“A beautiful future… a kind of soft futurism. Not cold and structured, but optimistic and forward-looking,” says Sarah Burton about her collection this season. Whereas her late boss and mentor, Lee McQueen, was also fascinated by nature, albeit the darker, more mysterious side, Sarah explores the dreamlike and organic aspects in a decidedly dramatic collection. [...]

Everyone knows a Balmain collection is all about sculptural shoulders. This season, though, under Olivier Rousteing’s creative eye, the trademark jacket has been redesigned to form a boxier, slightly oversized, silhouette. Manifested in both jackets and blazers, the outerwear came in an array of colors and designs, from quilted needlepoint and exaggerated pockets to Baroque [...]

In her second season as the label’s Creative Director, Clare Waight Keller injected her British sensibility into the signature French femininity at Chloe.  The look was sporty and sophisticated while retaining the label’s polish, and mixed street-cool with refinement, showing voluminous shapes and proportions.  Masculine trousers and jackets were contrasted nicely against lace, silks, pleats, [...]

It will be a sharply styled winter over at Gianfranco Ferre’s. And everything will be about fabric folds and the effect that reflection creates on darkly hued garments. This collection of Stefano Citron and Federico Piaggi was not about the color palette. It was about the impeccably styled confidence of the woman inside these designs. [...]

For Fall, Bill Gaytten stuck to the blueprint of the Dior brand DNA.  Reinventing iconic pieces from the archive, Gaytten showed classic portrait necklines, full silk tulle skirts, houndstooth embroidery, draped leather, tailored blazers and pencil skirts hitting just below the knee.  Gaytten said the collection was ballet inspired which was apparent as everything was [...]

Prada’s F/W 2012 collection was another tour de force,  as Navajo/PopArt inspired geometric prints, tailored and bejeweled, embroidered and chunky took the spotlight.  There were the obligatory black pieces, all embellished with crystals and plexiglass chips,  but color was the main attraction here: mustards, blues, and indigo’s.  Dresses and skirts over slim pants, stiff military [...]

Alessandro dell’Acqua’s 2 year old line, N°21, is heavy on simplicity and wearable street style.  F/W 2012 showed masculine fabrics and boxy cuts on a feminine silhouette.  Dell’Acqua strives for a perfect balance between the male (bomber jackets in tweed), and female (short hemlines, LBD’s), keeping it all clean and modern.  Shown with virtually no [...]

Consuelo Castiglioni has always been fashion’s intellect, with a feminine and utilitarian point of view. For Marni’s F/W 2012 she changed it up a bit, opting for more color-blocked looks with a 60′s sensibility.  The prints still had a voice, but the real story was the exaggerated, voluminous architectural shapes which echoed the curious and [...]

The sophistication of Marco de Vincenzo’s F/W 2012 collection was evident in the form of slim and minimalistic silhouettes. Monochromatic or not (mainly ranging in the tones of black, white and nude), the geometrical patterns on the designs had a two-folded role: both textural and visual.

Peter Dundas created what seemed to be statement pieces: anything more than that on the Pucci woman would probably be redundant. Even though there’s a slight change of designing course and there’s a bit more of covering-up, there’s no lack of sheer and deep cuts, as well as crocodile prints and leather.