Pucci International on Wednesday, Dec. 6.

"I'd been watching a lot of 'Alias,' said Chang, but her latest collection was also inspired by a visit to the International spy museum in Washington D.C., where she discovered that female spies during WWII often smuggled intelligence in their clothing - a message might be written in the clothing, for example.

A graduate of Barnard College, a women's college in New York, Chang animatedly pointed out that many of the spies hailed from Barnard, which added to her interest in exploring a contemporary version of "secret spy" wear for the cool, independent jet-setting woman that Chang sees as her customer.

"They were worldly, they knew different languages, they were independent and they had travelled," said Chang about why so many Barnard students were recruited during the war.

In some pieces, Chang's collection incorporates technology developed by the military, such as a linen jacket lined with a silver anti-microbial fabric. In the army, Chang said, socks are made out of the same silver thread, making them odor-free.

"Silver acts like a bandage," said Chang, explaining how silver in army clothing can prevent potential wounds from getting infected. "And metal has cooling properties." Making it an ideal fabric for a spring collection, in other words. Other fabrics in the collection have incredible wicking properties, making sweat virtually non-existent.

"In theory, you never have to wash it!" she said.