>> It was a '90s throwback at Vena Cava's Fall 2011 show — think Donna Karan, Giorgio Armani, Azzedine Alaia-style. “We dug out all our old fashion magazines from the early nineties,” explained Lisa Mayock of their starting point. But, Sophie Buhai pointed out, “It’s about the elegance that was happening back then, and not the grunge." Hence the glitter eye makeup, the squared-off necklines, the sleeve cutouts, and the berets, crafted by Brooklyn-based millinery Yestadt. And perhaps inspired by all of that magazine gazing, the design duo produced their own 'zine, Zina Cava, full of '90s imagery and contributions from their friends.

>> Whitney Pozgay's sophomore Whit collection — with its paperbag waists and polka dot party dresses — was inspired by a girl playing dress up in her grandmother's closet. "You know when you're a little girl and you put on a blouse and the bow is really big because it's meant for an adult? I tried to take those proportions and play with them in a more wearable way for adults," Pozgay explained. "So it's ladylike but really pushed with proportion and detail and construction to make it seem a little more playful and youthful." As she summed it up in her show notes, the look she was going for — which included a wheat pattern inspired by 1950s wallpaper and a "menacing bird print" handpainted by Jemme Aldridge — is "Hitchcock meets Tavi, with a dash of Grey Gardens." The resultant collection was shown in a Chelsea gallery, with each painting from the gallery strategically chosen to hang behind the look it best complemented.

>> The crowd was in a bit of a daze as the Richard Chai Love show got under way this morning at Lincoln Center, starting with strong suiting and flowing into looser maxi skirted looks finished off with socks peeping out of low, chunky-heeled ankle boots. The subdued feeling in the room was echoed by the collection's muted palette of greys, taupes, and moss greens; not until the model Charlotte Free — who, at 5'7", comes in a little shorter than your average catwalker — made her runway debut with her shock of pink hair did things really perk up. That's not to say that the pieces were ho-hum — a violet floral print-hemmed slip dress and paillette-ridden sheer tops ensured that they weren't. And Suvi Koponen bopped down the runway, closing in a near-perfect look of cozy sleeveless coat and long, flowing pleated maxi skirt.

>> For Pre-Fall 2011, Vanessa Bruno drew inspiration from the heroes and heroines of the Bloomsbury Group in England, which was started in 1905 by the writers Virginia Woolf, EM Forster, and others who refused conventional and conservative Victorian ways. So just how did Bruno integrate this idea of liberalism and freedom into her collection? By mixing loose femme looks (demure mid-calf floral print dresses, pops of pink, and thigh-high boots) with masculine pieces like slouchy trousers and boxy coats — all lending themselves to easy movement. We especially love the smart two-toned jacket, seen left.

>> Jenni Kayne, awaiting the birth of her second child, was too pregnant to make the trip from California to New York to show her Fall 2011 collection at Milk Studios today — but the show must go on. True to her modern quirky girl aesthetic, Kayne delivered a collection inspired by “a cool girl at her country house,” which in Kayne’s world, means feathered skirts, fur collars, nubby sweaters, leather shirt dresses, and clean tailored jackets. And it all works — blame it on the magnificent jewel-toned velvet loafers worn with every look. The obvious highlight of the collection were Kayne’s fluid silks, comprising trousers, long bias-cut skirts, and dresses dipped in hot pink, nude, cobalt, mustard, and a rich chocolate brown. Stylist Keegan Singh accessorized with minimal yet high-impact pieces in the way of fur cossack hats and retro sunnies, all adding to that cool-with-a-twist factor Kayne is renowned for.

>> "I think in general with collection and with Z Spoke, we're moving into a more streamlined identity of my original language," said Zac Posen, when describing his new outlook on designing. And while we'll have to wait to see exactly how that translates for Posen's signature collection at Paris Fashion Week, the lower-priced Z Spoke Fall 2011 collection lookbook — featuring "Zac-ettes" Tao Okamoto, Anna Cleveland, Crystal Renn, Sessilee Lopez, and Coco Rocha — is a definite departure from the wild "fashion-tainment" Z Spoke collection that debuted last September. Think edgy, yet wearable pieces like tailored ponchos, wide-leg trousers, and a heavy helping of dresses.