It was a happy mash-up of prints and color that met visitors to Duro Olowu's energetic Spring 2012 presentation Saturday night. Models twirled and vamped to a drum-beat soundtrack, onlookers frenetically snapped pictures, and the designer chatted with guests Anna Wintour and Bethann Hardison.

Inspired by the photographs of Jacques Henri Lartigue and the Jamaican immigrants who made their way to England in the '50s, there was a certain retro elegance to the collection — one that was made fresh by the Olowu's masterful cocktails of patterns, silhouettes, and fabrics. Floor-length frocks were topped with tuxedo blazers, large-scale ocelot met hot pink, and ruffled skirts in black and white colorblock were spiked with ditsy florals. According to Olowu, the modern-style irreverence was quite intentional. "Make it effortless without making it look dated . . . that’s what I thought would be important for the season," he explained.

>> It would be hard to miss the buzz surrounding Alejandro Ingelmo's first New York Fashion Week presentation — not only is the designer a recent CFDA nominee, but his shoes have already traipsed the runways of several major shows this week, including Chris Benz and Helmut Lang. So it was no surprise that tonight, in a darkened room at Milk Studios, the throngs vying to get a peek at next season's offerings were at times five and six deep. And no wonder — placed on glistening pedestals under dramatic spot-lighting, the shoes did not disappoint. There were cage heels in mirror-metallics, layered peep-toe booties with cut-away backs, and gilded leather sandals so shiny they seemed to glow from within. But the real knock-outs? Wedges and sandals trimmed with glittering swaths of raw-cut Swarovski Elements. Click through to see the entire collection — including men's — here.

>> Helmut Lang hit the Fashion Week runway Saturday for the first time in over five years — and for the first time since husband-and-wife team Michael and Nicole Colovos have been at the helm. Presented in the raw-industrial vastness of Pier 57 on a towering multi-lane runway — there wasn't a bad seat in the house — models marched in tandem to thundering doom-metal guitar strains. It was a dramatic re-entrance indeed, one that was amplified by a stark palette of solid black, white, and yellow — and the architectural mega-platforms designed by Alejandro Ingelmo for the occassion. But it wasn't all about hardness and edge; there was an undulating softness at play here as well, one that was inspired by artist Richard Serra and turned up in the form of sheer fabrics, asymmetrical drapes, and a sunny brush-stroke print. “We were playing with a lot of contrasts,” explained Nicole Colovos.

>> "Dangerous sports, BMX bikes, skate boarding and protective gear" were on Alexander Wang's mind as he designed his mesh-filled, athletically-inclined Spring 2012 collection, complete with floral-print BMX helmets, Navajo-print body-con tracksuits, and cross-body golf bag-sized weekenders. Wang added that he threw the floral print in to “offset the graphic element” of the rest of collection.

As for the veteran models he brought back to the catwalk this season? Frankie Rayder, Liya Kebede, Hilary Rhoda, and Elise Crombez. And Linda Evangelista was in the front row.