Oscar de la Renta

At his show in February, Oscar de la Renta solicited design tips from the audience. Today, at his Resort presentation, his program notes announced that the green and white silk sequin baseball T-shirt he sent down the runway with a gingham skirt in billowy tulle and organza would be available for preorder immediately on TheFancy.com. The designer has embraced social media, and the neon streaks in the models' hair were further proof that he has his compass pointed toward the future.



That said, he never let you forget you were at an Oscar show. The familiar de la Renta-isms—the skirtsuit, the sleeveless day dress, the double-face coat, the perfect pair of high-waisted trousers—were all here, rendered in sharp, graphic pops of black and white. And there were flowers galore, from lush embroideries on party dresses to blown-up photo prints on silk tunics and cropped pants. Florals are part of the house repertoire, but if the appliqués were tried and true, the photorealistic patterns, having bloomed on other designers' runways for several seasons now, felt a bit me-too.



The dress that made everyone sit up and take notice was a strapless evergreen silk faille gown. It was classic Oscar—as elegant and ladylike as they come. And with a generous peplum at the waist it was equally of the moment.
—Nicole Phelps

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Chanel

Karl Lagerfeld was exultant. Twelve months of planning for Chanel's 2013 Cruise presentation and, the week before the big day, current events conspired to completely recontextualize the show, injecting a delicious layer of irony into the time and place. His succinct summation—"Versailles in a Socialist France"—said it all. Up until last week's election, which restored a left-wing government to power, Lagerfeld's collection was a gleeful mash-up of hip-hop edge—à la his favorite Azealia Banks or M.I.A.—and Louis Quatorze's eighteenth-century court at Versailles, the focal point of a period that history recognizes as France's last Golden Age, with Louis the Sun King at its pinnacle. Soundmeister Michel Gaubert dubbed the hybrid "Ghetto royale." He obliged Karl with an M.I.A. track whose refrain, "Live fast, die young/Bad girls do it well," might have been Marie Antoinette's musical signature if she'd lived a couple centuries later. She might even have joined Alice Dellal and Karla Lagerfeldas, who played an exuberantly retro-punk set at the post-show cocktail.

Lagerfeld has proved himself a master of this high-low hybrid in recent times. Here, formal eighteenth-century details, like panniers and fichus, were re-created in casual twenty-first-century fabrics—chambray, tech denims, even plastics—dressed up with frothy lace ruffles and cuffs, and dressed down with gold platform trainers and short shorts. Occasionally awkward though it may have been, the lightness, the girlishness, of the clothes had a balletic quality, reflective perhaps of Louis' own love of dance. Lagerfeld said he wanted something floating and frivolous. "Frivolity is a healthy attitude," he said after the show. "I know people who were saved by frivolity."

But the levity of that declaration was lent some provocative weight by the election. Clearly equating President-elect François Hollande's incoming government with a general shriveling of the French jeu d'esprit (although that is, in itself, something of a myth), Lagerfeld went on to say, "I don't want the rest of the world to think of France as a sad, gloomy country. They won't come to buy our products." A worrying prospect for someone who never fails to crowd his catwalk with an overabundance of clothing and accessories. "Too many ideas," wailed Inès de la Fressange jokily as she leaned in to bestow a congratulatory kiss. "Too creative." Lagerfeld glazed one tweed in gold, sequined another in pale blue, embroidered a tiny sundress with gold bullion, and applied the most delicate floral beading to snowy white handkerchief linen. Watercolor florals suggested Watteau maidens; male models Brad Kroenig and Jon Kortajarena were dressed in britches as their swains. "It's nothing that literal," Lagerfeld insisted, but the Rococo echoes added some charm.

The show took place around three of the furiously spouting fountains for which Versailles is famous. Guests then trained through the grounds to the cocktail at the Bosquet des Rocailles, where Louis staged theatrical productions. (Could it be true that Marie Antoinette's "farm," the private playpen where she'd go to play-act ordinary folks, was just through the trellised fence?) Speaking of imperial whim, look no further than the gall of the guy who persisted with plans for a ginormous outdoor spectacle while the heavens were blessing Paris with six weeks of nonstop rain. Guess what? Glorious Sol came out on cue. So who's the Sun King now?
—Tim Blanks

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Juicy Couture

Juicy Couture might be a bit like the most popular girl in your high school class. She earned a reputation for being uninhibitedly feminine and assertive—with a penchant for the color pink. But get to know her a bit better, and you'll realize that there's substance behind the Juicy girl's velour jumpsuit facade. Chief creative officer LeAnn Nealz has been working hard for several seasons to build up the contemporary label's fashion credibility, and there was plenty to be optimistic about at yesterday's Fall presentation, which drew a turnout of starlets including Emma Roberts, Kate Mara, and Anna Faris. Nealz described the youthful collection as "Sunset Strip in the seventies meets London mod squad." The eye jumped from printed paisley silk trousers to a peppy floral, slightly padded jacket with matching skinny jeans to a full-on Technicolor brocade pantsuit that hit on one of the season's biggest trends. Outerwear was a focus here, with swingy bell-shaped coats and faux fur capes adding a polished touch. Of course, Juicy nodded to its bread-and-butter leisurewear but smartly traded in those over-and-done-with sweats for leather track pants that we could imagine both casual Californians and their New York counterparts wearing for weekend errand runs.
—Brittany Adams

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Kenneth Cole Collection

Kenneth Cole's company will be turning 30 next year, and the founder of the global brand is reflecting on its heritage with a new, higher-end line. "Kenneth Cole Collection is made for our same modern, urban customer," the designer explained at a launch preview last night, "but elevated in quality of construction, materials, and styling." The presentation at Cedar Lake featured life-size video installations of models along with recordings of their voices delivering the kind of bons mots that Cole has made his calling card over the years. "Some are attractive. Some are sexy. Few are available," said one. Highlights for women included a slick patent leather bomber jacket, deep oxblood haircalf pencil skirts and peplum belts, and a crocodile-print shift. On another exotic note, a cobalt blue python backpack was sporty chic at its best. The street-ready menswear had a slight military influence to it, seen in quilted wool parkas and lace-up leather boots. Few contemporary labels manage to strike the on-trend-but-not-too-trendy balance as well as Cole has here.
—Brittany Adams

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Markus Lupfer

What with his affection for loudmouth graphics and his co-dependent relationship with his BeDazzler, Markus Lupfer sometimes gets written off as a young person's designer. Now, the kids do love Markus—and chances are they're the customers keeping his line in the black—but Lupfer's latest outing deserves a look-see from grown-up girls, too. The best part of the new collection comprised tailored dresses, cigarette pants, and circle skirts made from rich, jewel-colored brocades and cut with a sporty mien. The material played well with Lupfer's black leather looks and slightly hallucinogenic oil-spill print, too. Per usual, the collection wasn't short on punchy knits—sequined, this time out, in sayings like "Carpe diem"—and they gave the collection some of that signature Lupfer comic kick. All in all, though, this felt like a pretty sophisticated affair.
—Maya Singer

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Tucker

There's something insistently cheerful about Gaby Basora's line Tucker. Basora specializes in eye-popping prints, which she uses in easy-to-wear clothes, typically made from silk, that have a slightly vintage mien. She's leveraged that design strategy into a pretty booming business, and the psychology of the Tucker clothes has a lot to do with that: Basora makes pieces that, no matter how low a girl is feeling, are keen to paste a smile on her face. Bad breakup? Maybe it's this season's track pants in a pastel wallpaper floral that will do the trick. Job got you down? A tea dress in a bright doe print ought to cushion the blow of yet another endless spreadsheet. Rain again? Throw on a robelike coat in a painterly pink and purple print. Etc. Tucker collections are like a closet pep squad.


Do they need to be more than that? Not really. And Basora doesn't complicate matters by attempting any particularly challenging silhouettes. This season, she emphasized longer lengths and ladylike cuts and detailing. In general, with the exception of a tailored pencil skirt or a sleek silk jumpsuit, she erred—as usual—on the side of clothes that are eminently toss-on-able. Also as usual, she's done a grab bag of eye-opening prints, ranging from the trendily twee (that pastel floral) to a Marni-esque graphic check. All in all, a typically boisterous outing.
—Maya Singer

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Todd Snyder

"Emerging" demands context. When the CFDA Award nominations were announced earlier this month, menswear designer Todd Snyder found himself up for the Swarovski Award, given annually to an emerging designer. Snyder's label is now in its third season. Recent enough. His menswear career, on the other hand, is past its second decade, cruising toward a third.



Snyder is a veteran of Ralph Lauren and of J.Crew, where he was instrumental in steering the retailer from starchy prep to the weather-beaten, Americana look it is still honing and refining today. It's a look, in fact, that's had enormous purchase not only at J.Crew but in American menswear across the board, and it endures at Snyder's own line. What Todd Snyder lacks in shock of the new, in other words, he comes by honestly. He's been doing it since long before many of his competitors, whatever appearances may suggest. It's the name that's now emerging.



The look as Snyder describes it is American classic meets London's Jermyn Street: Workwear meets tailored elegance. Those words are threatening to disintegrate from overuse by men's editors. Suffice it to say in Snyder's case, details vintage (flatlock stitching on the sleeves of a waffle tee) and modern (a shirt placket slightly shrunk, shirt buttons slightly enlarged) serve to differentiate his collection from the crowd. So does its reasonable price point, thanks to global production at many of the same producers Snyder first discovered when working for the megabrands. That means leather jackets made in China but at factories that emphasize handwork; tailoring in collaboration with Southwick, the historic Massachusetts label now owned by Brooks Brothers. It's been a slow entrance to the market for Snyder, who left J.Crew in 2008. "I turned 40; it was time for me to pursue my dream," he said. Dreams and global financial meltdowns don't mix easily, hence the slight delay. But Snyder has proven worth the wait. "Emerging," at last.
—Matthew Schneier

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Bottega Veneta

"I always start with color first," said Tomas Maier, explaining his design process. "Color, then material, then shape." That attention to palette came through in his engaging new cruise collection for Bottega Veneta, which kicked off Resort season here in New York today. Inspired by the frescoes of Tiepolo and Veronese, the designer worked with shades of yellow, peach, and mint green, made all the more intense by the way he showed them top to toe in monochrome looks. The soles of a pair of bow-front pumps, for example, were the same bold shade of peach as their leather uppers, which in turn matched the cashmere double-breasted peacoat and wide-legged trousers.

As for materials, Maier looked toward the past and the future. On the one hand, a slim day clutch was made from a type of silk leather that the Italian house used in the seventies; on the other, the label's signature intrecciato bags were woven from a Japanese paper and metal and its large cabat bag from organic black rubber with aluminum embellishments. "If you don't want a leather bag, I don't understand why you want a fake leather bag," he said, and so he sought more original alternatives for the house's usual luscious skins.

Maier gets off on the intersection of the artisanal and the high tech, and he was in full control of the mix here. Clingy jersey gowns were fused with tiny beads rather than embroidered, and larger beads were knit directly into the seams of a pair of stretchy black dresses. There were innovations in terms of shape, too. Maier said he was thinking a lot about the weekend issue—as in, what does the BV woman want to wear on her days off? What he came up with was a pair of true-blue color-blocked tracksuits.
—Nicole Phelps

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Sophomore

Social magnet-turned-creative director Chrissie Miller is the kind of easygoing girl we'd love to karaoke with, and Sophomore's Fall video just might be the next best thing. In the two-minute short, a band of Miller's gal pals, including Jessica Stam, Lonneke Engel, and Cory Kennedy, take turns belting out Fleetwood Mac's sing-along staple "Dreams." The assorted group—let's just say there's a wide range of both musical talent and personal style represented here—models the downtown label's latest lineup of casual jersey separates. This season, Miller and head designer Madeleine von Froomer updated their standard T-shirts and maxi dresses with celestial screen-prints. Other mystical motifs included a Ouija board and one look that could be described as Pink Floyd's Dark Side of the Moon cover meets the Star of David. Sophomore continues to add and experiment with pieces like a dip-dyed, washed silk tube skirt with a high slit as well as oversized henleys, but at the end of the day, fans come back to Sophomore for its novelty tees.
—Brittany Adams

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MP Massimo Piombo

There's something enchantingly arcane about Massimo Piombo, gentleman, scholar, natural aristocrat, citizen of the world. All of that is in his collections, newly relabeled MP Massimo Piombo
in light of some upsets that compelled his departure from the Business Formerly Known as Piombo. In that guise, Massimo galvanized a serious cult following, and there's no reason to think that MP won't keep the story humming along, especially because the clothes are now manufactured by Kiton. Which means Massimo's tendency toward eccentric extravagance is now tempered by peerless technique, a winning combination by any stretch of the imagination.

And it is imagination that separates MP from its classic-with-a-twist peers. The label may have changed, but Massimo insists there's been no change in his philosophy, which might best be defined as "around the world in 80 cloths." Hence, Irish tweed, Austrian herringbone, Italian oxford cloth (printed in Lyon, France), scarves in silk from India and mohair from Scotland, one coat trimmed with Moroccan embroidery, another cut from fabric woven in a Canadian mill that once made fabrics for L.L.Bean. A lot of history, so many stories. Massimo himself is something of a tale spinner, which is what you'd expect from an Italian dilettante who keeps his collection of books in a library on the shores of a Scottish loch. You might equally expect he'd be wearing a shawl-collared dinner jacket in Black Watch tartan as he paged through a precious tome. That's MP's most winning quality. Like Piombo before it, it opens doors into a world where the right amount of classic is infused with just enough exotica and a hint of aristocratic decadence. A recipe, perhaps, for aspiration.
—Tim Blanks

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MM6 Maison Martin Margiela

MM6 Maison Martin Margiela, not unlike the house's signature collection, takes a humorous approach to fashion. In the Fall lineup, you'll find a dove gray sweatshirt with unique Fair Isle-patterned laser cutouts, light wash jeans with skinned-knee-proof leather patches, and a range of whimsical accessories featuring neon "scooby strings" accents that should bring you right back to the arts and crafts table at summer camp. But having a laugh is just part of the MM6 MO. The collection is chock-full of practical, multifunctional daywear. The bottom of a puffy parka coat, for example, zips off to create an alternative, cropped look; apparently, with a little imagination, you can also style the detached part as a scarf. The functionality extends to footwear, too. Another serviceable zipper transforms a pair of comfortable wedge booties into knee-high numbers. The only off note: exaggerated, thick wool pullover sweaters that seemed quite cumbersome compared to the collection's clever, utilitarian pieces.
—Brittany Adams

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Creatures of Comfort

Creatures of Comfort impresario Jade Lai has made impressive strides since she launched her store's namesake brand in 2010. Initially, the Creatures of Comfort label comprised ultra-basic jersey pieces plus a smattering of long skirts, appealingly awkward jumpsuits, and buttoned-up button-downs that hit the nail on the head of the then emergent mumsy hipster aesthetic. (Think Alexa Chung.) This collection, Lai's sixth, proves that Creatures of Comfort has grown up and grown out: Though she still has her finger on the Bedford Avenue/Shoreditch High Street pulse, Lai has broadened her clothes' appeal. To wit, the tailored shorts and trousers in a luxe silk wool blend were accessibly sophisticated; the pieces in white, in particular, looked really chic.



Elsewhere, she's added a flirtatious note, with schoolgirl minis, fitted knits, and peekaboo dévoré velvet polka dots. (The dots were a theme; the collection included a variety.) There was still a sense here that Lai remains overfond of the purposefully awkward silhouette—some of her dresses were a touch shapeless—but she's gotten better at adding the grace notes that give a covered-up look verve. On a simple shirtdress, for instance, the dropped waist counted for a lot; likewise the waterfall effect on a dotted mid-calf skirt. Here's hoping that Lai doesn't outgrow her awkwardness entirely—it's idiomatic to the Creatures of Comfort brand and the reason the most straightforward pieces in this collection still stood out. But it's nice to see her giving her ugly ducklings permission to be swans.
—Maya Singer

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Barbara Casasola

Barbara Casasola is an interesting case. She hails from Brazil and launched her label there three seasons ago. She lives in London. As of this season, she presents her collection privately in Paris. And yet, in some ways, she occupies a planet of her own. It's hard to think of another young designer specializing in formalwear who possesses her nerve to be simple: There's nary a bead or sequin to be found in her Fall '12 collection, which is composed largely of elongated dresses of an almost monastic cleanness. That sounds unappealing, but it's emphatically not. A veteran of Lanvin and Cavalli, Casasola comes at her clothes with a confidence in construction and a refined sense of detail; here, she deployed a bare minimum of tricks to conjure a collection that was sophisticated, sexy, and sui generis.


The most obvious trick was her architectural use of color and fabric—one dress in black and ocher, for instance, made a big impact just by setting its two high-contrast colors against each other in a coolly geometric way that flattered the curves of the body. Elsewhere, she used strapping, cutouts, and sheer organza to similar graphic ends. Closer inspection of the clothes likewise revealed the intelligence of Casasola's method—her signature stapled seams let some light, and some skin, into silhouettes that could otherwise have been forbidding, and she made luxurious use of fabric, draping it generously and eschewing side seams. Overall, the collection's affect was regal with a sporty kick—a tone pretty much unique in dress-up clothes. Casasola has emerged with a fully formed point of view; the only question is what she chooses to do with it.
—Maya Singer

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Banana Republic

Day-to-evening dressing is hardly an original concept, but it's one that is particularly relevant for Banana Republic's practical yet polished customer who needs multitasking separates. At the Fall presentation last night, creative director Simon Kneen described the season as the time of year when women are perhaps returning from holidays and diving back into the hustle and bustle of their busy work and social schedules. They don't necessarily have the time or interest to decipher what's fashionable, so BR eliminates the guesswork, effectively repackaging the latest trends (the label has the big advantage of showing a month after the final Paris runways).



"It's all about the cropped trouser," Kneen said, gesturing toward the ankles on display. The best look included those cigarette pants, a slim turtleneck, and a double-face wool wrap coat—all done in au courant crimson. The label gets bonus points for the monochromatic color scheme. Other highlights included a selection of smart capelets trimmed in leather as well as faux fur pieces like a chubby vest cinched with a wide belt. Styled with tasseled clutches and broguish booties, the collection had an equestrian undertone. For the men, double-breasted car coats, shawl-collar sweaters, and tailored suits in heritage tweed and herringbone delivered a dapper message. All in all, it'll be difficult to go wrong with most of this lineup.
—Brittany Adams

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United Bamboo

If there was one surefire hit in this season's United Bamboo collection, it had to be the neon green parka. Or maybe the cobalt blue parka. And possibly the orange one. Frankly, United Bamboo designer Thuy Pham is sick of making the damn parkas, as he admitted at a walk-through of the collection. But he keeps at it. "The people I know mostly want to wear clothes that are nice but, you know, a little boring," Pham said. "So I keep myself interested by playing with the details."


When Pham and his partner Miho Aoki get the details right—as they did, a few seasons back, with their now signature parka—they knock it out of the park. And there were more than a few looks here that, if not quite home runs, made for solid plays. Riffing off preppy—and more specifically, the way English punk kids wore their preppy school uniforms back in the day—Pham and Aoki turned out a number of strong, precisely tailored pieces in green and red plaids, and elaborated the theme in plaid knits. Super-dense and nicely oversize, the knits were a definite winner. Elsewhere, Pham and Aoki integrated some femme into the look with waterfall ruffles and microdot silks. The punchiest pieces were done in a hand-painted landscape print. Overall, as Pham would acknowledge, there was nothing too groundbreaking here, just a nicely twisted take on the conventional.
—Maya Singer

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Daryl K

Daryl Kerrigan's decision to close her East Village store at the end of March after withdrawing from New York fashion week in February may have led some to believe that things were changing for the designer—and not for the better. But a preview of her latest Daryl K collection says otherwise. The Dublin-born industry vet's cool yet sophisticated aesthetic remains the same. "The downtown attitude that's synonymous with fashion has always been my signature look," explained Kerrigan. "Most of the things you see here have existed before." Still, every woman's day-to-day wardrobe requires a bit of sprucing up, Kerrigan's customer included, and the inspiration this time around was a "girl in a stable yard."



That vision translated into a tailored wool jacket with leather and velvet accents that was nipped in a bit at the waist, just the thing for pairing with Kerrigan's leather leggings, this time done in black with a contrasting red sideways stitch. Trousers are a thing for the designer, who has playfully dubbed her label "Pants-R-Us." New for Fall were a cropped leather boot-cut style and a wide-leg pair with a zipper detail. And for the girl who doesn't like pants? With this collection's silk "9 to 9" (as opposed to 9 to 5) dress, complete with an elastic waistband, Kerrigan's got her covered, too.
—Jessica Minkoff

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Jasmin Shokrian Draft No. 17

Jasmin Shokrian launched her main line ten years ago, and she used her Draft No. 17 collection this season to celebrate the anniversary. The clothes here were self-reflective in a witty way: Shokrian used trompe l'oeil-like color blocking on shift dresses to suggest old silhouettes and created a similar effect using sheer overlays on blouses. (A "Xerox" technique, she explained.) In essence, she was quoting herself.

But then, Shokrian is always sort of quoting herself: As a designer, she hews very close to her signatures, such as circular patternmaking, geometric color, and loose, cropped trouser silhouettes. This collection featured all of the above. But it was also atypically expansive, thanks largely to Shokrian's new emphasis on outerwear—a wool duster and burgundy anorak were particularly striking—and her focused detailing. To wit, the leather tie on a pair of karate pants, the petal collar on a button-down, or the slit up the back of a silk tee. She also turned out one seriously cool evening dress—a loose-fitting job in red that was cut down the front, up the leg, and along the side to make for a much sexier item than its shrugged-on silhouette would suggest. All in all, this collection proved that, after ten years, Shokrian hasn't run out of new tricks.
—Maya Singer

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Just Cavalli

Roberto Cavalli is an insatiable jet-setter. While he and his glamorous gowns have been turning up on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, the designer's new Resort range for his lower-priced Just Cavalli line is a passage to India. One of the first things that comes to mind with regards to the subcontinent is the abundance of vibrant, saturated color, which is also a Cavalli calling card. This season, he experimented with print blocking by mixing mirrored hothouse florals (Venus flytraps and "Garden of Eden" palms) and his signature animal prints. Sure, the impact was characteristically over-the-top, but then again, the lineup was described as nodding to hip-hop culture, and you can absolutely picture someone like M.I.A. wearing these clothes in her next music video—particularly when styled with the big gold hoops and embellished trucker hats seen in the lookbook.



The most refreshing moment here was a string of pale outfits inspired by albino tigers and the ornate chalk ceilings found in Hindu sanctuaries. Rendered in monochromatic icy hues, they were more minimal than what we're accustomed to from Cavalli, but the use of innovative fabrics maintained that familiar touch of extravagance. For example, denim pants were plated with rubber for a cracked ceramic appearance, and a tailored tuxedo came in on-trend, croc-embossed jacquard. The all-white section in particular gave the entire line a more grown-up mood.
—Brittany Adams

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