>> The first McQ show to grace London in so many years was marked by a triumphant — and theatrical — return. On a runway strewn with autumnal leaves and a set complete with a wintery forest, Sarah Burton offered up khaki colorblocked coats, embellished velvet frocks, full-skirted tartan, and fantastical tulle-and-flower confections. "A love story, a love of McQueen and a love of great British style — from military coats to overblown ball gowns," the show notes explained. And it was.
>> For his second season at Pringle of Scotland, Alistair Carr upped the rebellion factor, riffing on classic schoolgirl shapes and injecting them with a bit of deconstruction and graphic illusion. Pleated skirts were cut in architectural layers, while "cardigans" were pieced onto printed frocks for a trompe l'oeil effect. The real winners, however, were the coats: sharply tailored, they came in decadent camel or navy wool and with super-fuzzy colorblocked collars.
>> Lacquered leopard print, fuzzy cable-knit, and a heavy dose of iridescent purple. This is not a list from which fashion dreams are usually made. Throw in some black-and-white pinstripes, velvet moire print, and a dash of super-slick leather, and, well, the potential for chicness is not looking good. Unless, however, you're Christopher Kane. Kane tapped all those elements — plus a few more surprises — for Fall 2012 and whipped them into a Goth-tinged frenzy that managed to look modern, refined, and decidedly cool.
>> This season, Erdem Moralioglu sends his pretty-pretty aesthetic to the dark side. But don't worry, all the Erdem signatures — delicate lace, demure hemlines, dreamy florals — are still in place. It's just that for Fall 2012, they've been mixed with a little edge: latex-coated tweeds, Pollock-style splatter prints, and angular leather. "I wanted it to feel very strong," Moralioglu explains. "This season is very much about the woman, whereas last season it was much more about the girl."
>> Christopher Bailey's Burberry girl goes on a little jaunt to the English countryside for Fall 2012. While the collection may have been heavy on classic menswear fabrics — herringbone, tweeds — and utilitarian detailing, this collection was 100 percent femme. Skirts were adorned with ruffles or bows, waists were nipped in, and a peplum or flare accentuated nearly every hip. "I like taking familiar elements — the field jacket, the quilted jacket, the trench — and respecting them but making them modern," Bailey explained of his Downton Abbey-meets-downtown mix.
Photos and video, courtesy of Burberry
>> Mark Fast offered up a romantic take on grunge for Fall 2012, imbibing his signature knits with elements plucked straight from the '90s: halters, cutouts, midi skirts, and crop tops. Cashmere and mohair — in a dreamy palette of pink, blush, beige, and cream — kept the collection looking luxe, while playful elements like pom-pom fringe and wide-gauge mesh kept everything feeling fresh.
>> Antonio Berardi — in a divergence from his signature body-con ways — went full and sculptural for Fall 2012, offering up origami frocks, sharp-shouldered jackets, and angular-tiered skirts. Among the collection's standouts? A handful of floral-embellished, peplum sheaths and some very smart-looking full-flared skirt suits. Equally striking was the color palette: tomato, blush, gray, gold, and teal.
>> For Fall 2012, Peter Pilotto revisited the scuba silhouettes and futuristic prints of last season, this time giving them a cold-weather kick with the addition of sculptural parkas and technicolor fur. Slim-lined pants in intricate digi-prints looked ultra-appealing, as did a few Rooney Mara-esque cutout dresses and the Nicholas Kirkwood-designed pointy-toed shoes.
>> Michael van der Ham's lush collage aesthetic gets a dash of girlie '30s for Fall 2012 — and what a happy mashup it is. Textural fabrics — crushed organza, patterned jacquard, and metallic wools — make the perfect canvas for painterly florals and abstract prints, while a touch of fluid draping keeps silhouettes from feeling prim.
