Runway Feed

10 Crosby Derek Lam

What is Derek Lam to do when his model-muse Hanne Gaby Odiele is injured and unable to star in his latest 10 Crosby lookbook? Hire her equally spunky friend Sara Blomqvist. With a new girl came a new vision for his year-old diffusion line. Last season, Lam imagined Hanne Gaby partying home-alone-style. For Resort, he sent Sara out on the town—specifically, to the corner bodega and back; note the plastic bags with the 10C logo—in fifties-meets-eighties clothes inspired by Molly Ringwald's character in Pretty in Pink. There were plaid blouses and schoolgirl skirts; half-denim, half-leather T-shirt dresses; and jeanlike tuxedo trousers shredded to perfection. Lam also brought back his signature pajama pant. He dressed it up with a bright floral print and a matching dress worn as a tunic, to reflect the Ringwald inspiration. It's a vision that we can really get behind. As for Blomqvist, we can certainly get used to her, too.
—Jessica Minkoff

3.1 Phillip Lim

Phillip Lim has a green thumb and a New Yorker's limited real estate. At his Manhattan apartment, he's coaxed a full garden into bloom on his fire escape. "A Charlie Brown garden," he called it. Charlie may never win, but Lim did, with a strong collection this time around.

The floral influence was everywhere—even in the intarsia'd leopard prints, which on inspection turned out to be made of flowers, too—but it was mixed with a clean, palate-cleansing blankness and rigor. "Flutility" was Lim's word for it. The utility came through in khaki Mao suits of tapered pants and strict, high-buttoning tops, but their stringency was tempered by appliquéd raffia blossoms. The cocooning shape of skirts was inspired by petals, but they came not in soft fabrics but laminated pigskin, which had the oil-slick feel of hot pavement. Resort may be a vacationer's collection, but Lim's girls are urbanites through and through. "It's a pseudo vacation," he said. "Our make-believe staycation. How do you take a vacation when you're in the studio all night?"

There was a sunny, island flavor to the sorbet-colored shorts suits corseted with inset rope and dangling fringe, but for the most part, this stark, mostly neutral offering had a workmanly spirit, plus a bit of make do and mend. (Not for nothing was all the denim shown "patched" with chain-linked sweater yarn.) The print of the season emphasized graphic lines borrowed, Lim explained, from city plans and maps. The staycation in action. But some got sweetened with a flowered overlay: a view of the city, seen by fire escape.
—Matthew Schneier

A.L.C.

Rather than root around for new inspirations season after season, Andrea Lieberman expands on an ongoing dialogue. "A lot of my influences keep coming full circle, and I think the customer appreciates that recognizability," the stylist-turned-designer said. Her reference points for Resort include African tribalism (she spent years traveling through countries including Malawi, Tanzania, and Kenya) and Southern Californian skater culture. Pieces including a roomy utility jacket in flame red and boyish tabbed trousers with artisanal seed beading that trailed down the sides of the legs and along the back yoke had a pleasant familiarity about them. We've seen similar styles from Lieberman in the past, and retailers reportedly keep banging down her door for more. But there were also a few new elements here, which mixed well with A.L.C.'s staples. In a nod to classic notions of Resort, Lieberman added an anchor motif to her best-selling striped sweaters and experimented with a nubby linen jacquard fabric on a flirty wrap skirt. She also showed lightweight chevron-pattern silk track pants that hit on an ongoing trend and nicely exemplified the label's relaxed, approachable attitude.
—Brittany Adams

Acne Studios

Yesterday, what felt like every fashion editor on earth was shuttled from appointment to appointment—mercifully, many in Milk Studios, site of Acne's mini-presentation—with what felt like every fashion brand on earth. It's been grumbled before, but more than ever it felt that Resort, formerly a commercial collection paraded past buyers only, has become a full-fledged fashion season. Time to breathe? Don't count on it.

So when Acne's Jonny Johansson said that he was thinking of the herky-jerky pace of Madonna's "Ray of Light" video when designing his new collection, you knew what he meant. He was tapping the pace and the frenetic energy of street style and its newly minted style stars. "These girls are the ones going really fast," he said backstage before the presentation. Naturally—everything can change in the space of a shutter click.

Light was right for this collection. White was seen on treated cottons, cupro, and silk, like the silk "jean jacket" with pick stitches, as if its wearer had altered it herself. (Not unheard of among the street-style set.) There were loose, easygoing bermuda shorts and gym shorts in silk. Oversized blazers had a throw-and-go usefulness, though their floaty, money-print pattern seemed a little too jokey even for the peacocks. Even without that, there were plenty of pieces that should have legs. A dip-dyed slouchy caftan had both surprise and chic on its side, for instance. Meanwhile, a white leather jacket—even in the warm months, Acne will never go without leather—had the brand's name crawling up its sleeve. If Acne is entering logomania, it felt right that it would do so a bit askew. The street-style girl, Johansson said, is "using herself as a medium." Now he's using her, too.
—Matthew Schneier

Akris

Akris is celebrating its 90th anniversary this year. There's a new book, penned by Valerie Steele, to mark the occasion, and the Swiss label will throw a party in September the night of its Paris show. Standard practices both for a company marking a big milestone. One thing you won't get from designer Albert Kriemler, though, is a retrospective collection that rehashes the brand's past; he's too interested in improving the present. His new Resort lineup contains more than a few pieces designed to make his luxury customers' lives even richer. Take, for instance, a navy evening jacket made from a high-tech Japanese fabric in which the paillettes are woven into the material rather than sewn on top of it, or, at the more casual end of things, a zip-front hoodie whipped up in double-face cashmere. A painting of Prince Albert I of Monaco helming his yacht, the Princess Alice, is one of three photo prints in the collection. It informed the other two—a print of light reflecting off the Scandinavian sea and another of the Caribbean. A relaxed, casual attitude permeated. Kriemler even showed two different styles of jeans.
—Nicole Phelps

Alberta Ferretti

Modern tailoring met the seventies in Alberta Ferretti's new Resort collection, where a tie-dyed safari-inspired shirtdress, a violet topcoat embellished with Venetian Murrine glass stones, and a kaleidoscope-print silk maxi dress with a neon crocheted bodice were the key looks. During last month's Cannes Film Festival, Ferretti outfitted a slew of starlets, including Lana Del Rey, Eva Longoria, and Jada Pinkett Smith, and there were more red-carpet-ready numbers here, a delicate tri-toned lace gown in particular. The Italian designer adheres to a tried-and-true formula with her romantic clothes, which can sometimes seem repetitive from one season to the next. But then again, who can argue with the straightforward appeal of a billowing silk goddess dress like the one modeled by Vlada Roslyakova?
—Brittany Adams

Albino

Translating traditional African styles into a Parisian idiom was the task Albino D'Amato set for himself for Resort. The shapes he cut—the voluminous jackets and coats he's famous for, the cocooning skirts—all harkened back to the world of midcentury couture. But the fabrics had a hardiness of their own. He worked with cotton and raffia to achieve the effect, alternating with taffeta and silk faille, and kept the palette simple, mostly black and white. Stripes and what D'Amato called a "tribal lace" lent graphic effect to a younger-skewing collection, but on the whole, the lot still felt a bit precious.
—Matthew Schneier

Alexander McQueen

David Bowie's presence in the world of music may have faded, bar the occasional extravagant repackaging of a classic album or two, but he has taken on a second life in fashion, name-checked more than any other influence over the past few years. Sarah Burton can claim a personal connection. She worked with the man when Lee McQueen designed a Union Jack frock coat for the cover of Bowie's Earthling album in 1997. But for the McQueen Resort collection, Burton went much further back, to Bowie at his most creatively and visually extreme in the mid-seventies.

It was extremity she was after, too. "I wanted to bring everything back to the body," Burton said at a preview in her London studio. "The proportions are extreme: high waists, an elongated leg, a peaked shoulder. There's a harder, more precise, masculine edge that's a reaction to the roundness and the sickly-sweet femininity of the last collection." And so, unsurprisingly, the anchor of the new lineup was the trouser suit, in a masculine/feminine iteration that led Burton inevitably to David Bowie's door. (Check the back cover of Hunky Dory if you're curious.) She acknowledged that, because the collection was the most rigorous she'd ever created, it was more difficult to make it beautiful, especially given that, however "sickly-sweet" her last outing might have been, it also ravished the eye to a degree that is rare in ready-to-wear. It was a challenge she addressed with her usual facility with extraordinary fabrics and embellishments.

Art Deco was an inspiration. A gilded metallic jacquard was cut into a long, lean suit. Another suit was painstakingly embroidered with silvery dots, as iridescent as the wings of the dragonfly motif that was also on loan from the Deco era. An equally gilded symmetrical pattern of cicada wings echoed the Egyptomania that followed the discovery of King Tut's tomb in 1922. Never say that a McQueen collection isn't a visual education of some kind. (Come to think of it, that's exactly how each new Bowie incarnation functioned, too.) But if that sounds oh-so serious, the effect was as much Glam Rock as Gilded Age (and that was even before we got to the pieced snakeskin).

The most rigorous parts of the collection were the tailored black pieces. Look closely, however, and their lapels and piping were actually trompe l'oeil encrustations of beading. Still, they were demandingly spare. Hard looks for hard times, perhaps. The eveningwear was long and lean, too. Which is where the Burton Effect came to play, as an extravagant, yes, hyper-feminine counterpoint. A strapless jumpsuit, lavished with avian and floral embroideries, had a forgiving volume. Burton called it a "banana leg." Even more winning: another jumpsuit, also strapless, in a drape of fiery orange jersey so voluminous it threw shade on Bowie's most extreme Kansai Yamamoto outfits. The only possible accessory? The shoes whose rounded transparent heels were filled with glitter.
—Tim Blanks

Alexander Wang

Coming off what he described as a heavy Fall season, "where we lacquered and laminated everything," Alexander Wang was after something light and delicate for Resort. Ribbed knit sweaters were held together at the seams with lingerie straps, wrap dresses peeled open at the back, a puffer vest was constructed with a see-through nylon exposing the down underneath, and the lug soles on boots were an almost translucent white, "like they were dipped in Elmer's Glue."

The designer 180 is one of our business' most reliable phenomena, but if Wang's latest changeup was inevitable, it thrilled nonetheless. He's got such a good handle on cool. At a crowded preview of the collection this morning, editors from at least three different publications found reasons to exclaim, be it a special sweater knit from softer-than-soft T-shirt fabric that had been sewn into tubes and stuffed with polyfill, the crocodile-stamped midriff-baring vests, or the return after two years of his best-selling wedge shoe, the Alla, now in a faux lizard and mock croc combo.

Taking the item-y feeling of the season a step further, he also introduced a new collection of Objects. Tops here, without a doubt, was the matte black yoga mat and accompanying carrier.
—Nicole Phelps

Alice + Olivia

When it comes to occasion dressing, Stacey Bendet sure knows how to go all-out. Case in point: the confetti-hued, voluminous gown she wore to the CFDA Awards two weeks ago. Typically, her designs for Alice + Olivia are just as attention-grabbing, but her Resort lineup was a mostly more subdued affair, full of monochrome pastel looks like a bedazzled lavender silk slipdress worn over tonal stovepipes. Priced between $190 and $250, which is the "sweet spot" for Alice + Olivia's young customer, the label's colored jeans have been thriving, and she's expanding her denim offerings to include styles like slouchy chambray trousers and sequined skinnies. Highlights here included tailored shorts suits cut from a metallic burnout linen as well as an on-trend oversize coat with bracelet sleeves in a shardlike mosaic pattern. It's "exactly what you need for patrolling the streets," Bendet said of the collection. Compared to Alice + Olivia's usual flashy fare, we'd say these clothes will blend in on the sidewalks but still earn some "what is she wearing?" double takes.
—Brittany Adams

Altuzarra

Joseph Altuzarra picked up the Swarovski Award for new design talent at the CFDAs last week, and he earned it all over again with a strong Resort lineup that touched on two developing trends: safari and gypsy. If his breakout Fall collection put the focus on sportswear, the body-defining dress was the beneficiary of his attention this season. Most of them looked as if they were two pieces—a striped chambray tank tucked into an ikat pencil skirt, or a long-sleeved tee with bustier details paired with another slim skirt with an undulating ruffle down its front. All of them were cinched with a belt, some in Rastafarian red, yellow, and green inspired by the new documentary Marley. Altuzarra explained that his clients like the look of an ensemble but appreciate the zip-and-go ease of a single piece. He works harder so they don't have to.

That's not to say there weren't great separates here. A gypsy blouse with sequins down the sleeves and a tweed skirtsuit embroidered with wooden beads both boasted incredible handwork—couture detail but with an artisanal feel. The tailoring was top-notch, too, especially a khaki cape that from the back looked like a sexy structured trench.
—Nicole Phelps

Andrew Gn

Andrew Gn has seen the light. After a Fall season of brooding, almost gothic looks, he embraced color for Resort. Instead of velvets, there were shimmering brocades; in place of the jet embroidery we'd been seeing from him, there were faux pearls; and rather than black for evening, he showed vivid colors. "After you've gone through a dark time, you want something cheerful. It's only natural," he said. An old Jacques Tati movie, Mon Oncle, got him thinking along vaguely midcentury lines. Cristobal Balenciaga volumes turned up on the sleeves of bright faille gowns and silk mikado blouses, and suit jackets had the master's familiar egglike shapes. The silvery pink brocade he used for those skirtsuits had a vintage quality, as did the faded damask print of a belted shift dress with embroidered stones around the neckline. Gn is in expansion mode, with two new boutiques soon in the works in Saudi Arabia. They should open later this year, around the time this strong collection is ready to hit stores.
—Nicole Phelps

Anna Sui

Anna Sui called her Resort collection "Anna's Garden." At first glance, it looks like Classic Sui, but look closely at the richly colored Art Nouveau prints she favors, and the blossoms are all there. The question becomes how to make a trope as tried-and-true as florals into something special. Sui succeeded by customizing every blossom and bud. It's an old story that Anna custom-designs and -engineers each of her many prints in house, but this time, she did the same for every bit of flowered guipure lace, eyelet, and jacquard. While color remains a constant, there were pretty, antique lace pieces in white too, the sort of item that explains why Sui has a sizable bridal business. And among the flowers, a few plainer looks managed to stand out, like a chambray tunic dress decorated with a few sweet, scattered blooms.
—Matthew Schneier

Anne Valérie Hash

Soft tailoring is Anne Valérie Hash's main gig. Comfy isn't a word that gets used much in fashion, but maybe it should. It's the reason why shoppers respond to her jackets that slouch on like a sweater and crossover waistline pants. Practicality isn't a quality that gets cheered much, either, but Hash embraces it, whipping up blazers in a Japanese technical cotton that are completely reversible. She's even got a "dress in a bag" in her new pre-collection. Take it off and you can stuff the whole thing into one of its gathered sleeves. If that cobalt jersey number was more marketing gimmick than anything else, it showcased Hash's gorgeous color sense. The same shade of blue was used as a waistline accent on a great-looking terra-cotta all-in-one. Jumpsuits are doing well for the designer in stores, so she added several new styles to the lineup. There's no reason to think they won't perform just as well.
—Nicole Phelps

Antonio Berardi

With his business problems laid to rest once and for all, Antonio Berardi felt like cutting loose with his Resort collection. "Everything was a bit too formal with Berardi," he said. "So I was looking at what I'm about. And I was looking at my trainers…" Believe it or not, it didn't take a total suspension of disbelief to see reflections of high-performance footwear in the zaps of fluoro color, in the hyper-athletic fabrics, and in the pure form of Berardi's clothes, sheathing the body, contoured with stretch the way a trainer hugs a foot.

All of which re-energized Berardi's signature union of sobriety and sensuality. Those sheaths were inescapable: Some with zips running the length of their spine, others with geometric panels of mesh inserted diagonally (a trick Berardi picked up from photographer Georges Rousse) or printed with monochrome florals placed over graphic geometries. Engineered prints are new to Berardi's vocabulary, but, post-Katrantzou, they're practically a trademark of London Fashion 2.0.

Though the bod-con one-pieces were the standouts in the collection, Berardi also liked the idea of separates and, even more, the illusion of separates, as in the striking evening dress with its black skirt, white "corseted" waist, and sheer, cherry red bustier top. Antonio's sobriety has always leaned toward the Catholic, so it was fun to see his inner devil get a look-in.
—Tim Blanks

Antonio Marras

Anjelica Huston in her 1970's modeling heyday was the rarest bird in fashion. Her haughty angularity was fashion geometry made flesh, and designers loved her for it. Trust Antonio Marras to pluck her from the mists of model-time as the inspiration for his Resort collection. His muses are always strong, wayward women. And Huston made perfect sense with the edge of the clothes.

Marras was also looking at design group Memphis this season. (They're bubbling up as an inspiration—Donatella dipped her toe in the Memphis pool as well). That meant sharp prints but also a striking collaged approach to fabrics, as in Antonio's own favorite in the collection, a shift that combined lace, jacquard, and a panel of silicon pleats. And maybe there was some Memphis iconoclasm in the mutant sportswear of an A-line baseball jacket and oversized polo.

But the collection's odd couture inflections were purest Marras. A three-quarter-sleeved trapeze coat in jacquard and lamé had plastic detailing. So did a coat in bubble gum pink lace. A marine group striped in navy and white was refreshingly simple by comparison.
—Tim Blanks

Azzaro

Mathilde Castello Branco is a fabulist, so when she decided that for Resort, she would work around cocktail, she didn't just work around cocktail—she narrated it. "What is cocktail for me?" she asked a visitor at her Faubourg Saint-Honoré atelier. "It's a woman at home having people over at 4 or 5 p.m." Her clothes are her cocktails. So she explained her palette: piña colada white, maraschino red, curaçao blue, whiskey gold. The kiss marks embroidered onto chiffon are "like lips on a glass." Her heels come with clear "ice pick" heels. "If I want to break my ice, I use my shoe," she explained. "It's a bit more glamorous."

Glamour is the Azzaro stock in trade, and Castello Branco delivers. She scatters crystals, drapes jersey, and insets sections of lamé. She's managed to loosen up the strictures of cocktail dressing a bit by inserting ease, and among her other options, she included what amounts to a lamé jogging suit. Still, what stands out here are the more elaborate evening options, the sort that Loris Azzaro himself created. Castello Branco has shown herself to be a conscientious steward of house traditions in small ways: Her lookbook photos for Resort, for example, refer back to a 1975 Azzaro perfume ad in which the founder looks on from a celestial window as a nun in lipstick applies her scent. But the truer homage may come from the exquisitely beaded gowns that closed out the collection, each painstakingly hand-worked for two weeks by a husband-and-wife team who have been with the atelier for 30 years. "They are the memoire vivant of the house," the designer said.
—Matthew Schneier

Badgley Mischka

Mark Badgley and James Mischka recently moved out to Long Island's North Shore. So it's not much of a surprise that the duo found their Resort inspiration in an old yet soon-to-be-revived classic, The Great Gatsby. With images of Mia Farrow and Carey Mulligan in their heads, the designers whipped up a series of dresses, in both cocktail and floor-grazing lengths, that they imagined Daisy Buchanan might wear to entertain. It was easy to picture either one of the actresses parading around on set in an oyster strapless crepe gown with heirloom pavé embellishment or the matte jersey dress with feathered cuffs. Simpler looks were just as appealing, the best being a black body-hugging column gown with mesh cutouts and sheer insets. Bright colors and bold prints were reserved for the second half of the collection—pieces that the designers imagined Daisy would wear on her yacht. The most well executed was a sexy red open-back gown that tied in the front. Digital floral prints blossomed on a short satin caftan and a flowy dégradé patio dress with a beaded waist and collar.
—Jessica Minkoff

Balenciaga

A surprise discovery of costumes that Cristobal Balenciaga made for a ballet performance of Ravel's Boléro in the 1930's inspired Nicolas Ghesquière's new pre-collection. Not just the fluidity but also the color palette: baby blue, baby pink, and a barely-there shade of yellow he called bergamot. If you're thinking that sounds almost too straightforward for a Balenciaga collection in 2012, you're right. Ghesquière doesn't "do" just pretty, and so there was more to these clothes than the backstory might suggest.

The flou of a long ivory dress, for example, was juxtaposed by a rigid molded leather harness that brought to mind Game of Thrones' dragon queen Daenerys Targaryen more than it did Ida Rubinstein, the Russian ballerina who commissioned Ravel's piece. In fact, the look is a riff on Ghesquière's own oeuvre; the Art Nouveau-ish cutouts on the harness refer back to a Jules Verne collection from his early days at the house.

Elsewhere, the hard/soft motif played out on a great-looking sleeveless sheath that married a scubalike material with draped pinstriped wool, and also on flowy pastel dresses and skirts bonded with a stiffer neoprene that created sculptural, three-dimensional ruffles. The new pant silhouette is high-waisted, with a wide belt bisecting the torso, while jackets, both single- and double-breasted, have a boxy, mannish mien. Ghesquière undercut that too, though, with dainty bras peeking out beneath.

There's no Balenciaga lingerie collection on the horizon, but if there were, we imagine it'd do better than well at the new Paris flagship set to open in a former parking garage on Rue Saint-Honoré later this month.
—Nicole Phelps

Bally

"It's all about the light," Bally co-designer Michael Herz said of the label's Resort collection. Cutouts to let that light in were plentiful. They showed up—maybe better to say they showed through—in pretty floral dresses in organza, some trimmed with leather, and in full-on leather frocks with a bit of an Alaïa slant. The white shirt has been having a renaissance in womenswear as well as in menswear of late and was a major building block in this collection, too. "I'm a big fan of just a shirt with something," Herz added, and here that something tended to be mini leather gym shorts. The overall feel was light and sweet, girlish where Bally once went womanly. A primmer touch was added by a new shoe shape, one with a squared-off, true box toe.
—Matthew Schneier

Balmain

Olivier Rousteing has developed a bit of an America fixation. A year ago, at a presentation of his first collection for Balmain, he was talking about Las Vegas. When he was working on this Resort lineup, a trip to Miami made a big impression. You saw it not only in its South Beach colors (yellow, peach, and mint) and oversize Don Johnson proportions, but also in its Latin influences. "I'm mixed race, too," he said, "so it was beautiful to see the connection between Cuba and the U.S. there."

"Fun, happiness, and hope" were the endearingly earnest Rousteing's talking points for Resort, and we'd say he nailed all three, without killing off the sexy edge that defined the Balmainia moment under his predecessor, Christophe Decarnin.

The key silhouette here was an elongated blazer that buttoned well south of the navel and fell to about the hips, worn with loose, pleated, and cuffed trousers. There was no such oversizing with the dresses, though, which remained as mini as mini gets. Rousteing is really getting behind a silhouette with a folded-over skirt construction that creates a flaring volume at the sides of the thighs. He also gets this season's prize for novelty for a dress made from basket-weave raffia.
—Nicole Phelps

Band of Outsiders

As one of the few prominent U.S. designers who opt out of New York residence, L.A.-based Scott Sternberg is early and often pegged as an oracle of California design. Maybe it's in homage to that tag that he built his Resort collection for Boy, Band of Outsiders' mainline women's collection, around LACMA's recent California interiors show, which traces the evolution of Golden State homes from the thirties to the early sixties, beginning with Bauhaus, ending with Eames. Maybe, knowing the slight skewering Sternberg prefers to give those who fall prey to easy platitudes, it was a takedown of same—what is California design, anyway, when you show your wares in Florence and NYC, make them in Europe and Brooklyn, and sell them as far afield as Tokyo and Taipei? He shrugged that he'd moved into a new house last fall, built in 1936. Maybe that's enough with the maybes.

Resort at Band plays up variations on house classics. Here, they came in upholstery fabrics, like the perennial bandage skirt that got twisted for the season in linen hopsack. But Resort, Sternberg reasoned, is always about "boats and stripes," so he offered plenty of both, too. The former were woven into sweater intarsias and printed on a playful poncho that migrated over from the men's collection. The latter were represented by a primary-colored mini-collection of dresses, blazers, tops, and anoraks, playfully young and more than a little retro—esprit d'Esprit, so to speak. There were winners throughout. A patchworked leather hoodie hit the Band blend of smirk and sleek head on. Leather also lent a little charge when it got zipped onto the hem of a seersucker skirt.

The fun never stops at Band, and if there's a rub, it's that in bulk, it can get a little giggly. The palate cleanser came in the form of simple, graphic black and white eveningwear, returning after its introduction for Fall. "I was just screwing around having fun," Sternberg explained, "but then everybody bought it." Food for thought.
—Matthew Schneier

Barbara Bui

It's been a few months since Barbara Bui opened her L.A. store, and it looks as though the West Coast is rubbing off on her color palette. The Paris-based designer presented a Resort lineup of sky blue, peach pink, and sage green separates, which meshed well with her cool Parisian aesthetic. Leather was the key player here—be it on the trim of a jacquard checkered skirt, on loose-fitting track shorts, or on a T-shirt, the most appealing of which featured an Asian-inspired flower design and zipper accents. Outerwear was another highlight—it usually is for Bui. The designer showed her signature cropped jacket in white linen with electric blue snakeskin sleeves and green piping, as well as a longer oversize coat with the same detailing poking out from behind the collar—chic. If color was Bui's way of appealing to her West Coast customers, she gave a shout-out to her New York client base with a gamut of covetable accessories. Think high-heeled sandals with ethnic beading, camel-colored doctor's bags, heavy snake necklaces, and cuff bracelets spiked to perfection.
—Jessica Minkoff

Barbara Tfank

Barbara Tfank looked to a different kind of star this season. Following last Spring's tribute to Elizabeth Taylor, the designer found inspiration in the aurora borealis. Images of the northern lights provided the perfect palette for the former costume designer, who says she loves to use "color that exists in nature." Cases in point: an emerald green silk taffeta dress with classic shirtsleeves and corseting detail and a full-skirted number in an abstract floral print done in acid yellow and raspberry pink.

"I look at all of the brilliant things that have been done in the past and I bring them to the present," said Tfank, describing her design ethos. "It's not retro, it's intelligent." As a strategy, it's proven quite effective. First Lady Michelle Obama chose a cobalt blue Tfank creation for the State of the Union ceremony in January and the designer has worked with Adele since she was 18 years old, years before she picked up her pile of Grammys. This season's nod to the younger ladies came in the form of playful dresses decorated in Schiaparelli butterflies and silver daisies. We bet the Fanning sisters would be down to wear either one.
—Jessica Minkoff

BCBG Max Azria

Lubov Azria's starting point for Resort was the Hotel Il Pellicano. Not the place itself, but a beautiful tome that illustrates the glamorous life of jet-setters in Tuscany. Azria had quite the job on her hands bringing the book's pages to life, but that she did with kimono-style dresses, easy-to-wear shifts, and ethnic embroidered pants that evoked a mix of cultures from India to Peru. Drawing from her vintage library, she revived a patchwork lace top and a rock 'n' roll leather jacket accented with studs, both of which were accessorized with color-blocked shoes featuring a metallic cone heel. Maxi dresses, a staple for the brand, were also part of the picture. Some came with slits and others with mesh cutouts. Either way, the woman who wears them will fit in quite nicely at the Hotel Il Pellicano.
—Jessica Minkoff

Belstaff

The Belstaff renaissance continues apace. The English brand, which has been turning out motorcycle and racing jackets since 1924, had wandered into the weeds a bit over the last decades, but the backing of an American investor in 2011 (Harry Slatkin, a home fragrance magnate, who is now its CEO) and the stewarding of a new, American designer (Martin Cooper, a 16-year veteran of Burberry) is setting it to rights.

The starting point is, and remains, the classic Trialmaster jacket, a camp-pocketed, belted motorcycle style. Cooper has reworked it in new fabrics (linen, trimmed in cavallo, a horsehide that's the motorcyclist's skin of choice, raffia, leather, and so on) and tweaked it right down to the knurling detail on its buckles. Knurling, for those not obsessive-compulsive about their metalworking, is the lathe etching process that creates the diamondlike crosshatch pattern that rings all of Belstaff's hardware. But look around, and you'll find it extrapolated everywhere. Cooper created a blown-up knurling print for silk dresses and a blown-up knurling weave to decorate canvas coats. The diamond pattern on bonded leather skirts references knurling, as does the knurling-printed jacquard lining of an otherwise unpatterned skirt. Even the jewel-box minaudières have the pattern picked out in crystal.

If it occasionally reads a little monomaniacal—and almost fetishistic in its attention to moto detail—the ultra-luxurious fabrications go far toward carrying it off. It helps that Cooper prefers to pair his more structured jackets with soft, fluid shapes to keep the balance. And it helps, too, that the Belstaff jacket is undeniably iconic. It remains to be seen whether he'll be able to create an entire lifestyle—his stated aim—out of one piece, but his training at Burberry, where he oversaw outerwear, will undoubtedly help. From one wartime trench, an empire grew there. And though they've owned the label for barely a blip, Belstaff's new owners have ambitions scarcely less grand. A new, 26,000-square-foot flagship is opening soon on London's Bond Street, with a New York cousin to follow on Madison and 68th this September and a launch at Barneys, Bergdorf's, and Neiman Marcus for fall. Fast and furious. That's the thing about racers: They race.
—Matthew Schneier

Bibhu Mohapatra

"We've finally hatched," Bibhu Mohapatra said at a Resort appointment this morning. The designer was referring to a recent spatial upgrade from the CFDA Incubator space to an expansive new studio all his own. But he could very well have been talking about his young label, which is hitting its stride after several seasons spent refining its identity and customer base. A recent trip to Marrakech gave rise to the new lineup, which was full of vibrant colors like saffron yellow and sunset pink, as well as geometric patterns inspired by Moorish architecture. Structured silk frocks with waist-framing insets and sporty zippers exemplify how Mohapatra is expanding his daywear while still maintaining the element of drama he's known for. Meanwhile, slim cotton trousers overlaid with lace were a nice separates solution for cocktail hour—you could dress them up with a feathery tank (as seen in the lookbook) or down with a T-shirt. These pants especially felt fresh hanging next to Mohapatra's more predictable flowing evening gowns.
—Brittany Adams

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

Burberry Prorsum

Burberry's results continue to defy gravity, so it's obvious that Christopher Bailey has found a formula that works. The problem with formulae is that they become…well…formulaic. This pre-collection will likely linger in stores longer than any other collection Bailey applies himself to during the year, so maybe it was the commercial expectations attached to such an idea that made it feel like he soft-pedaled on the charming twists that have been making Prorsum so winning of late. There were no ethnic oddities, no artisanal flourishes; and any hint of True Brit eccentricity (which was, you may recall, the path down which Bailey originally launched the label) was squeezed by the kind of sexed-up tough edge that's comprehensible in any language. Bailey may even have been poking fun at it when he attached a brazen black bra to a strapless cocktail dress whose ruched bodice and deflated pouf otherwise made it look oddly prim. But there was no room for humor in laser-sharp commercially honed pieces that tailored the company's heritage to the nth—cropping bombers and flight jackets, pairing them with pencil skirts. Corsetry made the wasp waists even more acute.

Bailey's comment last season about the challenge of blending Burberry's physical and digital worlds suggested he appreciates the tension between the company's past and future. Again, he may well have been having a little fun when he used spacy metallics for the latest update of the classic trench. But it also feels like the designer has been using the 1930's to bring the personality a lot recently. This collection was no exception. The prints and faded colors (the covers of Virginia Woolf books were apparently a reference) injected some Bloomsbury gentility into the surging bloodstream of twenty-first-century Burberry. The leanly elongated eveningwear in brocades, lamé, and silk sheathed in gold lace also had a decorous grace. But neither was enough to leaven that all-conquering formula. Guess we'll have to wait for Fall.
—Tim Blanks

Cacharel

Vintage tennis outfits from the thirties and forties inspired Cacharel's new Resort collection. Styled with crisp white sneaks and a ringlet-curl pixie cut, lookbook model Maja Salamon channeled racket stars from the era like Pauline Betz Addie in cotton shorts sets and collared pointelle knit dresses (the Wimbledonlike green turf on which she was standing helped achieve the desired effect). For their first few seasons as creative directors, Ling Liu and Dawei Sun resisted the French house's signature Liberty florals, opting to show more graphic patterns instead. This time around, the design duo put their own spin on the signature prints, mixing in crystallized butterflies with the standard blossoms. The result was particularly fresh worn head to toe on a fitted tank with matching wide-legged trousers. Other noteworthy moments included a tie-back turquoise top paired with a "wavelength"-motif silk maxi skirt and an on-trend, away-from-the body geometric jacquard coat.
—Brittany Adams

Calvin Klein Collection

"Architectural" has always been a word that's thrown around where Francisco Costa is concerned. Maybe it was inevitable that he'd one day come around to architecture as his theme. For Resort, the designer explained after his show, he'd been thinking of California modernism. (LACMA recently mounted a show tracing its development from Bauhaus to the Eameses.) The potential pitfall of such an approach is that home design—particularly of the modernist stripe—doesn't exactly exude sex appeal. But Costa teased the sensuality out of blocky shapes, longer lengths, and cool expanses of color by mixing hard and soft, solid and sheer. "A lot of the textures came from the Eames' house," Costa said. "I found it fascinating, because the exterior is this complete box, but you walk in and it's so personal, it's so lovely. That's what American modernism is about."

What looked forbidding at first softened as it moved. Slit skirts kept legs flashing as models tottered down the runway on thick flatform wedges in lizard, calf, and nubuck. Sleeveless tunic vests worn over matching cropped flares nodded at utilitarianism—especially when finished off with low-slung belts whose giant buckles resembled seatbelts—but there was fluttery softness in silk dresses, especially the caped version in which Marie Piovesan billowed along. (They had a bit of a seventies lightness, echoed too in the collection's prints, based on a Calvin dress from the decade worn by Lisa Taylor in a famous Helmut Newton shot.) The finale looks combined the two poles: long, sheer T-shirt dresses worn over crepe dresses or silk cady bottoms and bandeaux. Lovely, though quite revealing. Call it window dressing.
—Matthew Schneier

Camilla and Marc

Did Marie Antoinette play sports? It strains the imagination a little, but it's not entirely impossible to picture her pitching up in the backyard of the Petit Trianon for a nice game of croquet. Maybe even a set or two of badminton, before retiring to her rooms in Versailles to have her wig clamped back on as she nibbles on macarons and dreams of Count Fersen. Anyway, this train of thought comes courtesy of the latest Camilla and Marc collection, which takes its inspiration from the interiors of Versailles. Siblings Camilla Freeman-Topper and Marc Freeman have put a jaunty spin on the baroque, turning out abbreviated cocktail dresses trussed with ruffles; sharp, shoulder-baring peplum tops and cropped trousers in reflective pink or a magnified jewel print; and striped knit and tailored dresses in colors of buttercream frosting. The strongest pieces here, unusually for the brand, were the most casual—the short, squared-off silk dresses with a high neck and fluttering sleeve were particularly good, as were the waterfall tank tops featuring a contrasting band of color on the hem. It's also worth calling out the Camilla and Marc denim: This season, the jeans were high-waisted, perfectly cut skinnies executed in a handful of pastels, and they looked like a cult phenom waiting to happen. Or to put it another way, the jeans seemed like exactly the thing a modern-day Marie Antoinette would don for a game of petanque, before shimmying off to meet her lover.
—Maya Singer

Carlos Miele

If the pants, ponchos, and swimsuits of recent collections positioned Carlos Miele outside his comfort zone, his new Resort range finds him returning him to what he does best: evening gowns. Taking a sharp turn from Fall's pampas-inspired look, the Brazilian designer crafted a tight, focused set of dresses, in both cocktail and floor-skimming styles—with a tea-length number thrown in for good measure. Miele really upped the quality and workmanship of his offerings, some of which will garner a new-for-the-designer atelier label (which comes with a heftier price tag). See the silk charmeuse strapless number, whose blue feather-like design was inspired by bird wings, and a dusty-rose-colored one-shoulder gown that was purposely made to look unfinished and rough around its beaded edges. The double-faced gold and brown tulip-shaped dress with an asymmetrical top and fan-like pleating was another winner. It radiated glamour—just what every red-carpet-goer wants and needs.
—Jessica Minkoff

Carolina Herrera

Coming off an unusually dark Fall collection sent Carolina Herrera into a multicolored, frothy Resort. Resort dressing, she said in a salon-style presentation today, is about color, femininity, and fun. "You must find some element of fun in every piece," she opined, "or the element of Resort is lost entirely."

That giddiness was clear in her prints, like the illustrated, half-abstracted cartoon of paramours mid-clinch that she called The Lovers. It was there in another printed dress, which had rabbits scampering over a cloudy-colored skirt. ("Rabbits are always lovers," she deadpanned.) She mixed materials from top to bottom of looks—like a peplum-accented cotton skirt with a silk twill shirt, both in lover print—and a cocktail dress in both the positive and negative versions of a double-faced polka-dot jacquard. There were simpler cotton color-blocked sheaths and crystal-embroidered eveningwear, too, lest any longtime fans be left out of the fun.

But the best part of this range was the license it gave Herrera to play around. Lace frocks stayed on the racks. The versions she showed had lace print on gazar instead, or a lace-mimicking jacquard. "There'll always be lace," she said, "but it can be a little tired. This is a bit younger, no?" Yes. Not a new idea, but a nice development nonetheless for the Herrera atelier—which, by the way, has been expanded and now occupies its own, full floor. "They're in heaven," she reported. It takes fun to make fun.
—Matthew Schneier

Carven

A Chequered Past, Peter Schlesinger's photographic history of 1970's style icons like David Hockney, Bryan Ferry, Rudolf Nureyev, and Twiggy, set Carven's Guillaume Henry down the garden path for Resort. An English garden, to be precise. Henry re-created one using real flowers, bushels of them, in a Meatpacking District studio today and used it as a backdrop for a fresh, colorful, slightly bohemian collection of the kind of tailored separates and little dresses he's made his specialty at the Paris label.

The bohemian element was the news here. A paisley-print shift tapped into the gypsy feeling seen at other houses this season, as did another little dress with a bodice that wrapped like a sari, showing off a triangle of skin below the bust line. Another little number in black piped with royal blue had a deep, wide neckline that Schlesinger subject Ossie Clark wouldn't have minded putting his own name on. How a black leather padded motorcycle jacket in the Celine mold fit the story isn't entirely clear, but "the mix of personalities," as Henry put it, was part of his point this season. In any case, it'll find customers when Carven opens its first New York store sometime in 2013.
—Nicole Phelps

Cédric Charlier

Having parted ways with Cacharel last year, Cédric Charlier made a splash this February with his eponymous runway debut. It earned the young French designer a spot as one of the finalists for this year's ANDAM prize. His moody Fall lineup, full of inky shades and patent leathers, quickly dissociated Charlier from Cacharel's flowery reputation. Resort finds him returning to color and prints on his own terms. Inspired by the linear purity of Cristobal Balenciaga's Spring 1966 collection, Charlier showed a sharp range of pantsuits and architectural shift dresses with laser-cut edges in bold shades of violet, chartreuse, sapphire, and crimson (accented with a heavy dose of black). He articulated the graphic theme with a warped stripe pattern based on vibrating mirrors. Charlier also expanded into eveningwear with fluttering plissé strapless gowns that were particularly breathtaking against the New York skyline, which was the backdrop for the lookbook. This strong sophomore outing suggests Charlier is a serious contender—for the ANDAM prize and beyond.
—Brittany Adams

Céline

Three years into her run at Celine, Phoebe Philo has been mainstreamed. Her accessories have become the status symbol for the upwardly mobile woman—you can't go a block on the Upper East Side without bumping into a Luggage bag. For Resort, she's introduced two new shapes: the All Soft, a zipless, fold-over tote with a "baby" pouch inside, and the Edge, which as its name implies, has a more structured silhouette.

On the clothes front, this season wasn't so much a moment to introduce fresh ideas as it was to reassert house signatures. Leather continues to be of paramount importance. It was cut into variegated stripes for t-shirts and used on coats with horizontal panels that unzipped to create different silhouettes. Python featured too, most extravagantly as the patch pockets on a cashmere sweater. And scarf prints also made a reappearance, most interestingly on a pair of shorts and a shell top that were both veiled in a sheer white material.

If there's a piece that the Philo girl will have to have, it's the full, flaring trousers with deep stripes of contrasting color at the hem. The cut is great, for one, and two: Those in-the-know will instantly peg them as Celine. For a fashion insider, that produces the same kind of frisson as carrying a Luggage bag does for that Upper East Sider.
—Nicole Phelps

Chado Ralph Rucci

The news at Chado was color. Ralph Rucci is a man who likes to work in tonalities of white, tan, and black and come up with evocative names for each, but for Resort, he went Pantone on us. The strongest pieces were a series of matte jersey dresses—as slinky and sexy as anything he's done despite their long sleeves. A scarf-neck, plunge-front style in amethyst was particularly persuasive. The other pieces that stood out were designed to cover up rather than cling, but they'll attract attention nonetheless. The first was a grass green tunic in pongee silk with a deep navy hem, shown with matching green pajama pants; the second was a white caftan in the same pongee silk but cut slimmer than he usually makes them, banded with navy and blush pink. Keep the sunscreen and the salt water far from these beauties; they're too special to wear to the beach. Special is what Rucci, well, specializes in, but his evening offerings were rather subdued. Clients looking for a glittering New Year's Eve gown will find only one here, in white lace smothered in caviar beads with a matching floor-length coat to match.
—Nicole Phelps

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

Chloé

Chloé's Clare Waight Keller spoke of a "new romantic feel" for her Resort collection. Cap the N and the R and the comparison would still hold. There's been a whiff of the eighties about Waight Keller's Chloé since she took the reins, especially in the exaggerated volumes of her silhouettes, and that continues here. Crisper materials made a counterpoint to the looser shapes—there were acres of crunchy cotton poplin and cotton grosgrain, "keeping the sharpness within," as Waight Keller said—but overall, the designer emphasized ease. Many of her tops and dresses are basically a single square of fabric—an oversize handkerchief, really—cinched with embroidered waists or belted, obi-style. It's hard to imagine easier than dungarees, which is just how the designer described her all-in-one of the season, in washed silk georgette. Her "summer shearling" was toweling fabric, stitched into kimono tops or used as paneling on carrot trousers. It looked appealingly graphic when paneled onto those pants, but it might be the place where ease gets too easy.
—Matthew Schneier

Chris Benz

Images of a sunglass-clad Marilyn Monroe and swatches of neon fabrics filled the mood board at Chris Benz's Garment District studio. He took his girl on a "tropical travel fantasy" for Resort, where every print coordinated with the others and nothing wrinkled. Tapping into a vacation mind-set, he lined almost every piece with power net mesh, so you could toss it over a still-wet bathing suit. And for the girl who can't be bothered to put an outfit together on her way from the beach to brunch, there was a white lightweight cashmere maxi dress. The collection's standout was a classic floral shirtdress cinched at the waist and shown open over pants of the same print. Benz emphasized his carefree American spirit throughout, accenting each look with brightly colored, oversize baubles by The Woods, an Aspen-based label that the designer has worked with for several seasons. (The circular pendant necklaces were a humorous take on an Elsa Peretti classic.) His overall message? It's time to have fun.
—Jessica Minkoff

Christian Dior

Bill Gaytten's last hurrah at Dior was a dignified farewell. There was no big story (even if Fall's ballet theme insinuated itself in the form of tulle tutus). Instead, fresh, graphic black, navy, and white and a gentle nod to the iconic Bar silhouette, with its emphasis on an accentuated waist. They really did look like clothes for a particularly upscale resort or cruise. It's been pointed out more than once this season that the link between Resort as we see it now and the original purpose of the clothes is becoming ever more tenuous, but here there were some pretty sundresses and an equally pretty rose print, the same flower that appeared abstracted in a sensational necklace modeled after an original design by Christian Dior himself.

Gaytten is first and foremost a cutter, and that is what he did best here, allowing just a little drama into the long, clean lines of the eveningwear. Most memorable? A decorous white plissé gown whose skirt turned on a twirl into an enormous circle, which suggested there'd be dancing on deck.
—Tim Blanks

Christopher Kane

Christopher Kane took a pragmatic, cheeringly un-precious approach to his new Resort collection. "The buyers are drawn to what we did," he said at his Paris presentation. Emphasis on the past tense. But the oldies were still the goodies: fabulous little crepe dresses with panels of knife-edge pleats, fashion details like safety buckles and belt clips, the slightly sickly baby blues and pinks, the cracked leathers, even the pool slides from last summer. And never forget the Versace-referent chain mail, with which the Kane story began so spectacularly in 2004, with his graduate show at Central Saint Martins.

Kane delved even further into his own back pages with a section based on antique photos, which he bastardized with punky splashes of pink. "It felt good to do prints again," he said. "Good not to be so technical." The result had the slightly skewed whiff of perversity that adds magnetic appeal to almost everything Kane does. But he said a flat "no" to the suggestion that the same weird whiff might be hanging around the new-looking fluffy knits. Sister Tammy, majordomo, sounding board, and everything else to Kane Inc., has just had a baby, and her kid brother was feeling broody.
—Tim Blanks

Collette Dinnigan

As a brand becomes more established, recurring stylistic elements come to be known as "house codes." That Collette Dinnigan has several easily identifiable touches—lace that flutters over shoulders and neckline-to-hemline sparkle both come to mind—speaks to a level of consistency that she's more or less maintained over 20 years.

Her 2013 pre-collection follows the classic Resort ethos—clothes for beach getaways—without abandoning her red carpet-lite niche. Dresses in geranium, sky blue, and crisp green French lace skimmed the body without clinging. A short-sleeved dress in mesh and lace was an LBD with staying power. Dinnigan placed equal weight on three-dimensional fabrics (featuring raffia flowers, beads, and paillettes) as on two breezy but busy prints.

If some pieces (the daisy embroidery, the coral capped-sleeve ruffle dress) prompted a déjà-vu reaction—as in, doesn't that look like [insert high-end label here] from Spring 2012?—it simply confirms that this designer can turn runway drama into first-date fashion. Her collection will make it to poolsides and movie premieres; eyelet blouses and jersey dresses looked travel-friendly, while the bejeweled gowns are party photo bait. These are lifestyle codes that Dinnigan understands well.
—Alex Veblen

Costume National

For Resort, Costume National is picking up where it left off with its "New Wave-No Wave-Dark Wave" Fall collection, but giving the clothes a lighter feel via fluid fabrics and welcome shots of safety orange and electric cobalt. There was a definite post-punk influence in head-to-toe leather looks studded with grommets, but the rock vibe was subdued considerably on pieces like a crisp white crepe trench with asymmetric leather flap details. Print is something you don't see CN designer Ennio Capasa flirt with often, but the moody orchids on a short-sleeved shift (a reported best seller) and a graphic magnified-linen pattern were definite high points in this sea of solids. For evening, fluttering chiffon gowns, especially a halter-neck style, nicely balanced stark with soft elements and effectively encapsulated the season's message.
—Brittany Adams

Cushnie et Ochs

You always know you're in for a creative theme with Cushnie et Ochs. After bouncing around from Betty Draper-by-way-of-Barbie to Belle de Jour to Almodóvar's trippy plastic surgery film The Skin I Live In, Carly Cushnie and Michelle Ochs settled on a Marie Antoinette-meets-Ancient Aliens construct for Resort. Sounds like they've been making good use of Netflix recently—thankfully, they interpreted the idea loosely. Antoinette's influence could be seen in corsetlike, décolleté-enhancing bust lines framed by soft draping, while a holographic knife-pleat skirt and matching button-up channeled an extraterrestrial vibe. The lineup had a new emphasis on longer silhouettes, which retailers including Bergdorf Goodman have reportedly been requesting recently. We'd like to see Kristen Stewart turn up at a premiere in the hot plum, slinky number with a cool keyhole cutout.
—Brittany Adams

Cynthia Rowley

Cynthia Rowley is fascinated with movement and making clothes come alive on the body. For Resort '12, the designer brought in Reed + Rader to create a GIF-based lookbook, and she is reprising the animated idea for her new collection; the video will appear on her site later this month. Rowley used Mylar balloons as a jumping-off point for the season and literally integrated them into the new lookbook as talk bubbles floating above the models' heads. You can see the shiny inflatables' influence in the Saran wrap-like sheen of a matching floral jacquard tank and second-skin pants. Ditto goes for the polarized round sunglasses that Rowley wanted to look "like Plexiglas dots stuck on your eyeballs." Exploring dots in both 2-D and 3-D, she featured a bubble print in addition to embellished cabochon gemstones on one memorable dress.

But the real high point here was her watercolor-patterned pro-grade wet suit. The designer is a huge surfer and escapes to Montauk on summer weekends to catch some waves, so she knows what works in terms of durable surf gear. She created a similar wet suit for Lindsay Lohan to wear in Richard Phillips' new short film First Point, which debuts later this week at Art Basel. Judging by the convincing product placement, we'd say the neoprene number will be a big hit with sales.
—Brittany Adams

Damir Doma

Damir Doma opened up shop on Rue Faubourg Saint-Honoré on Sunday. A store to call his own (and after only five years in the business) is reason enough to deliver a sharp, sellable Resort collection, but the designer said he had another good excuse, too. "When I went back to look at Fall, I think I went too costumey," he said of his most recent show. "I decided to take out the strong bits and do them in a more cool and effortless way." Step one was to introduce denim to the lineup. His jeans came in a blue so faded they were nearly white and with a crossover waistband. Paired with a lapel-less linen blazer in the same almost-blue shade and cinched with a black leather belt, they met both his criteria for success. Same goes for a tank dress made from texturized black silk. Fitted through the torso, it fell loosely from the waist to below the knees with the kind of everyday ease that will make girls reach for it again and again.
—Nicole Phelps

Derek Lam

We never heard this one before: At his presentation this morning, Derek Lam reported he was inspired by the Eddie Murphy comedy Coming to America. Actually, let's call it a loose inspiration. Lam isn't the kind of designer to play for giggles; his signature brand of American sportswear is more chic than tongue-in-cheek. But Resort does find him in a playful mood, teaming a leopard print and a giraffe motif on a sleeveless A-line shift and draping a printed silk sarong into a flirty cocktail number.

Lam explained that retailers are asking for urban dressing at Resort time, so though the genesis of these clothes was "safari," the results were city-ready. The denim pieces looked sharp despite their soft, sun-washed feel. And a loose-fitting black leather and nylon all-in-one made a worthy addition to his back catalog of great-looking jumpsuits. Coming soon to a high-end department store near you.
—Nicole Phelps

Diane von Furstenberg

Diane von Furstenberg's Resort collection is a trip. With her creative director, Yvan Mispelaere, she dreamed up a journey across the U.S., starting at her 14th Street headquarters and heading south to the Everglades, back up to Memphis, through Las Vegas, and all the way to California. Each spot provided a different set of prints: New York gave them wet cobblestones; Florida, the palm leaves; and the Southwest, hot-air balloons. The rockabilly vibe of a mismatched tuxedo (baby blue jacket and bubble-gum pink pants) came courtesy of Elvis and Graceland.

Prints have been a trademark since DVF's 1970's launch, and the range here was impressive, but since Mispelaere signed up at the house, it's the strong, surprising color combinations that are getting the most notice. See the neon celadon romper paired with a blush pink button-down and the sky blue trompe l'oeil top that was shown with rust-colored pants. Accessories have also gotten some special attention. Just back from a globe-spanning trip of her own, von Furstenberg said she could've used the two-tone cone-heel wedges with animal-spot trim and a day-to-night clutch with a snap closure that riffs on her signature lip print and a removable chain strap. They're not just eye candy. The wedges are genuinely comfortable, and the clutch is big enough for a phone, a set of keys, your lipstick, and some money—imagine that.
—Nicole Phelps

Diesel Black Gold

Sophia Kokosalaki lives and works in London's East End. Her studio is right where last year's riots roiled. She watches the kids relaxing in Victoria Park, where, as she says, "you might not have money but your look is important." That's the kind of honest, everyday life that had a big effect on her pre-collection for Diesel Black Gold. The Lurex-threaded knits were the sort of thing Kokosalaki sees on stalls in Broadway Market. There was urban athleticism in a bonded cotton shift with a racer back, or a net tank, or short shorts. A baseball jacket was based on one the designer wore when she was 16 years old (though she revisited it in butter-soft pastel suede). The cocktail dresses paired with trainers felt like a proper Diesel hybrid, but there was also something New Wave-y about the look.

In fact, the eighties weighed heavily on the collection. It's a decade those cash-stretched creatives in her neighborhood are particularly attached to, according to Kokosalaki. So there was a patchworked print inspired by New Wave record sleeves in the Victoria and Albert Museum's Postmodernism exhibition, along with stiff pieces that were a reminder of how structured clothes were back in the day. "Stiff is cooler," Kokosalaki said with a wry laugh as she hauled out a hide-bound biker jacket and black cotton jeans lacquered to look like leather. She also went to the soft end of the eighties spectrum with washed silk jumpsuits and a trench—top half gab, bottom half detachable sheer silk. The kids in Victoria Park mightn't have the money for these pieces, but they'll surely appreciate Kokosalaki's artful evocation of a golden era in inner-city style.
—Tim Blanks

Dion Lee

Editors and buyers at Sydney fashion week last month grumbled about the absence of Dion Lee. The 26-year-old up-and-comer with the skills to match his ambition has opted to show in London in September instead. But he's in New York this week showing off Resort, and he brought a sunny, athletic down under vibe with him. Lee grew up near the ocean in Sydney, and its influence was reflected here. You could see it in the fine neoprene bonded to Lycra he used for a skirtsuit and dress with laser-cut detailing at the back. In the sporty feel of a silk cupro zip-up jacket and matching shorts. In the barely-there-ness of a peplum top worn with a sheer wrap evening skirt. Another clever idea: knits made from a reflective yarn. The street-style photogs will love the way they pop in the camera flash.
—Nicole Phelps

DKNY

The Fall DKNY collection was full of tough, croc-stamped leather, but the new Resort lineup took a softer approach to the skin, courtesy of motorcycle jackets and pencil skirts in pastel shades of lemon and ballet pink. With its monochromatic color scheme, a cropped bomber, tunic, and tapered pants combo looked particularly on trend. As is expected of Donna Karan's younger line, there was plenty of flirtatiousness going on here. A sheer black party frock, for example, had tiers of feathers and lace and a bedazzled neckline—no jewelry required. A chiffon shirtdress with accordion pleats at the skirt came in a sweet trompe l'oeil lace print. And a fun zebra trumpet skirt was shown paired with a matching silk color-blocked button-up. You can imagine dancing until the early hours in those numbers, but the savvy design team is careful always to include looks that customers can wear to the office, too. Case in point: a clever pair of high-waisted trousers with a satin, cummerbundlike roll-down detail. They recalled the latest Donna Karan runway, which was entirely menswear-inspired, all the way up to those jaunty Stephen Jones mini fedoras.
—Brittany Adams

Donna Karan

"The collection before the next collection" is how Donna Karan introduced her new lineup this morning at a small show in her studio. It's telling that she didn't use the word Resort. These were clothes designed not for getaways but for city dwellers with a calendar full of holiday parties to attend. Even the palette—cement gray, black, and white, with hits of nude and lipstick pink—was inspired by the urban landscape.

This is familiar territory, of course, for Karan, and her draped and folded silk jackets with crystal closures had a confident allure. Same goes for a cowl-neck sleeveless top tucked into an asymmetrical-waistline pencil skirt. In contrast, the origami-like folds on paper taffeta party dresses and full skirts added heft to the silhouette rather than flattered it. But Karan was back on form with a pair of evening columns: the first in sleeveless hot pink with an architectural bow at the back and the second in plunge-front white with chain straps. The best look in the show was a white lapel-less blazer with a cutaway back worn with high-waisted black pants. She said that anybody who's a size 2 (sample size) could borrow anything for tonight's CFDA Awards. If we could see any of today's looks on the red carpet, it'd be that one.
—Nicole Phelps

Douglas Hannant

Last year, Douglas Hannant staged a runway show on the flight deck of the Intrepid to present his nautical-themed Resort '12 collection. Instead of doing another high-production event, the designer kept the focus on the clothing this time around. Hannant studied to be a fine artist before he entered fashion, and he used his own Monet-inspired watercolor paintings as the starting point for the new lineup. They appeared as digital prints and informed the mostly blue and green color palette. Resort season is no longer just for jet-setters who need caftans and bathing suits to fill St. Bart's-bound vacation trunks, but Hannant's collection hews closer to that traditional notion of cruise than those of other labels. His clients need outfits for charity luncheons, galas, and drink dates at the yacht club. For more formal events, there was an apron-tie taffeta ball skirt that parted down the center to reveal a sequined tank gown underneath, and a pair of shantung silk cargo pants that will definitely stand out in a crowd of strapless cocktail frocks.
—Brittany Adams

Dsquared²

School was in at Dsquared²'s Fall show, but for Resort, Dean and Dan Caten are returning to their rebellious roots with a "biker couture" lineup that also nodded to nineties glamazons. Lookbook model Cara Delevingne channeled the likes of Linda Evangelista and Naomi Campbell (we're also getting a Cher from Clueless vibe), posting up against a pay phone in a hot pink skirtsuit with a matching, cropped bustier top. The piled-on gold chain belts and necklaces with anchor pendants drove home the Hells Angels theme, but the clothes had plenty of flash on their own. A casual jean jacket balanced out dressy white silk trousers with beaded tuxedo stripes, for example. And continuing to mix high and low, the Catens paired eveningwear looks like a teal taffeta ball gown with a cognac-colored motorcycle topper. Ride on.
—Brittany Adams

Elie Saab

Shorts from Elie Saab? As unlikely as it sounds, believe it. The red-carpet favorite is building his daywear business and shorts are trending at the moment, so he put a couple pairs in his Resort collection. They came in a black and white tweed and a gray shade with tuxedo stripes on the sides, but there was nothing conservative about their length. Indeed, most of Saab's new collection has a body-conscious feel, be it a clingy stretch knit dress with lace insets, or a fitted peplum top and narrow pencil skirt. As usual, he kept the color palette tight and offered everything in multiple options. Like the apple green sheath with origami folds at the shoulders and waist? You can also get it in orchid, chesnut, or black. It was no surprise, either, that his evening dresses were the highlights. Two in particular are worth mentioning. The first came in black jersey with tulle insets at the shoulders; the second followed the same slim lines but was made from sequin-embellished lace.
—Nicole Phelps

Elizabeth and James

Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen have plenty to celebrate coming off their big CFDA coup, but between their winning work for The Row and, count them, 11 deliveries a year for Elizabeth and James, the designing sisters aren't about to kick back and relax anytime soon. The new Resort collection for their contemporary label is full of Olsen-isms both high and low. The saturated amethyst silk that was used here on a puffy-skirted frock (shown over a crisp bejeweled button-up), for example, also popped up in The Row's new lineup. At the same time, there were also lots of feminine riffs on menswear suiting, which the girls explained have always been a key factor in the Elizabeth and James success equation. A slouchy white tuxedo jacket came with built-in swaths of silk that mimicked a scarf, while look 18 appeared to be three smartly styled pieces (an oxford with a sheer T-shirt tucked into a pencil skirt) but was actually an all-in-one shirtdress. The younger E+J customer appreciates the effortless appeal of tossing on just one day-to-night piece; she should also be thankful for the Olsens' steadfast dedication to chic flats like the pointy-toe mule slippers here.
—Brittany Adams

Emilio Pucci

Emilio Pucci's New York flagship is scheduled to open in September, followed by a Milan outpost next February, and nine more shops after that. If Peter Dundas' new Resort collection had a more urban feel than usual, the big retail rollout is why. A global empire isn't built on beachy caftans alone, though Dundas did show a few beauties in weightless silk, one with insets of delicate lace butterflies and another elaborately embroidered with a dragon. Their accompaniments, grosgrain weave military belts, could start a run on them at surplus stores.

Sporty daywear with a safari/military vibe was the emphasis here, jolted by more than a touch of Dundas' signature brand of sex appeal. The opening suede shirtdress, for instance, laced provocatively up the sides and a leather dress featured a plunging open-V back, while the knit tanks he paired with slick tailored jackets and cargo pants were daringly sheer. A slim white T-shirt dress stitched with raffia provided a sweet counterpoint. The show's best look was a peach and army green washed-silk bomber jacket and matching green pencil skirt. It got the sexy-cool combo just right.
—Nicole Phelps

Emporio Armani

Never one to soft-pedal his gifts, Giorgio Armani dubbed his Emporio Resort collection Flawless. What immediately stood out was that, after seasons when he dipped his toe in obvious influences like the Orient, he'd returned to classic Armani. Wise move—the season's best seller has been the most signature piece, a softly tailored double-breasted jacket, diagonal closing, no lapel.

"Simple, light, and feminine" was what Armani was after. He used leather, linen, and silk as the means to that end. That meant, on the one hand, a raw-cut leather skirt, and on the other, pretty silk cocktail dresses, washed with watercolor like an artist's brushstrokes. Somewhere in the middle, there were a grosgrain ribbon jacket and lingerie-influenced pieces in charmeuse. Quite the range. You mightn't expect a reminder of the breadth of the Armani vocabulary in this context. Nevertheless, here it was.
—Tim Blanks

Erdem

Erdem Moralioglu's designs recently crossed over into the heady realm of wronged-woman court attire, courtesy of the floral dress worn by Linda Evangelista on the last day of her child support hearing in Manhattan. It felt so right for the Erdem ethos: an outfit proper enough to persuade a judge, but with an undercurrent of emotional excess. Of course, "rightness" isn't an Erdem ideal. As he talked through his new pre-collection yesterday, he was clearly still enraptured by the wrong. Acid pink lace appliquéd to a black neoprene sheath certainly filled that requirement, as did a serious coat—its tweed threaded with gold lamé—whose collar and cuffs were crusted with distinctly unserious plastic flowers and doodads. "Scooby-Doo inserts," Erdem called them. "It's always so tasteful and controlled. Mixing in the gummy plastic things felt new."

Did that hint of control-related ennui imply a designer on the brink of a breakout? Not really. Propriety still ruled, even if its grip on the collection wavered here and there. Erdem cited the Amish as a starting point, as well as a photo essay called Las Mujeres Flores, about a German settlement in Mexico. (His bookshelves are always laden with such fascinating ephemera.) What both shared was the idea of a closed world where craftsmanship thrives, a little like haute couture, actually. In fact, Erdem joked that his collection was Amish couture. "There's a human hand to it," he added. "That's what I find interesting."

The reference was most obvious in the hexagonal patchworking that recalled Amish quilts, but if that sounds just about as proper as proper gets, consider that it was most striking in the weird glamour of a midnight navy suit: tone-on-tone lace appliqué, worn-looking lamé sleeves, and big jeweled buttons that glittered darkly. Perhaps it was the folksiness of the patchwork contrasted with the sophistication of the components that made a shift stitched from hexagons of tweed and silk crepe jacquard appear so unhinged. The patchwork looked heavy, especially in comparison to the airy charm of something like a cotton poplin blouse with a print in Venetian blue that could have been rococo Rorschach blots. Erdem likes the tension of opposites, but here, heavy and light were pulling too hard. All that crepe contributed to a retro mood. (Even Erdem's first foray into bathing suits had a fifties squareness.) Looking for something breezier, there were sweater and skirt sets, those languid gowns will always be winners, and, ultimately, Erdem's pursuit of the off-kilter can't help but yield a peculiar beauty.
—Tim Blanks

Erin Fetherston

"Resort is the time to refresh your palette," Erin Fetherston said at a preview of her new collection for Erin. "It's about energetic, bright, crisp colors." And that's precisely what she brought to the table—in neon pink, turquoise, and cantaloupe melon, to be exact. Festive frocks were aplenty, in a wide range of styles from structured, jacquard fit-and-flares to free-flowing A-lines, done in everything from metallic Chantilly lace with neon lining to life-of-the-party sequins and a memorable geometric, rainbow-hued print.

She also dabbled with perforated leather, which toughened up feminine separates like a hoop skirt and a cropped ivory blazer. The same material lent itself well to a sleek, lightweight motorcycle jacket, shown with a chiffon dress. In the past, Fetherston has been known for her frills, but the highlight here was a simple dress, in solid black, red, and navy, with a peplum tulip waist, which has already garnered a lot of attention from retailers. That piece, hand in hand with a Web site relaunch planned for June 5 and a more vigorous e-commerce strategy, is enough to make you believe that it's not just the designer's Resort collection that's looking bright.
—Jessica Minkoff

Fendi

What do Legos and Leopold Stolba, the Vienna Secessionist artist, have in common? Fendi, of course. Karl Lagerfeld, polymath that he is, put both to work for him in the label's new Resort collection. He also referenced his 1970's self with a graph paper print he used back then. It could be that Lagerfeld is waxing nostalgic. More likely, it's just something in the air: The seventies have been a popular decade this season so far. Here the graph print appeared on a button-front blouse and matching skirt with double thigh slits. This was a leggy lineup all around, with shorts doing the work of pants and skirts and dresses dominating. The Fendi woman is no seductress, or at least she's not an obvious one. There's something decorous about these clothes. That said, a couple of little numbers in a beaded Stolba motif came finished with long strands of fringe. And there was more fun to be had on the accessories front. Many of the bags came with accessories of their own in the form of multicolored fur-covered cubes, like luxury versions of rearview mirror fuzzy dice.
—Nicole Phelps

Francesco Scognamiglio

The trapeze shape caught Francesco Scognamiglio's eye for Resort. "The inspiration is all about the triangle," he explained. Abstract in theory but clear in practice: Trapeze dresses and A-lines had a heady moment in the late seventies, and it was this era that Scognamiglio set out to channel, seen through the lens of one of its great muses, Catherine Deneuve. It's no stretch to imagine the young Denueve in one of the designer's mini shifts or frothier, sheerer concoctions. But he brought his own spin to the retro reference by pairing them with military-inspired outerwear and pieces with rock goddess details like gold studding and metal teeth. "Military goes romantic," he explained. On the subject of this-gone-that, there's the print: a safari-inspired mix of paisley and animal skin.
—Matthew Schneier

Gabriele Colangelo

"I'm always interested in light," Gabriele Colangelo said at a preview of his Resort collection. This season, the designer started with a long-exposure photo of the urban landscape, its lights glowing in the blur. Screened on shift dresses and pencil skirts, the motif became a kind of collection totem. It was transformed into faux plaids (a print actually made up of photos of streaks formed by fast-moving lights), shining threads of Lurex woven into a 3-D jacquard, and, somewhat less successfully, into sequins glittering among tufts of alpaca. The silhouettes, meanwhile, continued Colangelo's explorations of midcentury styles à la Dior. They were, however, much shorter than the master's. Call it a concession to modernity. Same goes for the sporty stopper pulls scattered throughout, on simple shifts and skirt hems.
—Matthew Schneier

Giambattista Valli

"I'm a label that wants to sell. I believe in clothes," Giambattista Valli said on the phone from Paris today. It sounds obvious, but some designers lose the plot. Not Giamba; for him, the customer has always come first, and his Resort collection is no exception. He called it Urban Jungle, focusing on tropical and animal prints and keeping his silhouettes uncomplicated. The magic, as usual, was in the mix of patterns and textures. A simple halter dress combined a palm frond print with a micro leopard, a gold-flecked ivory jacquard, and black grosgrain ribbon trim; on another sleeveless shift, a wine red ribbon bisected a palm-print bodice and a paisley skirt.

If there was a shade too much attention paid to shorts, his pants had a flatteringly high-waisted, full-through-the-thigh cut, and jackets had an on-trend belted and peplumed shape. Valli, as anybody who clocked Diane Kruger's gown at Cannes' Moonrise Kingdom premiere knows, is a master of after-dark drama. Here, he mostly reined it in, preferring evening separates to full-on gowns. A bordeaux chiffon poet-sleeve blouse and matching floor-length skirt finished with a gold bow belt was long on charm.
—Nicole Phelps

Giles

"Simple shapes with nice details." That, according to Giles Deacon, is what he enjoys about designing pre-collections. But such a bland summation doesn't come anywhere near close to pinning down the delirious essence of his latest Resort range. Poised awkwardly between the chilly rigor of the marble statuary he'd photographed at Castle Howard (the stately home where Brideshead Revisited was filmed) and the slapdash vigor of Making Paper, the design app he uses on his iPad, the clothes were an unhinged hybrid of classic and cartoon. A lot of the statues Giles photographed were missing their heads, so he topped them with one of his own drawings. The clash of trompe l'oeil marble drape and googly-eyed popstrel was even more extreme when printed on a silk evening dress that dipped to an elegant bow at the base of the spine. It was the sort of languid silhouette you'd imagine one of the legendarily game Mitford sisters sporting at a Castle Howard house party back in the 1930's. Except for that print, of course, and the fact that Giles had slathered the bodice with hologram sequins. "Rave Mitford," he called it. In that spirit, there was also a tank and skirt combination that might have made a tennis outfit for a Mitford, except that it was in pink Lurex. Likewise the pleated, racer-backed, princess-line Lurex dress that felt ready for a rave at Wimbledon. (The designer dresses Li Na, China's top female tennis player.)

Giles turned the heads he'd imposed on his statues into a graphic black and white print of red-lipped little characters wearing cloche hats and driving goggles (again, an echo of fast-living dames from another era). Printed on body-conscious stretch canvas, they were the most winning element in the collection. The same print was shrunk down and abstracted to create a camo-like pattern in silk polyester jacquard, which Giles cut into cocktail dresses and coats (detailed in more of that pink Lurex) and cropped jackets that could do double duty—bolero or bed jacket. Such eccentric formality was a reminder that Giles came into this world admiring the extreme style of fashion gorgons like Helena Rubenstein (there were also timely hints of Diana Vreeland here). These are his guns, and he's sticking to them. Or, as he puts it, "the more personal you can make it, the more relevant it is." It's definitely a thing of wonder that there seem to be so many women for whom these odd clothes strike that chord of relevance.
—Tim Blanks

Giorgio Armani

Sensualité, the name Giorgio Armani gave his Resort collection, was perhaps overegging the pudding a little for clothes that placed practicality before pleasures of the flesh. Armani went straight for the commercial jugular, no flights of fancy, just a clear, comprehensible emphasis on the jackets and pants his women want from him, with the added attraction of the bermuda shorts he promoted for Fall. Here, they had been given a pleatlike fold at the sides to add a little aerodynamic volume. The same fold was inserted into jacket darts, with the same result. It clarified the ease of the collection, somewhere between structure and sportswear.

Armani continued that dialogue into tops with a little swing-back volume and an approach to pants that was even more relaxed than usual, thanks to bias pleats. It was all in the interests of lightness and movement. That also explained the silk gauzes and organzas and the palette of soft pastels, particularly a mint green, which was very untypical of the designer. Truth be told, the shorts and backless top in midnight organza stood out like thumbs that are the exact opposite of sore.
—Tim Blanks

Giulietta

Giulietta has been, since its beginnings, long on backstory. Sofia Sizzi, film buff that she is, creates elaborate mood boards and makes free with references (like Fall's nod to The Leopard). For Resort, she cut through closer to the bone. "It's an introspective journey for our woman," she said. "She's been traveling around, going to islands in the past, but now she's looking into herself." The result is a collection, she added, that amounted to "a gathering of what Giulietta has been."

What Giulietta has been, first and foremost, is a meditation on sixties style. That it remains. The silhouettes still nip in at the waist and extend down to the knee and below. But where earlier collections tended to be austere, Sizzi used Resort to flirt. She introduced more color than she's used to date, like marigold and coral, and the Trevano motif that has always been part of her collection, inspired by her native Florence, was morphed here into a geometric flower print, picked up by floral belt buckles, enamel buttons, and even petals fluttering in Lucite-heeled wedges.

Shorter lengths and panels of sheer, which reached their pinnacle in a crystal flower-covered minidress, were positively girlish though never less than proper. Giulietta's getting younger as she gets older. If the message felt less dramatic than her first shots out of the gate, you've got to imagine it'll speak all the louder to the label's growing fan base.
—Matthew Schneier

Givenchy

An old photo of Hubert de Givenchy's muse Bettina (she predated Audrey Hepburn) got Riccardo Tisci thinking "gypsy" for Resort. Scarf prints were the collection's dominant motif, but bohemian this wasn't. Tisci cut the swirling paisleys in shades of red, blue, and gold with geometric blocks of black and white. If he's the one who made the fashion world mad for prints, their graphic treatment here puts him ahead of the field once again. The effect was particularly striking on the collection's opening look, a belted evening dress with long sleeves slit all the way to the shoulders. The capelike look repeated itself on shirts and outerwear, while extended tailcoat details that grazed the ankles on some of the looks likewise added drama.

Tisci's gypsy theme continued with slouchy-through-the-rear-and-thigh sarouel pants, but again they were paired with tailored button-downs or the boxy, almost architectural T-shaped jackets and tops that have become a house signature. On the phone from Paris—a back-to-back menswear show and haute couture presentation kept him away—he called the look "romantic, but with a sharpness." We're hooked.
—Nicole Phelps

Gucci

Seven years ago this summer, Frida Giannini made her Gucci debut with her Flora print accessory range. She was in New York then to show it off, and she was back today, presenting a new Resort collection that reinterprets the Flora print (originally lifted from a fifties Gucci scarf made for Grace Kelly) in a new way. It was a nice full-circle moment.

Giannini has been on a roll lately, and the new lineup is a worthy successor to the hit she had on her hands in February. There were echoes of the Milan show here in a leopard-motif silk jacquard pajama set and a shirtwaist dress with a seventies feel. Pantsuits in denim blue and lavender with elongated jackets and low-slung, skinny flares also riffed on that decade.

Color is one of Giannini's big messages for Resort. In addition to those suits, she cut sixties-ish A-line shifts and long narrow evening numbers in solid shades of yellow, turquoise green, and raspberry. All of them were finished off with elaborate jeweled embellishments at the neckline that rendered actual necklaces superfluous.

The real star of the collection, though, was the Flora print. Like its designer, it's grown up some. Giannini called it "unfinished," pointing out the black and white flowers set in between and behind the colored-in ones. The floral motif turned up on everything from a white linen peacoat to the hem of a strapless silk jersey dress, but it was freshest on a belted dress in a blue and white stripe borrowed from a man's dress shirt.
—Nicole Phelps

Helmut Lang

Edgy draping has been the MO at Helmut Lang for the last couple of years. Nicole and Michael Colovos felt like it was time to switch things around. The new Resort lineup is still recognizably cool, but it has a boxier, slouchier look. "We wanted something more boyish," Nicole said. Jackets had a new squarish, cropped shape and pants were cut full through the thighs. The same mannish proportions applied to a great-looking coat in black wool with ponyhair sleeves; where once those sleeves would've been narrow with high armholes, these were full and relaxed. Such small details might seem inconsequential to the uninitiated, but the Colovoses will tell you they're the difference between tomorrow and yesterday. An abstract print inspired by the feather sculptures of the artist Kate MccGwire wasn't necessarily innovative—the contemporary market that the label dominates is digital print-crazy—but it looked cool on both an easy dress and an even easier pair of pants in soft jersey.
—Nicole Phelps

Hervé Léger by Max Azria

Season after season, Max and Lubov Azria face the same challenge: how to bring new dimension to their label's signature bandage dresses. This Resort season, they came up with some surprises. Turning to pop art and comic books, the designers updated their body-con numbers with punchy color blocking in pink, orange, and blue. Even more noteworthy were the pieces that incorporated "rubberized" and leather bandage, such as a cropped black jacket worn over a sexy bandeau bikini. Honorable mention goes to the pink and white fit-and-flare frock whipped up in a hand-knit jacquard with mesh detailing. "It's always for the same customer," said Lubov, who stressed the importance of keeping the collection tight and clean. But by the looks of the new offerings, we wouldn't be surprised if the Azrias find themselves a few new converts.
—Jessica Minkoff

House of Holland

At the moment, London is all abuzz with anticipation of Her Majesty's Diamond Jubilee, which will be celebrated this weekend. And Henry Holland—smack in the middle of the local zeitgeist, as usual—has just met the Queen. But anyone expecting this collection from House of Holland to revel in English royalty is in for a surprise: Holland has turned his gaze to America and its gridiron princesses. All hail the cheerleader! Holland's Resort collection paid pop homage to the pep squadders, by means of bright pompom prints, done in silk and cotton pique and jersey, pompom embellishment, and flared silhouettes redolent of the abbreviated skirts found on virtually every high school's sideline. Elsewhere, he conjured the team spirit with broad stripes and varsity knits. This is Holland's second Resort collection, and he has a knack for the season; it suits his spriteliness. The tonal striped jacquard pieces and godet-pleated silk dresses were particularly good, and the striped silk jumpsuits had an appealing poolside mien. Holland also continued to develop his swimwear, which ought to grow into a strong category for his brand, alongside accessories like his canvas beach bags and the new range of sunglasses he'll be launching in September.
—Maya Singer

Iceberg

Bianca Jagger, especially in her Studio 54 heyday, is a perennial fashion inspiration. Her latest turn in the spotlight comes courtesy of Iceberg's Paolo Gerani, who loosely based his Resort collection on her Me Decade style. In case the reference wasn't clear, he screened her image on an oversized T-shirt, shown as a slouchy dress. Tailoring provided the his-and-hers look that Mick and Bianca used to trot out—here, a tuxedo jacket with an appliquéd tee and long tuxedo skirt—but for the most part, the look was more femme than homme. Print maxi dresses and jumpsuits left the most lingering impression.
—Matthew Schneier

Issa

Andy, is that you? For Resort, Issa printed its signature jersey wrap dresses and silk caftans with yellow-haired caricatures of Warhol in tribute to the hedonistic Studio 54 years. Designer Daniella Issa Helayel recently wore the collection-opening pleated silk gown—Andy pattern and all—to the Serpentine summer party. Other fun prints inspired by Warhol included a Technicolor zebra, tiny butterflies, and a miniature portrait of Elvis, which didn't make it into the lookbook but certainly made a splash on one of the label's bikinis. The most wearable and sellable pieces, however, were the simpler ones. Flattering knit dresses with kicky flared skirts and newly introduced stretch cotton jeans are the kinds of easy pieces that have earned the London label fans like Kate and Pippa Middleton.
—Brittany Adams

Issey Miyake

Our review will be posted shortly. See the complete collection by clicking the image at left.

J. Mendel

The J. Mendel signature has been, for some time, fluttering trains of balletic mousseline, so it was something of a surprise to see Gilles Mendel turning his attentions to a silhouette he called "very tight." The old plisséd skirts were still in evidence on his most dramatic gowns, but for much of the collection, he hewed much closer to the body, mimicking its own architecture with details that, he said, "brought the construction out." Seams were bound in faille on siren-tight bustier dresses (and inset with python strips because, well, why not?), as they were on a micro raffia jacket, giving it a semi-futuristic spin. Cord details crisscrossed gown bodices, apparently in homage to the textile artist Sheila Hicks; Mendel hinted that future collections would head in this direction, too. On the gowns with softness to spare it worked, though on other pieces it undercut some of the romance the house has courted so successfully in seasons past. Still, those missing the old can take heart. Opening a side door of his showroom, Mendel led the way to one room of a multi-part atelier, where seamstresses were busy draping a long yellow gown for a Middle Eastern princess, part of his growing side business in couture. Ask and you shall receive.
—Matthew Schneier

J.W. Anderson

At this point, it pretty much goes without saying that the frantic pace of fashion is testing the wherewithal of designers. Creating two coherent, compelling, and well-made collections per year is hard; adding pre-fall and Resort to the production schedule presents a significant challenge to the resources, both creative and practical, of even the most talented young designers. J.W. Anderson has made canny use of this Resort collection, giving himself the chance to expand on ideas he debuted last season. In particular, Anderson elaborated on his sharp volumes from Fall and that collection's experimentation with futuristic, technical materials. But he also added enough new ideas to the mix to make this season's clothes feel totally fresh.

Anderson's inspiration this time out was "Sunday clothes"—or, as he put it, the dressy looks that nice, bourgeois ladies wear to church. And there was something mumsy about this collection's range of mid-calf dresses and skirts, a tone played against by the pieces' execution in materials like vinyl-varnished taffeta and boiled nylon. The silhouettes helped with the update, too—Anderson's dresses, for instance, were surprising in their geometry and scale—as did the collection's palette, an entirely intuitive mix of Pepto pink, tonal grays, and blues and bright red and yellow redolent of the McDonald's logo. Elsewhere, Anderson added menswear grace notes—new soft-tailored jackets in pinstriped navy, and shirting such as dickeys and workwear smocks. The combination of full skirts and bandeaux read as Prada-esque—and Anderson did get his start at that label—but he took ownership of the look with a sharp, minimalist reinterpretation. All in all, this was a strong outing for Anderson. Indeed, taking obligation for opportunity, Anderson seized on this Resort collection to present his most thorough and refined vision for womenswear yet.
—Maya Singer

Jason Wu

Taxidermy beetles with vintage watch parts inside by the artist Mike Libby were the surprising starting point for Jason Wu's pretty Resort collection. The miniature creations inspired both the bugs picked out in Swarovski crystals on a duchesse satin cocktail dress and the vibrant color palette—see Karlie Kloss' bright-red draped gown at the Met Ball and Jessica Stam's royal-blue number at the CFDAs. To complement the little creatures, he designed an oversize botanical motif that he said "looks like it's under a microscope." It appeared on a boxy tee and sleeveless dresses.

As unlikely as the origin of Wu's lineup was, the results put him smack-dab in the middle of things. A week's worth of Resort appointments is confirmation enough that neons aren't going anywhere and neither are bold, look-at-me prints. If there's safety in the center, he pushed himself in other ways. Coming off a Fall collection that was all about tailoring, he challenged himself to try more draping—the special-occasion gowns he previewed on Kloss and Stam are good examples of that. Lace gowns with jet beading that Wu likened to tattoos had a new and not unwelcome edge.

Wu showered his accessories with plenty of attention. Bags came in three-color combos that reflected the electric hues of the clothes, and shoes ranged from evening sandals to rhinestone-trimmed pumps to fancy flats. There were also bejeweled minaudières and utility belts. With so much merch on offer, one wondered when the first flagship store would be coming. Wu said he's waiting, for now. "I want to get it perfect," he said. "I'll do it when the time is right."

—Nicole Phelps

Jean Paul Gaultier

Who else but Jean Paul Gaultier would put substantial corset boning in a leather varsity jacket? His new Resort lineup is full of tried-and-true JPG-isms, including lingerie-inspired details, nautical separates, and new takes on the classic Le Smoking. In the lattermost category, the standout piece was an amaranth-colored tuxedo jacket—one half of which was business as usual, while the other half was sleeveless with a flowing swath of silk that could be styled like a scarf. Emphasizing his signature tailoring while exploring more relaxed silhouettes was the name of the game for Gaultier this season. On that note, there was also a striped button-down jumpsuit that billowed like a caftan, with slashes up the sides. Along with everything else, it came topped with a turban similar to the one Gaultier wore at his Couture show last week. It should be noted that his latest menswear collection also featured head wraps. Apparently, we've got a new JPG signature to look forward to.
—Brittany Adams

Jen Kao

Based on her eclectic collections and the daring, vampy outfit she wore to last week's CFDA Awards, you wouldn't necessarily take Jen Kao for an avid sports fan. But her latest Resort lineup is a game changer, starting from the ground up. Kao has been courting Nike for the past few months and collaborated with the footwear behemoth on a new capsule of graffiti-sprayed gladiator sandals with bungee cord laces—ideal kicks for sidewalk sprints between appointments during the warmer months. The clothes, meanwhile, specifically referenced mountaineering. Holding up a tiered silk maxi skirt featuring this season's digital print, Kao pointed out the tiny climbers scaling a craggy summit. On a less literal but more wearable note, there was a cool ripstop anorak here as well as distressed jeans accessorized with rucksack bags and carabiner-inspired pieces. Kao is headed to London next month with her entire family for the Olympics, and given these thoughtful designs, we're happy to see her embracing her inner athletic side.
—Brittany Adams

Jenni Kayne

Jenni Kayne has a reputation for laid-back California cool. For Resort inspiration, the L.A.-based designer looked to eighties beach culture and (here's the surprise) high society. Kayne stuck with her classic silhouettes—button-down shirts, slouchy pants, and short shorts, updating them in refreshing shades of sea-foam green and chevron yellow. The print story here, on a T-shirt dress and hot pants, was taken from old tiles used as the foundation in Mexican architecture. The same neon-colored pattern carried over to a pair of Kayne's d'Orsay flats, a style that's been a hit for her at retail. Kayne loves a little leather; this time it appeared in bra-top form, paired with a lady-who-lunches plaid pencil skirt and a canvas jacket. That look and a blush-tone tailored shorts suit were the obvious winners here.
—Jessica Minkoff

Jill Stuart

After heading in a darker direction for Fall with a collection inspired by the musician Nick Cave's muses, Jill Stuart is back on a softer, girlier path for Resort. At a preview at her showroom, the designer explained that she'd been reminiscing over Corinne Day's work for The Face—think Kate Moss at a mid-nineties garden tea party. The vibe came across with a tiered chiffon maxi dress in a romantic English rose print (naturally, Day would've shot it with a pair of Dr. Martens combat boots) as well as with a sweet, sheer white frock worn over silk bloomers.

In the past few seasons, Stuart has been increasingly drawn to dense, embroidered fabrics like the floral one seen here on a bustierlike crop top paired with an A-line skirt. When we first noticed bandeaus on the Spring '12 runways, we were skeptical of their real-world wearability, but after seeing scads of them on both the red carpets and the streets, we're convinced that Stuart's customers will embrace the look.
—Brittany Adams

Jonathan Saunders

"I had fun with this one," Jonathan Saunders said, riffling through the eye-popping racks at his Resort presentation. Color, separates, and the seventies were the takeaways from the collection, along with a new Cutler and Gross-manufactured sunglasses capsule and a 12-piece evening dress range made with Hollywood types in mind.

The Scottish designer is in growth mode, and it's easy to see why. For one thing, there's the mix-and-match versatility that his emphasis on sportswear provides. "When people stopped being afraid of separates, it opened up a whole new world for me," he said. And for another (and this is more important), there's an approachable irreverence to these clothes—the straightforward shapes and the surprising colors and patterns. His ombré polka-dot pieces practically vibrate, they're so bright, and there's no ignoring graphic, almost "off" combinations like a cherry red polo sweater in a slimming viscose knit and leaf green jacquard pants. "Optimistic," he called the collection. Who can resist that?
—Nicole Phelps

Josh Goot

There may have been a moment in Josh Goot's career during his earnest efforts to establish himself in the Northern Hemisphere when he soft-pedaled his Australian connection, but since moving back to Sydney, he's made peace with that bit of his past. And Resort may well turn out to be the answer to that seasons-in-reverse issue that dogs designers down under, especially when, as here, the collection was so full of the things that make great Australian designers—like Nicky Zimmermann, Jenny Kee, and Dion Lee—so, er, great.

The prints that draw on Oz's incredible natural environment, for instance. Goot's striking digital motifs were inspired by the underwater colors and textures of the Great Barrier Reef. "I wanted them to feel like animal prints," he said. So he made fish look like zebra and tiger—as well as flowers, or complete abstractions like the graphic he called "future fossil," which was a psychedelic Rorschach.

Another Sydney strongpoint, the body consciousness that comes with the climate, has always been one of Goot's strengths, too. Here, he bonded silk to thin foam to create a second-skin alternative to neoprene and cut it into a new silhouette with darting detail. The dipped hems and mesh inserts added a go-faster athleticism.

Goot's first attempt at knitwear fit right in with the high-tech body con. His intarsias felt as dry as a bone. "I love cold, dry textiles," he almost apologized. "They feel really clean."

There was the same quality in Goot's tailored pieces, also new territory for him. He focused on corsetry, using 100 percent cotton jersey bonded to a thin layer of foam. If you ain't got the Bondi bod, Goot'll give it to you.
—Tim Blanks

Josie Natori

Having returned from the Philippines just last week (her tenth trip this year), Josie Natori couldn't help but use the "happy colors" and memories of the country's island sunsets as inspiration. "There is such creativity there," the designer said. "After 35 years in the business, I thought it was appropriate to finally incorporate it in my work." The bold colors of the region's straw mats, which are often used for sleeping, lent themselves well to Natori's collection. Most memorable were a pair of bright fuchsia ankle-crop cigarette pants and a cyan blue kimono dress with a cinched waist. Interspersed among the solid separates were a few eye-catching prints, designed with the "psychedelic" Philippine jeepneys in mind. A popular mode of public transportation that originated after World War II, the long buslike jeeps were decorated to show off the drivers' personalities and, of course, garner the attention of people on the street. We bet Natori's take—a silk wrap dress with a crisscrossed top and fluid skirt—will do exactly the same thing for her customer.
—Jessica Minkoff

Juan Carlos Obando

Before he began designing in 2008, Juan Carlos Obando was in charge of branding for big companies like Toyota as a creative director at the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agency. Obando applied that skill set (he also photographed the lookbook himself) to refining his namesake label's message over the past several seasons. His new Resort lineup is his most concise to date. Focused on "an unassuming approach to eveningwear," Obando showed a flamingo pink chiffon blouse with cargo pockets paired with a long, silicon-treated silk skirt that had a trailing train. Worn with super-cool, studded menswear oxford shoes (a collaboration with friend George Esquivel), it was exactly the kind of outfit you'd want to dance in at a summer wedding. Floaty sheer pants attached to cool board shorts plus "pillow case" clutches struck a similar balance of unassuming elegance.
—Brittany Adams

Juicy Couture

As one of the CFDA's 16 new members, Juicy Couture chief creative officer and president LeAnn Nealz is moving up in the fashion industry. And she's taking the label with her. Long gone are the days when the Juicy girl stocked her closet with a rainbow-hued array of velour sweat suits. "I wanted her to grow up a little bit," said Nealz. "I think it got very young for a while." Nealz replaced the track pant and hoodie set with classic separates and sophisticated statement pieces. A mid-thigh two-toned coat with a faux fur bottom, a stretch jacquard miniskirt with a metallic crest design, and a cutout sheer lace sweatshirt (the closest thing to a sweat suit here) come to mind. But that's not to say that the latest holiday collection lacked the fun, girly elements that Juicy Couture is known for. Bright floral prints were aplenty, moto jackets got the color-block treatment, and simple crew-neck sweaters sparkled with jewel-encrusted collars. Elsewhere, gems were sewn onto knits, used as clasps on pink leather clutches, and sprinkled over denim. The Juicy girl may have grown up, but she'll never be too old for a little bit of sparkle.
—Jessica Minkoff

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

Karen Walker

Perhaps it's because her pop-up store, The Candy Shop, is opening at Steven Alan this Friday. After showing her Resort collections mostly in New Zealand and Japan, Karen Walker brought it stateside this year. The designer found her starting point thinking about Victorian seaside holidays, filtered through a 1960's lens. This translated to a series of baby-doll frocks, shift dresses, full skirts, and slouchy pants in floral silk crepe de chine and lightweight organza that looked almost translucent. Walker tossed in sailor stripes on cotton dresses and little white tops with ruffled collars, a nod to the playful frilliness that resonates throughout all of her past collections. But it was the range of polka-dot denim chambray pieces—a T-shirt dress, cropped trousers, and a little beanie come to mind—that left us hoping Walker's stateside Resort foray will become a regular thing.
—Jessica Minkoff

Kelly Wearstler

"It's great to have an inspiration you can really sink your teeth into," said Kelly Wearstler of her new Resort collection and its "animals that attack" theme. The idea played out quite literally here on tabbed silk pants slashed along the shins, prowling tiger-print blouses with leather accents, and an easy cupro shift dress with a graphic triangular pattern meant to conjure up snapping, serrated teeth. Now in her fifth season, the Los Angeles-based designer has completed a full lap around the fashion calendar and is working to establish a signature aesthetic that complements her renowned, eccentric approach to interior decor (she designs both clothing and home goods with the same customer in mind).

Sweaters, according to Wearstler, have emerged as a new favorite medium because they remind her of tapestries. The cashmere-blend styles with sheer mesh insets fit in nicely with the whole predator thing, looking like they were swiped by a tiger paw. But some of the best pieces didn't adhere all that closely to the designated theme. An updated track jacket in a linen jacquard and a matching flared skirt, for example, were effortlessly on-message and on-trend.
—Brittany Adams

Kenzo

Humberto Leon and Carol Lim have made the jungle—and Kenzo's Jungle Jap—the launch pad for their reboot of the brand. "We decided to take it back to the beginnings of Kenzo," Leon explained at his Paris studio. He and Lim had recently come back from a trip through the real-life jungles for inspiration. The ones they visited were East Asian, and what they saw there both literally and figuratively infused their Resort offering. The leopard print they used is derived from the markings of a specific beast: the clouded leopard, native only to East Asia. Their knit stitch was inspired by basket weaving seen in situ.

Shapes, too, were inspired by their travels. A cotton/raffia parka, which zips off into an abbreviated version, looked ready for the wild. So did cotton stopper-pull shorts. Stoppers appeared on many different pieces, from dresses to wide-legged pants, offering plays with volume from the dramatic to the cinched. Those inflated shapes made for a more overtly fashion-conscious range than the duo has offered to date. With risk comes reward, though some pieces may find them out on a limb. Speaking of, their first structured bag, the No. 18 (named for their studio address on Rue Vivienne), debuts here, complete with an iPad case inside. But where to charge such a contraption in the jungle?
—Matthew Schneier

L'Wren Scott

L'Wren Scott was in town this week showing off her first-ever Resort collection. "It's fun and lively, how resort used to be," she said from her perch in the Crosby Street Hotel. It certainly showcased her sense of humor and an appreciation for visual puns. Working from her personal collection of propaganda materials dating back to world wars I and II, she hand-drew the season's prints. Hat's Off, as its name suggests, is a colorful cap pattern and salutes "those who fight for peace and freedom"; L'Wren's Loves features L-words like Leggy, Looker, and Luscious; and a graphic box print is actually Morse code spelling out the designer's name and the phrase "don't fake it." These and several more appeared on silk dresses that will be familiar to Scott's fans for the way they put the emphasis on the waist, as well as little tops that she paired with silk paneled cardigans and bright pencil skirts with contrasting grosgrain ribbon waistbands. The Queen's Diamond Jubilee and the American election got her on the propaganda path, but if this was a political collection, it was sweetly so. Pointing out the matching print totes, hats, and shoes and putting on a French accent, she said, "I love a look total."
—Nicole Phelps

Lanvin

"Resort," Alber Elbaz said over the cello accompanying his presentation this morning, "is about solutions." It's a notion we've actually been hearing a lot about this season; designers are putting the focus on real clothes, not runway fantasies. Elbaz, though, is a dreamer through and through. So as practical and forgiving and easy as his clothes for Lanvin are, there's always a frisson of something extra.

Often today, that something extra was the piles of necklaces and armfuls of bangles that accompanied so many of the looks. Other times it was the bags. "I heard that bags are very important in fashion," he said, announcing that he's been focusing a lot of attention on them lately.

But it was the clothes that seduced, be it an emerald green crinkled silk pajama top and pants with the unconstructed, elasticized waistband of a simple slip, or an emerald green cocktail number made from a tech fabric used in the construction of bras that has the sucking-everything-in properties of a new pair of Spanx. The color palette was as bold as ever. For every loose-fitting silhouette, there was another body-conscious one. In the former category, a strapless palm tree-printed lamé dress that slouched off the body thanks to clever inner corsetry looked great, and in the latter: a sporty orange racer-back tank dress caught the eye. Dreamy, all around.
—Nicole Phelps

Lela Rose

Lela Rose said her new Resort collection was inspired by Man Ray's works during the Dada period, but at first glance, there was nothing particularly surreal about these straightforward, pretty cocktail frocks. Slim-fitting sheaths came in a color-blocked palette of blood orange, taupe, and mint derived from what the designer described as the artist's "lesser-known paintings," as opposed to his famous avant-garde photography. Subtle details like cloth-covered embellished jewels and unexpected cutouts at the shoulders added new interest to Rose's somewhat predictable, "event-driven" fare. No one's going to argue with a classic cobalt blue gown, but we'd like to see Rose experiment more with looks like the "eyelash" jacquard trousers set, which was a definite standout.
—Brittany Adams

Louis Vuitton

Louis Vuitton's women's design director Julie de Libran can rattle off the references almost as fast as her boss Marc Jacobs can. For Resort, which she presented in a mini fashion show format at the DIA's old space in Chelsea, she cited Catherine Deneuve in Indochine and La Sirène du Mississippi as inspiration. In both films, Deneuve keeps her French cool—"put-together, elegant, and sensual," de Libran said—despite the stifling heat.

The clothes here hewed more closely to the layered look that Jacobs established at LV's show in March than they did to the style of those films, but the "put-together" idea fits. This was a sweet, feminine collection all about ensemble dressing: a drop-waist printed silk dress worn over matching cropped pants; an elongated vest and flared trousers, both in a red and white dot, paired with a broderie anglaise tunic; a sheared mink the same color of candy pink and brown as the pants and polo sweater it accompanied. Where the Fall collection riffed on the Edwardian era, this had more of a seventies vibe—a decade that's been getting a lot of play with designers this season. Towering straw platforms and wide-brimmed raffia visors accompanied many of the looks. Other outfits were accessorized with crystal tiaras.

If those seemed a tad frivolous, Vuitton is plenty serious about a new made-to-order service. In a salon at the Fifth Avenue flagship, clients can customize their handbag from five silhouettes and many different leathers and linings. There are 40,000-some possible combinations.
—Nicole Phelps

M.Patmos

It's easy to see the appeal behind Marcia Patmos' intricate, engineered knitwear, particularly during a season like Resort—who doesn't need a lightweight cardigan for those nippy evenings in November, when the clothes start arriving in stores? At an appointment in her Meatpacking District studio, the M.Patmos designer pointed out a series of spearmint green pieces that the NYC boutique Kirna Zabête has reportedly scooped up. A flouncy sweater dress in the refreshing pastel shade featured several different pointelle stitches and had Alaïa-like appeal, while a blazer cut from scuba-ish rayon paired with slim, cropped faille trousers—both in the same hue—hit on the currently flourishing monochrome trend. Another highlight here was Patmos' use of leather. A supple cognac-colored jacket stamped in a micro crocodile pattern came with soft knit sleeves, and a striped Lurex linen skirt had a crisp white leather panel in back. Subtle, thoughtful details like these made for a tight, versatile lineup that was utterly wearable.
—Brittany Adams

Maison Martin Margiela

All big design houses invest money and manpower in vintage sourcing. The more zeroes devoted to it as a budget item, the more secretive they are about it. Not chez Margiela. Here, they're so transparent about the practice, they sew the provenance right into the label. "Replica" garments they call them, and they were among the house's key pieces for Resort. A shawl-collared jacket embroidered with holographic sequins had its genesis in a Prince of Wales check blazer from the seventies that they discovered in Rio de Janeiro, and a tuxedo took its cues from one made in the 1960's that they found in Buenos Aires.

Menswear-influenced tailoring formed the basis of the collection, as it often does, but they also injected a bit of structured flou, cutting silk georgette in an icy lavender shade into a squared-off tunic and matching cropped pants, and adding a pleated skirt panel to the front of a jumpsuit, turning it into a dress from the front but retaining the easy feeling of an all-in-one. The evening showstopper, a beaded plunge-front halter top, was another oldie but goodie; it was also a Rio find dating to the 1970's.
—Nicole Phelps

Maiyet

To create the hand-block print and hand-painted details on a cotton poplin frock meant to channel the pampas of southern Argentina and Brazil, the Maiyet team enlisted artisans in both Jaipur and Delhi. Nobody said ethical fashion was easy, but that's a lot of groundwork for a simple shift dress. Last season, Maiyet's mission to stabilize regions of the world by employing local craftspeople got in the way of its design message. Resort's emphasis on simple, unconstructed silhouettes helped give focus to the label's new offerings.

The A-line shape of the aforementioned dress was key; it was echoed in the away-from-the-body cut of another little sleeveless number with a hand-painted and hand-embroidered hem, as well as in an unadorned amber-hued tank and its accompanying ocher inverted-pleat shorts. Pants came in two cuts: a full trouser with those same inverted pleats and a slimmer, probably more saleable style with tracksuit piping down the sides. The strappy flat sandals shown with the latter pair look like they'll have legs at retail, too.
—Nicole Phelps

Mara Hoffman

The past few Resort seasons, Mara Hoffman has been focusing on swimwear, which accounts for more than 40 percent of her business at this point, but she decided to reinvigorate ready-to-wear this year. One reason Hoffman's bathing suits are so successful is their lower price point, which the designer says she kept in mind while creating her new lineup. "I've learned my customer is happy to substitute real silk with less expensive materials like modal and rayon so long as she still gets the print," she said. Tropical toucan pattern dresses with fluid silhouettes were cut from these more affordable fabrics and will take Hoffman's customer from brunch to the boardwalk and back, while button-up dresses knotted at the hem and maxi looks could easily make that day-to-night transition with the addition of heels. Hoffman's smart textile choices mean that her fans can stuff their weekender bags with several of these effortless pieces.
—Brittany Adams

Marc by Marc Jacobs

The moment you face your public—literally—with your visage on a shirt front may be the moment you've really arrived. Armani did it; Lagerfeld does it; now, here's Marc. For a few limited-edition tees and sweatshirts for the Marc by Marc Jacobs Resort collection, the designer borrowed a moody, smudgy portrait of his younger self by Elizabeth Peyton. Not that you'd need the reminder where you were. The latest Marc by Marc range rummaged through some of the great hits of the designer's history, tweaking or twisting them at will. Stripes and dots are standbys. Here they rippled across puffers and spotted, shredded jeans. A mint green leather tee and short-short set were covered with tonal dots, too, like a younger, friskier version of the dotted latex skirts from the Fall '11 Marc Jacobs line. A few military coats and capes, in a prettily abstracted camo, remembered MMJ's swipes at army chic. The mouse-eared flats from the label's past turned into mouse-eared pumps. There were nods at every decade from the sixties through the nineties, and a thrifted, mix-and-match approach to styling ran throughout. (That, with the stated inspiration of Portland, helped explain the punky blue hair the models wore.) All those plays on the past made you think of the future. It's appealing to imagine a time decades hence when Marc by Marc lines the rails of vintage shops, awaiting a new generation of fans. But don't expect those Marc-face tees to turn up on the racks. They're collector's items.
—Matthew Schneier

Marchesa

Georgina Chapman and Keren Craig's Marchesa label is practically synonymous with big red-carpet moments. Big being the operative word. Tulle, gazar, and lace by the yard go into their grandest ball gowns. For Resort, they reined in their decorative tendencies, and it paid off. Celebrity stylists will be vying with each other for first dibs at a stretchy dove gray lace long-sleeved column embroidered with gold and silver studs. A shorter light blue lace dress with an asymmetric hem followed similar body-hugging lines. Its short sleeves gave it a fresh feel—biceps are suffering from a case of Hollywood overexposure.

Chapman said she was thinking about English gardens when she was working on the new range, which explains the vibrant pink hues of a corded lace one-shoulder cocktail dress and another pouf of a thing in silk gazar. But their clients come back to them for white dresses and they aim to please, especially during the pre-collections, which they described as their "customer-directed" seasons. The best white gown in the bunch was body-conscious, too. It came in a silk crepe "with some give" and pleated tulle angel-wing sleeves.
—Nicole Phelps

Marc Jacobs

Cindy Sherman's clown series was the starting point for Marc Jacobs' Resort collection. Proportions were either oversize or shrunken, polka dots clashed with plaids, and platform sandals were affixed with gumball-sized rhinestones. "Boldness, gaudiness, butterflies, and deli carnations" were the terms being tossed around in the backstage area. Not for team MJ is Resort a season for play-it-safe clothes.

If some of the pieces had the feel of costumes—the stiff A-line dresses with lace overlays come to mind—there were looks here that have serious retail potential. We're talking specifically about the silk crepe dresses that hewed to thirties-by-way-of-the-seventies lines. The most charming of the lot came in a mint green floral with three-quarter puffed sleeves, a keyhole neckline, and a scooped-out back, but there were several versions of them on the mini-runway and even more hanging on the racks.

Jacobs continues to experiment with the layering ideas he started working on for Fall both in New York and in Paris for Louis Vuitton. But whereas his February shows played on Edwardian-meets-Advanced Style silhouettes, the vibe of his sweatshirt over an A-line skirt over flared pants (all covered in florals, by the way) was more youthful, energetic. This three-for-one look just might be the one that takes the trend wide.
—Nicole Phelps

Marios Schwab

Given fashion's obsession with novelty, it was a bit of a shock to walk into Marios Schwab's East London studio and discover that his new collection looks, well, a lot like his last one. That's not a bad thing: Schwab has doubled down on some very good ideas, and the fact that he saw fit to do so is proof that he's hit his stride as a designer. The key idea here, as with last season, was the palimpsest layering of gossamer materials such as sheer silk and net; he worked metallic beading and sequins between the layers to create quicksilver effects or played tonal colors together to mimic the dappled look of liquid. The layering made for some very evocative, elegant eveningwear—it's no wonder his dresses have been turning up on the red carpet—but his Resort innovation was to use the technique in simpler pieces that could translate for day.

Indeed, Schwab increasingly is emphasizing casual looks and separates; see the satin cigarette pant and leather skirt, elaborated with belt hardware, and the cashmere knits with cutout blob shapes (another reiteration from Fall). His casual clothes aren't exactly the kind of thing you'd spend a Sunday mooching around in, but these pieces, and the softness of the collection in general, indicate that Schwab has moved beyond his fetish for constriction and is thinking hard about comfort and ease. Perhaps the surest sign of that could be found in his signature body-con numbers: The harnessing and corsetry looked binding, but the fabric was stretch.
—Maya Singer

Markus Lupfer

The news at Markus Lupfer this season is materials. Forget the campy Lupfer lips, stretched here to even sillier proportions, and look past the novelty graphics like hamburgers and retro cars: Lupfer's a showman and he loves a bit of fun, but of late he's been addressing himself to the serious business of elevating the feel of his clothes, and this time out, it was his fabrics that gave the collection its punch. Take, for instance, the technical jacquard, used in a short, neon coral-colored dress with a cutout midriff. Up close, the jacquard, though pliant, had a cool, plastic feel in keeping with the inspiration of "American slickness." Elsewhere, Lurex metallics and coated tweeds echoed the theme. His coated tweed motorcycle jackets with ruffled peplums are going to fly at retail; likewise the metallic pants and short, kick-pleat skirts. Lupfer has a knack for making basic pieces that feel and look special—or, if you prefer, special pieces that can be worn like basics. Not a showman's trick, but still a good one.
—Maya Singer

Marni

Consuelo Castiglioni stepped back from her Resort collection and found herself disconcerted by its structured, almost couturelike precision. So she decided to mix it up a little. Dissonance, she decided. Something opposite, to add a little creative tension. Only she knows how she got from that point to cowgirls, but her decision guaranteed that the new lineup was an engaging face-off between grand old chic and Grand Ole Opry. The piped yokes and studded shirts, snap-closing blousons, and dipping hems were more Dale Evans than Dolly Parton. Circle skirts guaranteed that these were clothes you'd want to twirl in, and that suggested a whole new energy for Marni.

Castiglioni's H&M collaboration was a smash, and she just became a grandmother for the first time. So, why not push the boat out? There was some logic in the western influence—it gave the designer a chance to explore some pretty graphic volumes—but it was more fun to see a riverboat gambler's frock coat translated into a dress or the decorative details of Mr. Nudie's country-and-western rococo (like a crystal-studded placket) carried over into a Marni collection.

Consuelo brought it all back home with a group of natural linen pieces stunningly embroidered with raffia. Echoing her summer hideaway on Formentera, the beads sat like berries in the midst of an organic fantasia.
—Tim Blanks

Matthew Williamson

"I'm keeping the silhouette simple—classic, tailored, angular—so you can pile on the opposite," said Matthew Williamson of his Resort collection. "A 50:50 mix of these extremes is the best." A classic black cocktail dress with a sinister torrent of dark crystals and midnight blue beading curving down its front made a pretty convincing argument. So did a simple shift whose hem was dripping with gold paillettes. But when Williamson talked about how his 15th anniversary in business had refreshed his design DNA, it was the juicy corals and oranges, the cool mints and purples that the eye was immediately drawn to, because they were the color scheme of the summer-holidays-in-Ibiza dream that Williamson evoked so successfully at the start of his career. His easy "minimalist" shapes—caftans, shifts, draped columns—did that resort palette justice. He also offered the same silhouettes in a dark blue-toned urban palette with python-print accents. The most insinuating piece in the collection was a strapless column in an inky floral silk chiffon—15 years of professional and personal growth in one dramatic dress.
—Tim Blanks

Michael Kors

Michael Kors is a big fan of Resort. "It's one of the most fun seasons to work on. Every year, it's 'Find me a new place,' " he said at his showroom presentation today. This time around, Turkey served. The designer just opened three new stores in Istanbul, where, he reports, the shopping is divine.

Ikat motifs were reproduced in sumptuous black and gold shantung made into a coat, bell-shaped shift, and capri pants. And an agate—one of several stones he picked up in the markets there—informed the swirling cinnamon hue of a draped column dress and a popover top and matching short shorts. Bejeweled was the buzzword. The collars of brocade jackets and the bodice of a gold lamé gown were smothered in studs and crystals, and the gold chains of the models' flat sandals faintly jingled as they walked.

Opulent minimalism was how Kors described the collection. But if opulence came out ahead on the aforementioned pieces, minimalism got its due, too. An emerald green silk pajama set had an inviting ease. A black plonge leather shift was all unfussy elegance. An elongated black jacket worn with a cotton lisle T-shirt and gold crushed panne velvet pants was the crowd favorite. It'll look cool in any time zone.
—Nicole Phelps

Michael van der Ham

Michael van der Ham made his name designing pretty dresses pieced together from contrasting scraps of patterned fabrics. In the past couple years, he's refined his patchwork technique, polishing the look of his clothes by emphasizing methodical tailoring and developing off-kilter materials and prints in-house. This season, showing his first Resort collection, van der Ham brought his tailoring and his signature materials to the fore, creating a smallish range of streamlined shift dresses, pencil skirts, and fitted tops. These simple silhouettes provided him with a nice canvas for his fabrics—fuzzy, printed jacquards, soigné bouclés and brocades, and a variety of silks patterned in ways redolent of the original van der Ham collage dresses.

The cuts everywhere were impeccable, and there was a nice sense of detail, as in the gathers around the collarbone of a cutout blouse. These clothes will do well at retail, in particular the simplest looks, such as a narrow bouclé shift. Still, it was hard to escape the sense that the collection was a little too undemanding, although it's understandable that van der Ham would hew conservative and commercial for Resort, especially his first time out. Here's hoping that he pushes his silhouettes a little more next season and that he gives himself more rein to play with the weird, gaudy, ugly aspect of his aesthetic. Those furry jacquards, for instance, were genuinely idiosyncratic and almost grotesque—and in fact, van der Ham said he'd be using a version of the material again for Spring. Seems like a good start.
—Maya Singer

Milly

Michelle Smith is rounding out a long Resort season with a new lineup for Milly inspired by the irresistibly catchy seventies tune "Funky Nassau." With its polka-dot PVC trenchcoats, neon bungee cord belts, and graphic prints, her collection had an upbeat vibe similar to the song. And stylish moms will be happy to know their girls can dress just like them in scaled-down, coordinating pieces from the Milly Minis line (Smith's daughter Sophia was happy to skip summer camp for a day and model for the lookbook). Tailored shorts suits and corseted shifts for daytime came in a "wood grain pattern that I wanted to be a non-pattern," explained the designer. Another highlight was the slouchy, marled sweater paired with a ruffled geometric miniskirt, which struck a nice balance between free and easy funk and fashion.
—Brittany Adams

Misha Nonoo

It's no secret that outerwear is Misha Nonoo's forte. But that didn't stop the designer from presenting her debut Resort collection with only two coats on hand. Perhaps it was the inspiration here, Edwina Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, which called for something entirely new from the young designer. In this instance, new meant quirky, lighthearted, and elegant but mostly quirky, as in the polka-dot trousers paired with a paisley embroidered jacket or a solid blush-tone tuxedo with a plunging lapel line worn with nothing underneath. Every aspect of Nonoo's presentation, from the models' disheveled blond hair to the palm tree and latticework patterns (evocative of country club fences) on pajama sets and belted dresses, reflected the "countess come undone" style of Edwina, who resided in India for a large portion of her life.

Sparkly flowers on the cuffs of crepe pants and shiny beads on the hem of a satin miniskirt were suggestive of Nonoo's own frame of mind. The up-and-comer has much to be pleased about, starting with her expanding business. She revealed that her wholesale numbers grew 200 percent from Spring to Fall and that her label was just picked up by Bergdorf Goodman.
—Jessica Minkoff

Missoni

Though the natural world inspired Angela Missoni for Fall, by Resort time, she'd shaken off the wild and turned her attention to man-made craft. She was looking at Chinese porcelain and British pottery, she explained, for delicate brushstroke motifs picked out in embroidery on knits, and the somewhat less delicate intarsias that looked like smashed fragments pieced back together. An emphasis on art ran throughout: The usual Missoni zigzag was accompanied by painterly prints on silk tops, jackets, and coats, and the ombré effects suggested paint being dragged down canvas. The sinuous curves of pottery were reflected, too, in more womanly shapes, some of which pinched in at the waist and flared around the hips.
—Matthew Schneier

Monique Lhuillier

Monique Lhuillier has taken her namesake collection in another new direction. Following a trip to the dark side for Fall, the designer wanted to create an "escape" for her customer, so she made Resort "fun, playful, and modern." First thing on the agenda: a neon color palette. Fuchsia, lime green, bright yellow, and electric orange were infused in most every garment, from a simple eyelet dress with a pop-of-color slip to a voluminous (and almost blinding) gown covered in silk organza flowers and nipped at the waist with a leather belt.

Lhuillier toughened up her offerings with "not-so-pretty" (her words, not ours) silhouettes and quirky twists. She also played with embossed lamb leather made to look like crocodile skin, as well as some bold, artsy prints. Abstract florals, drippy paint strokes, and graphic hydrangeas found their way onto a range of tailored shorts, dresses, and trousers done in a sporty scuba material. Overall, the clothes were punchy and fresh. They'll do well in her first New York store, set to open at the end of August.
—Jessica Minkoff

Moschino

Moschino has entered the packed sporty-couture arena with its new Resort lineup. Judging by the stamina this trend has shown over the past year, we'd say it isn't too late to join the race. Rossella Jardini came across a high-tech mesh intended for the bucket seats in race cars and whipped the house's signature little jackets up with the pro-grade stuff. (We wouldn't be surprised to see designers using NASA space suit material soon.) The stretchy trench and cropped zip cape, in particular, complemented electric poppy floral prints found on silk shift dresses and a long crepe de chine jumpsuit. Jardini also riffed on her folksy Fall collection here. She was ahead of the curve on peasant dressing—it's really taken off this Resort season—so the costumelike black skirts and frocks trimmed with white ruffles and whipstitching felt particularly relevant.
—Brittany Adams

Moschino Cheap And Chic

Taking the Moschino Cheap And Chic show on the road to London in February (the label will present there again in September) got Rossella Jardini's creative juices flowing. Inspired by the English countryside, she integrated digital prints of stately manors into the new Resort collection. Done in a psychedelic color palette, the Victorian landscapes looked cool on little chiffon tees and tanks. The House & Garden theme carried over to silk cady shifts with traditional pottery patterns and an A-line sundress cut from pinstripe shirting fabric with broderie anglaise detailing on the bust. Seems like Moschino Cheap And Chic has found itself a new home, a sweet one at that.
—Brittany Adams

Mother of Pearl

Don't be put off by the hermaphrodite polar bears. One of the pleasures of a Mother of Pearl collection is the way it challenges your expectations of what you'd like to see in a print or an intarsia knit. This season, debuting the brand's first Resort collection, Maia Norman and Amy Powney worked with artist Gary Hume—one of the original YBAs—and adapted his colorful canvases into eye-popping floral pieces and pastel-toned cashmeres featuring, yes, hermaphrodite polar bears. Previous outings have seen Mother of Pearl make neat work of Fred Tomaselli's vicious birds and Fiona Banner's dry ISBN numbers.

The trick here is the designers' commitment to luxe fabrications and finicky cuts; a pair of Hume-floral jogging pants or a square gray parka with a contrasting pale pink leather hood wouldn't amount to much if they weren't executed in top-notch materials. The new peplum theme, witnessed in both tops and skirts, might have come off heavy-handed if the shapes had been handled with less flair. Those peplums add a welcome feminine note to MoP's sporty mien, but Norman and Powney don't mistake femininity for fussiness. You could easily imagine the Mother of Pearl girl—or woman, for that matter—wearing one of these peplum skirts with the same ease she would the collection's quilted running shorts. Topped off with a silk button-down in a hermaphrodite polar bear print, natch.
—Maya Singer

Mugler

Since Nicola Formichetti and Sébastien Peigné took over at Mugler last year, their runway shows have been strictly high-concept. Emphasizing the sales-floor viability of their aesthetic hasn't been the priority. So it was interesting to encounter the pair in a showroom setting, pointing out the similarities and differences between the editorial pieces "for magazines" and their commercial equivalents.

Resort is their most relatable work so far. Inspired, they said, by Asia, flags, the Olympics, and the work of New York illustrator Mel Odom, with whom they collaborated on a kissing print, they focused much of their attention on tailoring. High-waisted, full-leg trousers will find buyers, as will little leather Perfecto jackets and boxy, man-size T-shirts. The "runway" versions of the color-blocked flag tees were printed many times over for a rubbery sheen that shows up in the lookbook pics. The "real world" styles were printed less often, which not only lowers the price but makes them softer. Not the kind of details that will earn them Facebook "likes," but vital nonetheless. Something else important to the brand and the bottom line: Formichetti and Peigné will be launching Mugler's handbag range at the show in September.
—Nicole Phelps

Naeem Khan

Naeem Khan opened a new door when he began introducing more daywear into his repertoire for Resort '12. Since then, retailers haven't been able to keep the designer's linen shift dresses and embroidered peasant blouses in stock. Clearly Khan has a lot of fans and would-be customers who can't necessarily afford (or borrow) the over-the-top gowns they see starlets wearing on the red carpets but still want a piece of their own. For Resort, he listened to feedback and showed safari-inspired shirtdresses in an original sunflower digital print (admittedly, he's a tad late on this trend, but the result was still beautiful), as well little cashmere T-shirts and clean, cuffed walking shorts that are more accessible than his usual fare. But fear not, bling lovers, there's still plenty of sparkle to go around. The heavily beaded flapper gowns and caftans in this lineup were signature Khan. And the designer even echoed the unforgettable custom cape he made for Linda Fargo's Met Ball appearance (with the image of Neptune's fountain done in gold sequins) on a short-sleeved sweater. It nicely illustrated the more approachable yet still decadent direction Khan is heading in. We'd love to see someone like Chloë Moretz pair that with the editorial duchesse bloomers here.
—Brittany Adams

NAHM

Having upgraded to a light-filled studio on Crosby Street double the size of their previous space, NAHM's Ally Hilfiger and Nary Manivong have a sunny outlook going into their first Resort season. The young label made its mark with new takes on the classic shirtdress, and continued to reinterpret that idea here with a flattering paper-bag-waist frock made from magenta dupioni silk with a double collar. The designers are also expanding their separates business with menswear-inspired pieces like drawstring shorts with a tuxedo-inspired tail flap, birds-of-paradise-print silk trousers, and a crisp white cotton piqué biker jacket and matching shorts set. They have good reason to move beyond their original shirtdress formula. The Fall collection they showed in February was full of new categories like capes and jumpsuits, and more than doubled NAHM's retail presence (they grew from 10 to 25 stores).
—Brittany Adams

Nanette Lepore

Nanette Lepore was just honored at Youngstown University's spring commencement (her alma mater). It had her thinking a lot about her own college days. "I was remembering all of the art students and their influences, like Donald Judd," she said. Thoughts of Judd's op art lent themselves nicely to Lepore's Resort collection—which had her dabbling with geometry and color. Shades of "gumball green," shocking pink, and deep navy blue made their way into almost every piece, from a sheer fit-and-flare jersey dress with quarter-length sleeves to a cashmere baseball sweater with sporty mesh side panels and piping. "The customer is taking a break from dresses," she said. "So I figured it would be nice to have pieces that you can take apart and wear two ways." Case in point: a paisley patterned silk crepe top worn with a cotton skirt of the same print, paired to look like a dress. The same idea carried over to a silk navy and white striped skirt styled with a simple floral top and a wide belt, but the look that stood out the most was a pair of "ink-blot" cropped skinny pants and a vertical-striped chiffon shirt topped with an oversize knit jacket. Her customers won't miss the dresses.
—Jessica Minkoff

Narciso Rodriguez

A bulletin board lined with colorful silk ribbon doesn't sound like enough to build a season's worth of clothes on, but it proved plenty inspiring for Narciso Rodriguez. He's a talent who's always been compelled as much by the process of designing as the results; watching his presentation today, you could see how he connected the dots for Resort. In this case, the dots were stripes.

Photographs of the ribbons first became the striped print on the front of a sleeveless silk blouse. Moving on from there, the print morphed into color-block designs on the bodices of strappy dresses, and taking the idea one step further, into the geometric collage of red, black, white, and snake-print jacquard on a fitted sheath. If it sounds conceptual, there was nothing abstract about the end products. Looking at his sexy, body-skimming dresses, you're almost tempted to call Rodriguez results-oriented; they're not the kind of thing for going around unnoticed in.

His bias-cut, lapel-less jackets and slim, tapering pants, by their very nature, are less revealing. They trigger a different kind of desire reflex—the desire for an expertly cut pantsuit that's comfortable and cool in equal degrees.
—Nicole Phelps

Nicole Miller

Nicole Miller let a recent trip to Belize guide her latest Resort collection. To fully achieve the vintage beach vibe, she turned to tie dye, ikat prints, and graphic images of palm trees and sunsets, with a little patchwork and beaded embellishment for a touch of modern "bling." The silhouettes included chiffon and georgette maxi skirts, scuba dresses and rompers, raffia shorts, and lightweight knits. Miller was particularly psyched about an ombré brown and sand-colored pantsuit, a rad getup for a surfer chick to throw on over her bathing suit if she doesn't have time to go home between riding the waves and meeting for dinner. But the lineup's standout was a button-up denim vest covered in ethnic neon stitching and sparkly jewels. It was one of those pieces that any girl—surfer or not—would love to put on and never take off.
—Jessica Minkoff

Nina Ricci

"Beach to night and the seventies" were Peter Copping's starting points for Resort. His ending point: the sauciest, sexiest Nina Ricci collection he's done. Little bikinis were the foundation for everything from a bordeaux camisole and slip combo to a lilac cashmere sweater worn with a scuba-fabric skirt to peekaboo lace cocktail dresses. Some of the lace came with stretch built in, which created a relaxed, almost sporty vibe. Continuing in the dressed-down direction, Copping added denim to the lineup—a first for the label. There was an A-line coat finished in black grosgrain, as well as a neat little jacket and a barely-there asymmetric wrap mini that turned to reveal it was actually a pair of shorts. Another clever idea that put the emphasis on ease: a smocked blouse in a micro-print and a matching full skirt. "It's just smarter to give our girl options," Copping said.

As deshabille as the mood was, dressing up is and always will be the raison d'être at Ricci. A delicate butterfly print dress with an embroidered white tulle bodice and handkerchief hem drew oohs and ahhs, as did its more dramatic cousin, a long gown in embroidered black tulle.
—Nicole Phelps

No. 21

The indomitable Alessandro Dell'Acqua bounced back with a new manufacturer—Gilmar—for his Resort collection, but the attitude of the clothes was his usual mix of proper, naughty, and sporty. Like the brocade dress that spun on its heel to reveal a black lace shell with a long zip. Or the striped sweater that had lingerie detailing in back. The curious combo is quite the Dell'Acqua forte. Here, a sequined skirt was paired with what was, in essence, a baby's jacket in black duchesse. In a capsule collection of beachwear, flamingos and metallics cavorted together. A lace tee was printed with an incongruous surf motif, although that could have been a look back at Dell'Acqua's scuba-loving past.

The designer talked about "a relaxed way to look dressed up," which was embodied by the sweatshirt and embroidered skirt pairing. But it was a real challenge to picture the kind of woman whose wardrobe would be defined by these clothes.
—Tim Blanks

Norma Kamali

Count Norma Kamali among the designers inspired by this summer's Olympic Games in London. "I love when you can see the body at its ultimate," she said at an appointment at her midtown flagship. Kamali doesn't need an occasion, however, to celebrate physical fitness; she pushes herself at six high-intensity Physique 57 barre classes a week and serves up healthy pressed juices to customers at her in-store Wellness Cafe.

Borrowing from Kamali's body of work, the new collection is full of riffs on her signature sleeping bag dress in the form of padded nylon scarves and messenger bags. There were also curve-hugging gowns with sheer illusion insets and swimwear in metallic red, blue, and silver. She used the shiny stretch fabric in a less conventional context, too, on tailored pantsuits. You'll find similar suiting separates (plus jersey wrap dresses and harem pants) for under $100 in the KamaliKulture line that launched back in March. It's smart business concepts like the new lower-priced capsule that keep Kamali relevant in today's competitive market full of new talent.
—Brittany Adams

Ohne Titel

Sporty silhouettes and color blocking have played a central role in Ohne Titel's steady rise over the past few years, but a quick survey of the current design scene reveals that when it comes to churning out athletic-inspired apparel, Flora Gill and Alexa Adams are no longer flying solo. With so many other designers exploring the same territory, the creative pair have taken those key elements of their DNA and given them a gentle twist. For Resort, they showed easy-to-wear silk shift dresses that juxtaposed mouthwatering shades of melon and magenta and lightweight jersey wrap-effect skirts with variegated stripes streaking out both vertically and diagonally. They also gave their sidewalk-ready leather pieces, which have become a calling card, a seasonal update. A lightweight biker jacket came with rounded shoulders and a notched collar, and a kicky box-pleat skirt in a crisp "chalk" shade was paired with an aquamarine croc jacquard knit sweater. While this concise lineup won't do all that much to differentiate Ohne Titel from the still-growing pack of sporty-couture designers, it will definitely make a splash with their loyal fan base of downtown-cool girls.
—Brittany Adams

Organic by John Patrick

Organic's John Patrick insisted today that his new collection was anything but casual. "Casual, to me, is not what I'm interested in or where we're going. I think that it's an overused word. It's almost trying to seduce the customer, like, oh, it's easy. Easy is an adjective for turning on a faucet. I think that our identities are intrinsically hinged on getting dressed, and I think that dressing up is where it's at." His muse for the occasion was the admittedly obscure art writer Edit DeAk, the co-founder of the seventies art zine Art-Rite, on which she collaborated with the likes of Joseph Beuys and Suicide's Alan Vega. "We would be getting her ready, and she would be going to the Interview dinners with Andy," Patrick remembered of his own time with DeAk. "She'd just kind of whip it together, but she was dressed."

It was a little hard to square the emphasis on dressing up with the collection on the runway. There was a greater emphasis on tailoring, admittedly, and a bustier dress and a jumpsuit that could easily move from day to night. But there were just as many pieces that seemed to grow out of the long line of Organic collections past: little tees, shorts, cropped sweaters, balloon skirts, shown with flats or (at most) mid-height heels. A skirt and dress embroidered all over with daisies were special standouts, but even they had a sunny, daydream quality you'd be surprised to encounter after hours. Dressy or not, it all looked perfectly ready to be whipped together at a moment's notice, DeAk-style. (Hannah Bronfman, a sort of label muse, had, according to Patrick, shown up at 8 a.m. and done just that.) Farther than that, it felt like business as usual, in the most complimentary sense. The shot of the new came courtesy of five men's looks, returning after a long absence to the Organic fold.
—Matthew Schneier

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

Osman

Rigor is essential to a designer. But an excess of discipline—like any other kind of too-muchness—can be the undoing of a collection. When Osman Yousefzada launched his line four years ago, his clothes were rigorous almost to the point of sterility. He obviously had a way with cut and a strong and refined sense of color, but his sculptural aesthetic was rather monastic, a tone hard to square with the warm, curious young man responsible for it. Now, with the debut of his first Resort collection, he finally seems to be having fun.

The playful feeling here was due to two positive developments: First, Yousefzada has loosened up his shapes, and second, he's accommodated himself to the idea of decoration. The looser mood could be summed up in a simple, slit-up-to-there black gown with painterly flowers embroidered on the bodice. The piece breathed. Elsewhere, the designer applied the same embroidery to more typically structured looks, such as squared-off strapless dresses, but the cuts were softened by their sexiness. Likewise, the repeated use of an open shoulder, in A-line dresses and peplum tops, modernized pieces that would have otherwise come off atavistically prim. There was still a vintage-y mien—Yousefzada's pastel jacquard tank and brocade cigarette pant wouldn't have looked out of place on Jackie Kennedy—but overall, the collection was sprightly and up-to-date.
—Maya Singer

Paul & Joe

Paul & Joe's Sophie Albou sympathizes with customers who question the retail calendar. "The resort delivery can be frustrating; women want to buy clothes and wear them right away," she says. Her pre-collection, she insists, offers a wide enough range for beach vacationers and city slickers alike.

Despite the nods to nautical—thick cable-knit sweaters, brass-buttoned coats, and wide-legged pants with front pockets—Albou steered more toward a broader, breezy sensibility. Lace in dusty pink and blue made repeat appearances as a pencil skirt, cigarette pants, and a men's blazer. Tiny cats and dolphins showed up as prints on a tunic dress, a boat-neck top, slim pants, and bikini bottoms. And a silk crepe covered in lipstick kisses easily wooed as blouses and drawstring shorts.

On the rare occasions Albou strays outside her comfort zone, the results can be mixed. Take the jumpsuit designed to look like two pieces; initially, it seemed clever in a trompe l'oeil way. But there's no reason why a blouse and trouser pairing could not achieve the same look—and minus the logistical hassle. What was clever was the way Albou allowed a few standout pieces—a sheath that plunges beautifully in back and a sleeveless blouse with scarf tails in an Escher-esque print—to anchor the brand's easy wardrobe updates. These aren't clothes to save for special occasions, but that's exactly why the collection works so well.
—Alex Veblen

Paule Ka

"An American in Paris" themes pop up with some regularity in fashion, but you don't see the reverse quite as often. French label Paule Ka changed things around for Resort by presenting its latest lineup in New York instead of Paris. It was a fitting relocation considering the Big Apple served as the collection's inspiration. A nubby knit tank and matching flared skirt in a zippy yellow and black combination brought taxicabs to mind, and an A-line frock was dubbed the "Chrysler Building" dress for its architectural color blocking. For over 20 years now, Paule Ka has been creating couturelike silhouettes evocative of the sixties. Oversized trapeze-shaped toppers like the cracked vinyl version here recur season after season, but they could see a sales boost this time around considering the current away-from-the-body trend in outerwear. Another smart piece was a versatile cropped vest designed to transform the collection's simple poplin shifts. One dress, two distinct looks—that's the kind of deal any girl (French or American) can get behind.
—Brittany Adams

Pedro Lourenço

Richard Moose is this season's artist inspiration at Pedro Lourenço. Moose uses an old camera and special film that renders greens pink. It gives his pictures of the Congolese jungle and its army troops a destabilizing rosy glow. Riffing on that idea, Lourenço created a Resort collection of crisp military separates and lush, botanical photo-print dresses in shades ranging from blush to bubblegum to fuchsia. Putting both his expert cutting skills and his eye for detail on display, an officer shirt combined several different couture-quality fabrics (including surah, the silk Hermès uses for its famous scarves), while skirts zipped from waistband to hem so they could be worn two ways: slim or A-line. The workmanship is top-notch. But our guess is that girls will connect with the simplicity of a flower-print bomber or a matching shift with a cutout at the back. They were something special but also easy, not unlike his new shoe collaboration with Brazilian shoe brand Melissa.
—Nicole Phelps

Peter Jensen

Peter Jensen's muses have always been so left field that it came as a surprise to find he'd gone with the Hitchcock blonde for his Resort collection. She's a straight-down-the-line hall-of-famer as far as fashion icons go. But true to form, there wasn't so much that was straight about Jensen's take. For one thing, it was Tippi Hedren as unhinged thief Marnie Edgar that he fixated on, so immaculate on the surface, so boiling with psychosexual fever below. In other words, a woman who was not what she seemed, which made her the consummate Jensen heroine. And as usual, Jensen created for her a collection of "proper" clothes, where seeing was not quite believing. His "plaids," for instance, were laboriously hand-drawn and printed. And the other prints, which have become such a key part of his work and which were here called "Scrapbook" and "Memorabilia," rustled up all sorts of figments of Marnie's tortured psyche, like the set of keys she steals to access a safe. A prim 1950's day dress was cut from a navy canvas so prosaic that it might have graced an attendant in the institution where Marnie would surely end up one day (except that same dress had an oddly sexy notch cut out over one knee).

The cotton twinsets in bubble gum pink, lime, and sky blue were a special request from Jensen's retailers in Japan. "Vitamin" colors, they wanted. And the oh-so-Eisenhower hostess gowns were addressing the needs of Dubai, another market where Jensen has made inroads. The fact that his quirk is traveling so well is encouraging, because the stories he tells with his clothes have become an eagerly anticipated way station on the ever expanding London circuit.
—Tim Blanks

Peter Pilotto

Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos of Peter Pilotto are taking their Resort collection to Pitti, the Florence trade fair, next week. The centerpiece of their presentation will be their print generator, a computer program they liken to a digital kaleidoscope that's responsible for the majority of the vibrating prints on which they've built their business.

This season's came in two main groups—both of which were smart departures from Fall, which was faulted somewhat for being too similar to their previous collection. The first was quite geometric. Printed as it sometimes was on silk cloque, the results looked almost quilted. The second motif was inspired by research they did on centuries-old illuminated manuscripts in London's Royal Library; these were more evocative of stained glass. Both prints produced some fabulous dresses, and the designers continue to forge ahead into other categories like macintosh jackets and full-legged pants. But some of the collection's most captivating pieces weren't made from prints at all. Instead, they gave a high-tech oversize mesh fabric the couture treatment with crystals and sequins. Really special and really smart.
—Nicole Phelps

Peter Som

Like other designers this season, Peter Som has been struck by wanderlust. He hasn't gotten further away than Fire Island himself lately, but pointing to the pictures of camels, Moorish doors, and Moroccan tiles on his Resort mood board, he described the look of his new collection as "nomad chic, with a Talitha Getty sort of feeling." Well, he who seeks shall find: After a Fall show that found him cozying up to a crisp, referential minimalism, his latest offering signaled something of a return to form, emphasizing the charming prints and colorful tweeds that have become, over a decade in the business, house signatures.

Those mood board photos of wall tiles inspired a striking mosaic vine print that appeared on everything from a matching pantsuit to a maxi dress; damask wallpaper, meanwhile, was the starting point for the blue and white cotton burnout he used for a long-sleeved dress. Som let the fabrics do the talking. If it backfired on him in the case of a tweed jacket and torn paper-print blouse worn with pink paillette pajama pants (those materials were practically shouting over each other to be heard), it worked well in the case of a simple T-shirt gown cut from aqua Chantilly lace. Talitha would've appreciated its zip-up-and-go efficiency.
—Nicole Phelps

Philosophy

Chock-full of clear PVC pieces with sleek silhouettes and metallic accents, Philosophy's Fall collection was a departure from the lacy, feminine fare we're used to seeing from Alberta Ferretti's younger line. But the designer is back to her roots again for Resort, which featured sunny patterns borrowed from the hand-painted Majolica porcelain found on southern Italy's Amalfi Coast. The traditional terra-cotta motif made a splash on cargo shorts, head-to-toe tailored suits, and peplum shifts that nicely rounded out some of the more predictable pieces here, like summery bohemian maxi dresses with macramé detailing.
—Brittany Adams

Piazza Sempione

Piazza Sempione specializes in heavy-rotation basics. The Italian brand has perfected the slim-fitting, ankle-cropped trouser; for Resort, its best-selling Audrey pant comes in classic wool gabardine, colored lace, geometric-print jacquard, and what seems like a legion of other fabrications. How about a go-to dress that will take you from coffee date to conference meeting to cocktails and beyond? With its simple bust and flattering A-line skirt cut from a brushstroke-pattern fille-coupe, look 12 from the new lineup fits the bill. But some of the best looks here tweaked the label's classic formula. A rippling maxi skirt with mid-thigh slits was cut from a techno silk the color of a swimming pool, and button-up shirts in a seventies-inspired wallpaper print (which channeled Prada's "ugly" prints from Fall '12) had collars embellished with fun plastic paillettes.
—Brittany Adams

Ports 1961

The new Ports 1961 Resort lookbook, shot in the picturesque courtyard of the label's palazzo in Milan, instantly puts you in a vacation state of mind. The setting wasn't the only factor doing the transporting here, though. The strapless maxi dress is the kind of thing one might wear with lace-up gladiator sandals to a waterfront wedding in Ibiza, say, and there were plenty more leisurely looks where that came from. Designer Fiona Cibani commissioned a local Tuscan artist to create the striking, mosaic-like floral print, which appeared on silk palazzo pants, button-ups, and a curve-hugging knit jacquard dress. More work went into this particular frock than its effortless appeal would suggest: Ports' jacquard loom can only process six colors at a time, and the collection's unique pattern features seven, so they had to run it through the machine twice. That probably accounts for its $2,895 price tag, but the label's jet-setting customer appreciates such attention to detail, and can, presumably, afford it. There were several more straightforward pieces, like a lavender crepe shift with a fluttering persimmon cascade that will still make a strong impact while saving the Ports gal more money for plane fare.
—Brittany Adams

Prabal Gurung

Aaron Moran's reclaimed wood sculptures were the touchstone for Prabal Gurung's new collection. They capture, for him, the beautiful decay he witnessed on a recent trip home to Nepal and provided the Rorschach-like motif that's become a trademark over the last couple of seasons. A jacket, shirt, and shorts combo in the repeating pattern looked familiar, but when the design was reproduced oversize on a simple white shift it felt fresh.

Gurung was at his strongest thinking along similarly reduced lines. A black and white double-layer dress had a graphic punch, as did another A-line frock in blue and tomato red. Those colors turned up again in the knitwear, a growth area for the designer. His pants—a little bit stretchy, slightly flared—do a great business too. For evening, he paired nearly neon silks with nude mesh corsetry details in another nod to Moran's work. The emphasis here: beauty, plain and simple.
—Nicole Phelps

Prada

Our review will be posted shortly. See the complete collection by clicking the image at left.

Preen by Thornton Bregazzi

Preen jumped from channeling Beatrix Potter for Fall to Jeff Koons for Resort. That's the kind of left-field leap you imagine Koons himself would appreciate. Actually, the distance between them isn't as far as one might think. The natural English flowers that decorated Justin Thornton and Thea Bregazzi's Fall prints simply morphed into plastic-fantastic, joyfully fake blooms inspired by those that Koons creates. They gave up all pretenses of naturalism—indeed, many of the prints puddled around the hems into graphic streaks of pure, painterly color. The scale was juiced, too: Their oversized poppy and hydrangea prints, splayed on simple day dresses, pencil skirts, and cropped sweatshirts, were positively steroidal. But because Thornton and Bregazzi leavened the bombast with moments of calm—like the plain crepe back on a print-front dress—they got a lot of mileage out of going faux. Peter Rabbit might've run scared, but shoppers shouldn't. More flower, more power.
—Matthew Schneier

Pringle of Scotland

Resort 2013 marks the final women's collection Alistair Carr will design for Pringle. He'll be missed: As this collection reaffirmed, Carr brought a clean, modern sensibility to Pringle. Though he always treated the house's signatures with respect, he came at them from unexpected angles. To wit, this season found Carr exploring, yet again, the traditional Pringle argyle, which he reinterpreted via knits with diamond-shaped cutouts, and the hoary Pringle twinset, here cleverly updated in matched prints and intarsia knits. Carr's best innovations, though, may have been his materials. This season, for instance, he showed pieces in color-blocked, pearlized leather that were instantly redolent of his stated Palm Springs inspiration, and a lightweight denim woven, in fact, from wool. Elsewhere, the painted print and sport-inspired graphic pieces gave the collection some additional pop. Carr noted that he already knew he'd be leaving Pringle when he set out to design these clothes, and that his mind had already skipped ahead to his post-Pringle vacation. That may account for the genuinely easy feeling of the collection. Alas for Carr, but happily for his fans, his imagined vacation is unlikely to materialize insofar as the fashion headhunters are already nipping at his heels.
—Maya Singer

Proenza Schouler

Lazaro Hernandez and Jack McCollough had a lot of news at their preview today. First: Their Madison Avenue store is scheduled to open next month; second, there's another Manhattan store in the works, a downtown answer to the uptown flagship; and third, they've got three new launches—denim, a bag called the PS13, and their first small range of jewelry.

Headlines like those could scoop the clothes, but the Resort collection more than holds its own, despite the fact that the designers say they're focused on "creating product—wearable, salable clothes that girls want." Come to think it, that's precisely why it looked so good. A round-shouldered tweed coat, spongy oversize tee, and slouchy faded blue jeans (retail $230) didn't break new ground, but we can list whole offices full of New York women who'd like to look that way walking down the street come November. On the other hand, they revisited the fashion-forward oversize silhouette they introduced on their Fall runway, but here the pants and blouson jackets came in a lighter-weight, easier-wearing leather. Leather is a big push for the PS team this season.

In addition to the big pants, they designed another style—boot-cut and cropped—that should keep the new boutiques full of customers later this year.
—Nicole Phelps

Rachel Comey

Rachel Comey surprised fans with a print-less Fall 2012 collection, but she had another surprise up her sleeve for Resort: denim. It came stonewashed and bleached; however, there weren't any five-pocket skinnies or high-waisted wide-legs here. Instead, the designer (who's pregnant with her second child) used the material to create novelty pieces like slouchy peg-leg trousers and a long trenchcoat, as well as a classic bum-skimming jacket with a deconstructed collar and an oversize two-toned pocket T-shirt. The denim played nicely with her leather separates—hello, black peplum top—and her new prints. There was a large-scale pink floral, a two-dimensional pastel paisley, and, as Comey called it, a "home furnishing" pattern that looked great on a dress and pantsuit. The designer also demonstrated her knack for cutouts, strategically placing them on the lower back of one of the flowered frocks. That number could appeal even to those who call themselves "pants-only girls," this editor included.
—Jessica Minkoff

Rachel Roy

"Color is the skin of the world," said Rachel Roy, quoting abstract artist Sonia Delaunay, who inspired her latest Resort collection. "I love that Sonia said that," she continued, "because clothes are effectively our skin, and I've always been all about brights." Roy isn't the first designer to take cues from Delaunay this year (Doo.Ri, Milly, and Trina Turk have also name-checked the artist recently), but her longtime affinity for color and playful prints meshed particularly well with Delaunay's ground-breaking textile work.

Each season, Roy expands her capsule of best-selling, versatile frocks; this time around, she focused on color blocking. A long-sleeved crepe shift with a relaxed silhouette that juxtaposed saturated amethyst and magenta stood out. Other memorable moments included an allover bejeweled white number (it's about as heavy as one of those lead aprons they make you wear while getting x-rayed, but is sure to make a dazzling impression) and a two-piece jacquard set that Roy explained is more accessible (read: retail-friendly) when broken up into its individual pieces.

On the side, Roy has been collaborating with renowned spiritualist and all-around Renaissance man Deepak Chopra on her jewelry line. They met on Twitter. "I totally stalked him to make this work," she said. "The result was really personal, and I love sharing that with my customers." Lucite collar necklaces with carefully selected moonstones and lightweight acrylic cuffs nicely complemented the mod vibe of the collection.
—Brittany Adams

Rachel Zoe

"For me, it's a lot of color," Rachel Zoe, herself dressed head to toe in black and white, admitted. "But you know, baby steps." Her new Resort collection includes a full-length, bib-pleated gown in bubble gum pink. That might be called a baby leap.

Color was the big story for Resort, not just pink but deep blue, chrome yellow, and rose red, too, the last in a stained glass-like rose print Zoe called her favorite of the season. Otherwise, business was much as usual, only bigger. The stylist-turned-designer promised her collection will always have her trademark seventies flares; here they were. There'll always be tailored suiting; here it came in a techno brocade resembling wood grain. Lucite and crystal Deco jewelry, introduced for Fall, is back in force. Bags required nearly a quarter of the showroom space, each model coming in multiple sizes. One satchel was deemed uptown girl in large, downtown in small.

That's a big part of the Zoe formula, and never more so than for a sales-driven collection like Resort: choice. Zoe has her own now-trademark style, but she isn't in the business of forcing it. Those wood grain pants come in slouchy or skinny, too. Blazers are cropped or not. Her stores, she said, buy across the gamut. Her clients tweet at her that they wear her to their bat mitzvahs, proms, and weddings: women of varied ages and, presumably, varied sizes. Catering to as many as possible makes good business sense. Women—even, according to Zoe, A-list celebrity women—come in all different ones.
—Matthew Schneier

Rag & Bone

It's a good thing that Marcus Wainwright and David Neville are opening up stores in London and L.A. There's going to be plenty of girls eager to get into their Resort collection. The Rag & Bone boys are part of a surprisingly small group of designers who actually deliver cold-weather clothes in November and December. "These clothes have nothing to do with 'resort,' " said Wainwright. What they do have to do with is looking pulled together and cool this coming winter. A shopper in the market for a new coat will have her pick among a snap-front wool tweed with leather patches, a gorgeous black shearling, or one of their best-selling motorcycle jackets, now in new colors like navy. As at other labels, leather is a big story here. Somewhat more surprisingly, so are flowers. An Uzbek coat lining provided inspiration for the floral print; it looked freshest on a flippy mini paired with a chunky cable-knit sweater. A girl can get a lot of mileage out of sweaters like theirs. Same goes for R&B's practical, not precious new bag. It's modeled after a style in which old pilots used to carry their helmets.
—Nicole Phelps

Ralph Lauren

It's been four years since Ralph Lauren showed his Resort collection to the press, but he came back with a splash today, showing house classics like his fringed suede jacket, body-skimming evening sheaths, and safari-influenced pieces in seriously bright shades of hyacinth pink, lime, lemon, and orange. A floral print combined all of those hues and an electric plaid was unlike anything seen on Downton Abbey, the hit TV show that inspired his Fall collection. For tamer souls, most of the pieces are also available in a neutral khaki.

A beaded and hand-painted lamé slipdress reverberated with the distant roar of the 1920's, but overall, this outing had a more contemporary feeling. Lauren, like other designers these days, is liking the way a tunic looks over cropped and tapered pants, and for footwear, he even showed his own take on heel-less platforms.
—Nicole Phelps

Rebecca Minkoff

"I went back to my San Diegan roots," Rebecca Minkoff said at a photo shoot for her new Resort range. She was talking specifically about a teenage fantasy in which she imagined herself as one of the West Coast's cool kids, a.k.a. the skaters and the surfers. The designer, who admits to never actually fitting in with either crowd, made her dream a reality, with a beach- and skate park-ready lineup. No detail was overlooked, from the faded, sun-bleached prints on pants and dresses to the board shorts with zipper accents and sorbet-colored piping. Minkoff introduced graphic T-shirts with vibrant animal-print side panels and hand-drawn animation by her artist friend David Cook. The "cheetah print on acid" pattern also found its way onto leather trousers, styled with a laid-back cotton hoodie equipped with quilted leather sleeves. Rounding out the offerings was a color-blocked baseball jacket, also done in leather, and for the first time, jewelry, the highlights of which were fish-spine bracelets and mixed-metal bangles that adhered to the brand's girly yet not too girly aesthetic. Minkettes the world over will be popping wheelies.
—Jessica Minkoff

Reed Krakoff

A CFDA win for Accessory Design is nothing to sniff at, but Reed Krakoff, who took home that prize this week, has bigger plans for himself and his two-year-old label. Krakoff is determined to carve out a signature look for his ready-to-wear—warm minimalism, he calls it—and step-by-step, he's doing it. Occasionally, his determination produces clothes that err on the overly conceptual side. Form trumped function on a sheer "X-ray" jacket with its inner construction on display, as well as on a blue python trench without sleeves. But mostly, he got the smart-special balance just right, cutting great-fitting jackets in look-at-me shades of orange and blue and putting the accent on sport with a zip-front track jacket and a chain mail-embellished sweatshirt.

For Resort, he's pushing himself in different directions. A strapless black cocktail dress with a woven raffia skirt looked new for him, as did the proportions of a diagonally slit, below-the-knee silk evening skirt teamed with a cobwebby lace top. Movement was a key talking point at yesterday's presentation; you get the sense that he wants to add some heat to his warm minimalism. Krakoff's brand of seduction will always be subtle, but a nude layered slipdress that gathered at one hip did have a nice little swing. Another positive development: a small frame day bag in a mash-up of exotic skins with a tough-chic chain strap.
—Nicole Phelps

Reem Acra

Reem Acra has been courting a younger crowd the past few seasons, and her new Resort collection is another case in point. The series of charming colored-lace frocks that open the lookbook were the definite highlights here. We could picture starlets like Kristen Bell, Julie Bowen, and Malin Akerman—all of whom have worn Acra recently—attracting flashbulbs on the red carpet in any one of them. Still, Acra made sure to keep her older, core clientele happy with flattering, peasantlike long sleeves and fluid jewel-tone caftans that conceal more than they reveal. Nude gowns with wedding aisle appeal showed off Acra's craftsmanship—you can imagine the number of hours that went into all the structured ruffles, hand-embroidered paillettes, and sunburst pleating. Attention to detail like that makes brides feel special and is the main reason Acra remains relevant in the eveningwear market.
—Brittany Adams

Revillon

Designing his first Resort collection for Revillon, the Parisian furrier founded in 1723, newly installed creative director Andrew Heather faced a challenge: how to make fur relevant for a warmer season. He answered it by using fox and goat as an accent on lace. And not just any lace, but a lace he designed to resemble a civet's spots and stripes and also needle-punched with mohair, then cut into a black cocktail dress, worn with a long matching scarf tossed over the shoulders, as well as a peony pink T-shirt, skirt, and belted jacket. Another good idea: a mink redingote sheared so thin it could pass for silk velvet. Heather's is a discreet kind of luxury.

He's also got a practical streak, despite years spent in the couture atelier at Givenchy, and he exercised it today with a trench made from kangaroo leather, which he chose for its papery touch and its light weight.
—Nicole Phelps

Richard Chai Love

Richard Chai recently picked up some Nike trainers in an attempt to jump-start his cardio regimen but liked wearing them around the studio so much that he ended up buying another pair just for workouts, and styled each Resort look with his favorite kicks. Chai's Love collections often have a sportiness about them, and the latest lineup fused that athleticism with another tried-and-true Chai trope, boy-meets-girl dressing. Slouchy striped silk pants were paired with a shaped, slim blazer, and one crinkled cotton utility vest looked, said the designer, "like she stole her boyfriend's army jacket and cut off the sleeves." On a side note, he loves breaking in new clothes and recommended washing items in a tub of salt water for well-worn appeal. Shuffling through the images, Chai pointed to look 10—a cropped jean jacket layered over a viscose tank with a shirt tied around the waist—and laughed, "I feel like that's the girl version of me."
—Brittany Adams

Richard Nicoll

Among the various connotations of the word resort, there's the one which suggests well-heeled, no-fuss patrician leisure. That was the vein Richard Nicoll tapped with a tightly edited pre-collection. He made his point with crisp poplins and piqués and a summery, ice creamy color palette. Perhaps the sporty clarity was influenced by the menswear collection Nicoll is launching in London later this week. There was certainly a masculine inflection in a shirtdress cut from banker's stripes. (Nicoll's original focus at Saint Martins was, after all, menswear.)

But the designer contrasted the essential conservatism of such pieces with the subtle flamboyance of a coat and jacket in a Regency floral jacquard from Stephen Walters and Sons, who have been weaving silk in Suffolk since the 1720's. The contrast was the clearest illustration of the versatility with which Nicoll claimed he was courting a range of age groups and body shapes, perhaps a little ambitious given that these clothes had an innately athletic sensuality that seemed best suited to lithe young bodies. The lambskin shift in a beige-trimmed pale aqua, for instance. Or the hoodie. Or the bustier dress. Kudos to Nicoll that such looks would work equally on glittery Capri or gritty Kingsland Road, the East End artery that runs past his studio.
—Tim Blanks

Roberto Cavalli

For Resort, the Cavalli taste for the finer things applied itself to porcelain. That's a more decorous indulgence than the house sometimes attempts, and it lent itself to a frothier, more serene collection than some of seasons past. Or at least as serene as head-to-toe print can be. "I'm very into total look this year," Eva Cavalli said as she fingered the seemingly endless racks at the label's Milanese showroom. Vase-snatched florals in white and blue adorned dresses (short slipdresses, the kind that are looking to have a big resurgence for fall, as well as floor-sweeping numbers), tuxedo tailoring, and long, flowing trousers, some pleated enough to stand in for theater curtains should the need arise. The white and blue pattern alternated with a kitsch version (the house's own word!) in canary yellow, complete with lovebirds nesting. The prints translated as well into bags and accessories, and all prints are done, Mrs. Cavalli reminded us, in-house in Florence. Those are the resources at her disposal, and she makes use of them with aplomb. If she and her cohort are using their means to experiment with laying glitter into print, as they did here, fair to think there's a client out there looking for it. (No pointing fingers, but a clump of Russian buyers in the showroom looked intrigued.) For the rest, the simpler, prettier, lacier options show restraint and reward closer inspection. "The shapes are quite simple," Cavalli said, "but there are lots of details."
—Matthew Schneier

Rochas

While a bit of strange usually characterizes Marco Zanini's runway shows for Rochas, in the intervening seasons of Resort and pre-fall, he tends to amp up the sweet. Some of his Fall inspiration—his own collection of Scandinavian pottery—seeped into his Resort lineup for the label, in the form of cigarette pants printed with the motifs. But there was also a daffy innocence to the new range, with its full-look printed pajama suits and its full-skirted ball gowns, more debutante than demimondaine, especially when shown with gloves. A Lurex sweatshirt looked like the perfect uniform for gym class at the University of Girl Power. Still, there's no shutting sophistication out. A group of lace-inset dresses spoke to the womanly concern of cocktail fare, and a few lace-collared frocks hit on innocence and experience in one. So did two women whose images appeared on Zanini's mood board: Deborah Turbeville's Violetta and Wes Anderson's Margot Tenenbaum.
—Matthew Schneier

Roksanda Ilincic

A girl can only design so many poufy party dresses. For more than half a decade, Londoner Roksanda Ilincic has traded in voluminous frocks, and when she wasn't doing those, jackets with serious shoulders. For Resort, she switched things up, thinking two-dimensionally—in the spirit of the artists Ellsworth Kelly and her longtime favorite Kazimir Malevich—about collaged shifts and camouflage prints. The change did her good; this was a winning outing for Ilincic, eye-catching and wearable in equal measure. One of the best looks was a simple sleeveless dress color-blocked in shades of navy, black, and white, worn over trim black pants, but there were lots of on-trend brights as well. A silken jumpsuit made from a camouflagelike floral print in aqua, fuchsia, red, and violet incorporated most of them. Trousers are an uncommon sight here, though you'd never know it from the persuasive case she made for the dress-over-pants look. A pair of empire-waist dresses looked like a consolation prize to fans of her previous collections, but Ilincic has moved on. It's a good bet her customers will with her.
—Nicole Phelps

Roland Mouret

Walk into a Roland Mouret showroom with two frazzled and ever so slightly jaded fashion-industry women, and something semi-miraculous happens: They'll gasp and announce they want the clothes. That reaction happens less often on the circuit than you might imagine, and inspiring it is Roland Mouret's great strength as a designer. The dress-heavy range he showed for Resort played to his strengths. There were cross-backed stretch numbers in viscose that will be familiar to fans of his famous Galaxy dress—which is to say, most fashion obsessives in our own galaxy. But there were looser, cotton knit versions in black and white stripe (worn with a matching tie-backed kimono top that was one of his major pieces of the season), along with a stretch poplin dress with those same kimono sleeves and a plunging V-neck in the front. (That one won wows.) Also on display was more neon color than fans have come to expect and a few unexpected twists, like the silky karate pants with exterior pockets or a pretty botanical print half washed out, as if stained by brushing against flowers. And for the tricky bit of showmanship—a new Mouret trademark—behold the Carré convertible set: a blousy poplin halter top that, with a bit of re-jiggering, became a kicky A-line skirt.
—Matthew Schneier

Sachin + Babi

On a weeklong birthday trip to Spain back in March, Sachin Ahluwalia found himself captivated by the pastels he encountered in limestone chapels and the elaborate traditional dresses worn during a street festival in Seville. Referencing his vacation snapshots, Ahluwalia filled the new Sachin + Babi collection with similar soft shades of petal pink, lemon yellow, and powder blue—most notably on an accordion-pleat maxi skirt. A pair of toile de Jouy jacquard looks also stood out. The shift dress with a slim peplum came paired with a matching vest with tough leather accents. Speaking of fabrics, Sachin and his wife and co-designer, Babi, also own a home goods line named Ankasa that's focused on textiles, so they definitely place a premium on the materials used in their ready-to-wear. The quality guipure lace and shibori sequins here added a luxury feel to a collection that's sold at an advanced contemporary price point.
—Brittany Adams

Salvatore Ferragamo

What do Leonardo da Vinci and Massimiliano Giornetti have in common? Well, thereby hangs a tale. The show mounted by the Salvatore Ferragamo creative director and his team at the Louvre this evening was a story of lasts, and firsts. Let's start with the lasts: da Vinci's great unfinished masterpiece, an oil painting of the Virgin and Saint Anne dating from about 1510, is the keystone to the current blockbuster exhibition at the museum, featuring drawings and other preparatory works from the latter years of the Italian master's life. As a reward for sponsoring the exhibit, Ferragamo found itself in the enviable position of being the first Italian fashion house to stage a runway presentation at the museum, which took place under the arcades of the Denon wing. But the common threads between past and present run much deeper, Giornetti argued.

"Even more than making this about Italy, I wanted it to be about richness and craftsmanship," the designer said before the show. "It's Slow Fashion, which is not just about precious materials, but also the time that goes into each piece. It's about the old masters, but with a young spin." He cited as inspiration notions such as the sensuality of the first rays of sun on one's skin (something that the audience, shivering in the house's silk cashmere scarves, could only dream about). The clothes themselves were about as couture as they could get. From the house's tradition of primitive weaves, Giornetti recast "craft" with a rock edginess, in laced-up, perforated, crocheted, and latticed leather dresses, skirts, and halter tops, many intricately woven with sequins and pierced with delicate silver rings. Shimmying fringed knits, boots in snakeskin or molten silver dots, and tassled handbags rounded out a lineup in delicate shades of blush, sand, and palest gray, a palette the designer chose specifically in homage to the surroundings. "It's super-modern and yet connected with the classics because every piece is the product of a tradition of ancient craft," he said. "The Ferragamo girl is cool, but she's got culture."
—Tina Isaac

Sea

"This press stuff is new to us—we've always focused on sales," said Sean Monahan at a presentation of Sea's new Resort collection. Keeping a low profile has paid off for Monahan and his co-designer, Monica Paolini. Since launching in 2006, Sea has built up a strong presence in boutiques like The Webster and Scoop, plus Barneys stores nationwide, and has a particularly large following in Asia, with 97 points of sale in Japan alone. Not too shabby for a contemporary line that doesn't court publicity.

The key to Sea's success is in the clothing itself. A woven linen striped shift from the new lineup came with corsetlike details at the bust and slimming side insets. It appeared to be much more expensive than its $415 price tag. Other standouts here included sporty gauze tunics with matching track shorts and a series of tweedy terry cloth looks like a biker jacket with "bubble leather" sleeves (from a specific breed of lamb in New Zealand). Monahan and Paolini used this textured leather on a puffy white leather vest that had editorial appeal, but also made the same piece in black (using a sleeker skin) at Barneys' request. Sea continues to convince both retailers and customers with its accessible approach to dressing, and whether they need the help or not, the media is coming for them.
—Brittany Adams

See by Chloé

The See by Chloé girl is festival-bound for Resort, but this being the lower-priced offshoot of the famously chic French house, you're naturally not about to find cutoffs and band T-shirts here. SBC's idea of Coachella dressing includes relaxed, drawstring-waist denim trousers worn with a chambray shirt and patchwork sweater, as well as a jacket and matching skirt both cut from sweatshirt material. Styling was a big part of the collection's effortlessly polished impact. A crisp canvas kimono jacket looked fresh tucked into a boxy cobalt pencil skirt, and what appeared to be a tawny crepe jumpsuit was actually two pieces, so the customer can get the entire look or break it up into individual parts. While the lineup didn't bring anything particularly new to the table, we'd be delighted to see more concert-going girls dress this well.
—Brittany Adams

Skaist-Taylor

Their Juicy Couture days are over, but Pamela Skaist-Levy and Gela Nash-Taylor haven't stopped having fun. In matching silk crepe rompers from their new label and with matching green-blue streaks in their hair, they showed off a sophomore collection built on the same philosophy as their February debut. "We're full-blown, hard-core, crazy-ass shoppers," Skaist-Levy said. "The contemporary floor was too young for us, so we asked ourselves, what pieces do we want to own?" Their enthusiasm is catching. Neiman Marcus, Net-a-Porter, and Maxfield have all bought deeply, they say, and even the most un-California, un-eccentric shoppers will find things to wear in between the multicolor fox fur bomber and pink and brown Mongolian lamb chubby.

Pam and Gela do basics—buttery tees, washed silk blouses, twill pants that fit like a jean. Any strong advanced contemporary brand needs them to survive. (Denim is coming for Spring.) But the point of this label, not unlike the point of Juicy back in its golden days, is pleasure. Nothing gives these girls a kick like their long-sleeve crepe de chine minidress with the deep dip in back, unless it's their embroidered and beaded gypsy shirt (very on-trend for Resort, as it happens) and burnished gold stretch leather pants. "The fact that you can get that kind of detail at a contemporary price point? It's just amazing," Nash-Taylor said. She should know: She's the customer.
—Nicole Phelps

Sonia Rykiel

The creative team at Sonia Rykiel has a remarkable knack for naming its colors. Resort offers up a vibrant palette including David Hockney emerald green, Grace Jones cobalt blue, stark Helmut Newton white, and Tina Chow red. The last was particularly apropos considering the indicated Eastern and 1980's inspirations here. There were geisha-like, lacquered wood sandals as well as spacious, linen robe coats with guipure lace accents that had a martial arts vibe. The label's famed intarsia knits, meanwhile, came with a rose motif that evoked traditional Japanese woodblock printing. The eighties came into play via graphic knotted tanks and stirrup leggings cut from neoprene. Despite the scattered influences, this lineup still had the unmistakably French, coquettish charm that is forever linked with the house that Sonia built. At today's preview, Lola Rykiel rushed over to a pair of towering platform espadrilles and enthused, "When I was growing up, these were the exact same ones my grandmother [Sonia] would wear around our country house in Normandy."
—Brittany Adams

St. John

Every season, St. John re-examines its long-standing relationship with American sportswear. For Resort, creative director George Sharp focused on the juxtaposition of contrasting silhouettes. Gesturing at the mix of relaxed and narrow shapes, he said, "Tension is what drives fashion." A flouncy zipped peplum sweater paired with a slim pencil skirt, for example, was on trend in monochromatic "orchid" pink, while a boxy red capelet looked streamlined with slim, ankle-grazing trousers. There was also a classic nautical theme (bateau stripes are always a best seller for the label) evident in knit blazers and the slouchy, menswear-inspired "garçons" pant.

For evening, there were two standouts. The first was a long black gown with bat-wing sleeves and a high slit—"doesn't she look like Richard Avedon's Dovima in it?" Sharp asked, pointing to lookbook model Bruna Tenorio. The second was an allover sequin number with a collarbone-highlighting boat neck and scrunched sleeves that Tenorio liked so much, she asked to borrow it for her upcoming birthday party. The dress was indeed great on the soon-to-be 23-year-old, but you could also picture a more mature customer looking equally statuesque in the clothes here.
—Brittany Adams

Stella McCartney

Gray skies couldn't dampen this afternoon's presentation, the latest in a string of Stella McCartney Resort shows seemingly tailor-made to outdo the one before. For the carnival-themed outing, held alfresco in a Lower East Side cemetery, there were ring tosses, tots with lemonade stands, tests of strength, barbecue grills roaring (this being meatless McCartney, the burgers were black bean), and a New Orleans brass band. Photographers and gawkers couldn't get enough of Anne Hathaway with her Les Miz crop, but if they did manage to tear their eyes away, they still had Amy Poehler, Emily Mortimer, and Jim Carrey at whom to gape.

"I love spring, spring's one of my favorite seasons," McCartney said. "It's all about enjoying the new beginning, in a sense. This season I wanted to let it go a little bit." The deep, slightly serious blues of her athletic Fall collection had been traded in for sky blues, chrome yellows, hot pink, and clean, neutral white and linen. The last was a reference, the designer said, to the fact that the collection was inspired by toile and calico—the new beginning of garments, literally.

The clothes she put on parade here were variations on the Stella themes. Greta Gerwig proclaimed herself a fan of the oversized blazers, like the men's versions she used to buy in vintage stores—but, she hastened to add, better. An interiors inspiration yielded wallpaper florals and brocades. McCartney's pants, once cropped, came flared, and got even groovier in madras. "This collection was about having standout pieces," Stella said. Hence the series of pretty lace dresses beneath which were layers of drapery fringe. Partiers, prepare. There were other pieces that stood—or stuck—out, but even those did so happily, for the most part. A group of holographic pointy-toed wedges, clutches, and iPad cases hit the holo trend without necessarily seeming here nor there. No matter—the models kicked off their shoes anyway to dance in the damp grass.
—Matthew Schneier

Suno

Go on enough designer appointments and you can come away with the impression that the world is an endless party—and that its closets are stuffed with nothing but party dresses. Suno, by comparison, can feel like a breath of fresh air. "Suno is a casual brand, and that's what separates us from a lot of lines out there right now," says Erin Beatty, one half of its design team. "I don't like feeling too dressed up, ever. I think it feels really modern to be comfortable and easy."

Comfortable and casual are two of Resort's buzzwords—even more so than Fall or Spring collections, since they're not destined for the runway. (In an impressive case of money-where-her-mouth-is, Beatty wore one of these dresses on the red carpet at the CFDA Awards last night, where she and partner Max Osterweis were nominated as the up-and-coming womenswear designers of the year.) As is to be expected, there were plenty of prints: one that married the geometric lines of a basketball court with an encroaching floral motif, like a Madison Square Garden gone to seed, and one that brightened streaky lines with pops of highlighter yellow.

There was a nineties cast to the entire collection this time around: the racer backs, the Baja tops, the hardier, grungy fabrics like cotton canvas and chambray. These are roads other designers have trod before, but Suno is a welcome fellow traveler. Who ever complained about too much comfort, too much ease?
—Matthew Schneier

T by Alexander Wang

Soon enough, Alexander Wang is going to need a separate showroom just for his T collection. With each season, the lower-priced range evolves a little more, leaving the designer's edgy downtown clientele with an even longer wish list. Alongside the usual suspects—striped T-shirts, chunky hooded knits, and casual lightweight dresses—Wang showed his first swimwear for the line. There was a sleek one-piece suit with mesh detailing (a sign that last Spring's sporty trend is still lingering) and a solid bandeau bikini that could easily double as a crop top. Another example of the not-dead-yet sporty vibe lived in a trio of neoprene dresses with contrasting collars and waterproof zippers. A cropped baseball jacket in the same scuba material looked cool, too.

Suede was the season's other big debut. He used it for a pair of "pilly" stretch jeans, an oversize button-up, and a tracksuit with an over-$1,000 price tag. That's steep for the T line, but something tells us numbers like that won't get in the way of Wang's customers and their wish lists.
—Jessica Minkoff

Temperley London

London has a well-deserved reputation as a home for experimental fashion designers. One of the interesting effects of Kate Middleton's emergence as a much-scrutinized English style icon is that she's helped to shine a light on a different brand of London-based designer. Alice Temperley is paradigmatic of this type: Her clothes are purpose-built for a certain kind of English lifestyle, one in which summer weekends are taken up with formal weddings in the home counties, and wherein "appropriateness" matters, and quite a lot. Temperley's Resort collection hit all the right notes for that customer: Taking inspiration from the English café society of the fifties and sixties, she reduced her signature frippery and crystal embellishment and focused on luxe materials and soft, flattering cuts. The details mattered here. To wit, one of the fabrics developed by Temperley this season, a paneled satin stripe, was made from strips of appliquéd fabric; another material, a textured viscose used in flared skirts and dresses, had a luxurious density. Elsewhere, lace-dappled dresses and blouses came off diabetically sweet, but they'll sell. To a Middleton sister, perhaps.
—Maya Singer

Ter et Bantine

Manuela Arcari's designs have always had a raw sophistication about them, and her latest Resort lineup for Ter et Bantine is no exception. Unprocessed linen was used on a loose jacket with crocheted fringy pockets and basket-weave leather sleeves, and a printed skirtsuit styled over brick-colored silk pants was cut from an organic blend of hemp and jute. The intention behind using these natural materials was to create texture without adding weight. While Arcari has always preferred blazing her own trails to following current crazes, a few pieces hit on some of this season's big trends. We've been seeing new spins on the classic safari jacket all over the place. Arcari showed her utilitarian take on the look with a wide, rope-trimmed leather belt. Leather visors (similar to those at Louis Vuitton and Lanvin) added a sporty finishing touch.
—Brittany Adams

Tess Giberson

Tess Giberson's first-ever Resort collection was a bit of a surprise. The designer favors black, personally and professionally, so where was all of this bright color coming from? In fact, the abstract brushstroke print that appeared on an asymmetrical sack dress was borrowed from a wall-hanging in her mother's house dating back to the 1970's. You could say it came from Giberson's childhood. That certainly jibes with the other sweetly unexpected element here: girlish Liberty prints, but given an edge by the way they were spliced and sewn back together in sharp panels on a sleeveless top and as racing stripes down a pair of cropped black pants. She employed the same graphic patchworking on a long black slip dress. Mixed in with these special pieces were the kind of basics that customers are looking for at her year-old store: cashmere knits, marled gray sweatshirting, and her first-ever jeans.
—Nicole Phelps

Thakoon

After Spring's trip to the red light district, for Resort, Thakoon lightened up. No more confessional screens and bleeding hearts. This collection was cake. Thakoon Panichgul spoke of 3-D jacquards inspired by frosting, and sorbet colors like pistachio, mint, and bubble gum pink. He dismissed the idea of a complicated, Sturm und Drang collection for this sales-driven season. Better to give the girls (and the retailers) what they want, in the form of little kick skirts, throw-on, mixed-media tops, cinch-waist dresses, and a few prints. Intricate fabrics belied the no-fuss first look: basket-weave linen with candy-colored stripes, jacquarded organza like a three-dimensional gingham. (Some of his fabrics blew up those motifs to super-size—"extracted" was the word he used.) They reminded you that there's method to it, too. And the sharp notches of the V-necks and backs helped to cut through the sweet.
—Matthew Schneier

Thakoon Addition

While his main line collection for Resort was sweet, at Addition, Thakoon Panichgul went wild. A key print of the season was called "angry leopard"—up close, the spots had cowlicky locks. That's letting your hair down, and that's what Addition is all about. Thakoon mentioned the mixing he likes to do as the fun part of his design process. Here there were fabrics fused to fabrics, like a camo twill jacket with poplin shirtsleeves, or the side-zipped jersey sweatshirt with a panel of sequins. The lengths were short and the details winky, à la the cut-out trompe l'oeil shirt collars on tops and angry leopard dresses. Fun, on the whole. And interestingly, a few pieces in a beautiful African embroidery pointed in a newly sophisticated direction. More on that story as it develops.
—Matthew Schneier

The Row

At 25, Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen may be the CFDA's youngest-ever Womenswear Award winners, but they don't fetishize youth. On the contrary, they invited sexagenarian beauty Lauren Hutton as their date on Monday night, featured septuagenarian street-style star Beatrix Ost in their Awards ceremony video, and for Resort used the "old lady shoe company" Silvia Fiorentina to accessorize their timeless clothes. The designers looked at photos of fishermen to create a lineup that was long on ribbed turtlenecks, elegant coats (the lavender one was a dream), and sporty fur-lined parkas. How refreshing to see serious outerwear in a collection that delivers in November and December—why haven't designers who've been around longer than the Olsens figured that out yet?

Fabrics were both techy (coated vinyl trenches) and rich (multi-ply cashmere sweaters). And the silhouettes were understated, from a silk caftan that billowed like a parachute to a color-blocked button-down blouse and matching tuxedo stripe trousers to an amethyst silk wrap gown identical to the one Ashley wore to the CFDAs. A quilted black leather jacket and matching cropped leather leggings were as edgy as things got. Their twenty-something peers have made a virtue of hipness, but the Olsens choose quiet luxury.

—Nicole Phelps

Theyskens' Theory

The highlight of the Theyskens' Theory Resort collection is Olivier's new take on the suit, its sleek jacket worn with a jumpsuit cinched loosely around the waist, as if you'd tied a sweatshirt over your hips. "It just feels cooler than a regular suit," he said. Agreed. Since arriving at Theory two years ago, he's put his stamp on everything from tailoring to knitwear to denim; he's even done gowns. His special skill has been to make all of them—with the exception, maybe, of those formal dresses—feel as easy as your favorite jeans. There were several contenders for that title here, including a light blue trouser-cut style and another slouchy, faded pair with a rust-tone wash. Fans will collect the sweaters with their innovative open-weave knits and graphic intarsias. And we predict a waiting list for the perfect little black leather perfecto that Theyskens is hoping his customers wear with its matching shorts. For Theyskens, the cut is the thing. We also spotted a couple of seriously big perfectos, a good indication that the developing oversize trend will continue into Resort and Spring.
—Nicole Phelps

Thom Browne

That Thom Browne—who lives to provoke and feeds on runway spectacle—is debuting a Resort collection (typically sales-driven and unshowy) is a bit of cognitive dissonance striking enough to be measurable on the Richter scale. The tremors don't abate when you learn that Thom took as his theme "classic resort" and the totems of prep. Rest easy. Though Resort is a commercial collection, Browne promised, "I never look at anything commercially." The purpose, he said, was to introduce themes he'd continue in September (and, before then, in his men's show in Paris in July).

Besides, what is anything so enshrined as resortwear and preppiedom but fertile ground for the usual Brownean subversion? A foamy cotton jacquard covered with whales was the sort of thing you might see in a Lilly Pulitzer catalog. Until, that is, you look closer and discover that some of the whales are actually whale bones and carcasses. Joining the whales (and their remains) were floral jacquards, crayon-colored madras, and embroidered lace, fashioned into modest skirts and worn under printed silk peignoirs or Browne's signature tailored jackets. (His "school uniform" jackets, for the record, are made in a Japanese fabric that is used for most of the standard-issue uniforms for actual Japanese schoolchildren.) The custom-developed fabrics made their way into accessories, too, from structured bags to scarves to pumps (the last worn with matching, hand-knit socks in piqué), and for the first time, the designer added women's frames to his licensed sunglass line. You'd have to admit that the whole looked, if slightly daft in the usual and appealing Thom Browne way, quite wearable. Browne promised more theatrics come September. And in the meantime, there were touches of wildness, like the madras sun hat whose diameter rivaled the rings of Saturn. But provocative though he may be, Browne is no mere provocateur. The hat would be produced, he promised, and if experience was any teacher, would sell.
—Matthew Schneier

Tibi

For Tibi's Amy Smilovic, the best part about creating a new collection is selecting fabrics. Flipping through the swatches she used for Resort, she pulled out a cornflower blue techy mesh she found at a vendor in Paris that was exclusively available to companies like Nike and Adidas until this season. Smilovic whipped it up into a structured T-shirt and pencil skirt set, a standout look that nicely illustrated how she likes to combine sporty materials with classic silhouettes. A structured taffeta ball skirt in an electric "kelp" shade achieved the same effect. Her bold surrealist prints were also carefully considered. There was a mercerized cotton sweater with a Schiaparelli-esque lobster (the timing of which Smilovic explained was "no small coincidence" with the Costume Institute's current exhibition) and a paint-drip coral that she said is "something Dalí would've come up with."
—Brittany Adams

Tory Burch

Tory Burch may be the very definition of a lifestyle brand, one in which la vie Tory informs the lot. Last summer, she vacationed on Italy's unbelievably picturesque Amalfi Coast, which gave grist to the mill. Voilà, her Resort collection, full of sun-bleached colors, Italianate accents like tile work and mosaic prints, and seaside accoutrements. The charm of the thing is that Burch manages to make it inviting to resorters who travel (like, say, herself) and resorters who don't. Even her forays into luxury fabrics are leavened with less, to be approachable both in style and in price. A brocaded skirt was shown unfussily with a cotton military jacket (and even less fussily with a bandeau top). Walking through the collection at the lookbook shoot, Burch realized she was wearing nearly the same thing. It's not only that Tory manages to make her globe-trotting fabulosity palatable to the contemporary client; it's that she manages to keep it interesting to herself, too. The magic works both ways, which may be exactly what keeps the registers ringing and the global expansion expanding.
—Matthew Schneier

Tracy Reese

Tracy Reese is a self-professed seventies fanatic and frequently nods to the Me Decade with her collections. Three 1978 issues of L'Officiel sent to Reese by a former intern gave rise to her new Resort lineup. "That's when all the great volume was happening and the sun was always shining," she said. "I love the quality of light in those editorials." An accordion-pleated chiffon racer-back dress and basketweave-print silk palazzo pants paired with a matching tie-neck blouse captured the breezy spirit she was going for.

As a contemporary designer, Reese is vigilant about keeping her price point affordable. At an appointment, she held up a piece of beautiful taffeta that goes for $40 per yard and explained how she went back to the mill with the swatch in hand and demanded a similar fabric for $14. The resulting material is ultra-lightweight with a metallic sheen and turned up on a winning party frock with a bubble skirt and low, crossover back.
—Brittany Adams

Tribune Standard

When life handed Tawfik Mounayer lemons, he turned them into something sweet for his latest Resort collection. The Tribune Standard designer grew up roaming through his family's citrus groves in coastal Israel and made a zesty print (somewhat reminiscent of Dolce & Gabbana's Spring lineup) the focal point here. It came on flirty tie-back sundresses and crisp poplin shifts with an oxford collar and discreet slashes near the shoulders. Fruit aside, Mounayer has a clear message this season—see the fun raincoat with transparent vinyl sleeves and trouser waistbands subtly trimmed with thin strips of PVC. At this morning's presentation, he hinted that he's headed for a very different part of the Mediterranean for Spring (yes, folks, September NYFW is just around the corner, and you can be sure designers are already feeling the heat). If the va-va-voom finale look—a red-hot, off-the-shoulder jersey number that was very Sophia Loren—serves as any indication, we'd say he's off to Italy.
—Brittany Adams

TSE

TSE's Brian Reyes looked to Brazil for his new Resort collection. Many people associate Rio with the bright colors found during carnival, but Reyes found inspiration in simple natural phenomena like the country's miles of coastline, which he subtly echoed on a Lurex cashmere twinset and tube skirt. Banded agate slices specific to the region appeared as a digital print on silk shirtdresses, plus a shift with engineered seams. Knits always receive top billing at TSE, and highlights here included an open-weave sweater with a Baja-like ease about it as well as several body-con, perforated cashmere bouclé pieces. This lineup didn't push the fashion envelope as much as his past two collections for the brand, but if anything, Resort is a commercial season focused on making cash registers ring, and these wearable staples should do just that.
—Brittany Adams

Tsumori Chisato

Tsumori Chisato took a breather in Sedona earlier this spring, and the trip proved a starting point for her new pre-collection. But instead of pursuing a literal desert theme—although she's posted pictures of cacti and sandstone formations on her blog—the Tokyo-based designer directed herself toward a message about high-wattage flower power.

It's a graphic mix, to be sure, with Magic Marker grid patterns and oversized daisies pushing her cartoony style further toward childlike. The risk here is that no woman wants to wear her 6-year-old's doodles. In most cases, however, the hand-drawn flowers—appearing in repetition on a peasant blouse or as a single stem sprouting off a tunic dress—remained on the right side of playful, especially when paired with maxi skirts, some smocked with a quilted belt that emphasized the waist.

For a crisp, commercial counterpoint to the fluoro cuteness, the designer created a grouping with sinuous lines in carmine red, ivory, and navy. She also modified the bridge of preppy two-tone penny loafers with cat ears (it wouldn't be a Chisato collection without a feline cameo). Her spin on outdoorsy included a striped poncho and an electric blue parka with bat-wing sleeves and pylon orange trim. Meanwhile, Wallabee-inspired wedges in silver lamé veered more toward ABBA than Arizona.

Chisato's version of literal looks something like this: a limeade coat watermarked with various circles that, in a more traditional context, would have featured chinoiserie. Inside hers were a combination of emoticon smiles and winks. But far be it for anyone to decry it as kitsch; she's clearly in a happy place.
—Alex Veblen

Tucker

The Tucker woman was once known largely for print blouses and dresses, but she now wears the pants. Opening her own Soho store in December has allowed designer Gaby Basora a firsthand insight into what customers respond to, and her trousers have been best sellers. There were plenty on display in her new Resort collection, from slouchy skinny ones to more tailored, high-waisted pairs. On top were fifties-style bustiers in floral patterns and loose-fitting pajama shirts with contrasting sleeves. Separates weren't the only options, of course. There was a leopard jumpsuit and a handful of flirty dresses sprinkled throughout. The entire range had a French feeling to it, so it wasn't surprising to hear that Basora, who was out of town during Resort appointments, was traveling through Paris with her three sons. "Resort 2012 is a breeze, a soufflé," she said via e-mail. On one of the baby-doll dresses, there was even a cartoon design of Basora herself, avec cigarette. It was the work of an artist friend, who lives—wait for it—in France.
—Jessica Minkoff

Valentino

Andy Warhol's portrait paintings line Maria Grazia Chiuri and Pier Paolo Piccioli's mood board for Resort. The artist's neon pinks, sky blues, and electric oranges all came together on their show-opening long tulle dress appliquéd with lace flowers, while its silhouette—the high neck, the long sleeves, the full skirt—could've belonged to one of his sitters. Nan Kempner, maybe, or Marisa Berenson.

The designers see both the Pop colors and the sixties shapes as antidotes of sorts to our current hard times. The clothes are surely uplifting, not only because they've been constructed to be almost weightless, but also because MG and PP are so focused on their clients' pleasure. The single pantsuit in the collection came in a leopard print, and exquisite guipure lace meant there was little that was workaday about their button-down blouses. Where these clothes will be getting a workout is on the party circuit. One of the first to hit the red carpet will be the black tulle gown with the leather bodice. Warhol, we've no doubt, would've loved it.
—Nicole Phelps

Vena Cava

When it came time to pin down their resort inspiration, Vena Cava designers Sophie Buhai and Lisa Mayock literally had visions dancing in their heads. The subjects? Anjelica Huston, Jerry Hall, and Loulou de la Falaise circa their Studio 54 days, with a little Helmut Newton thrown in for good measure. Easy, simple, and louche were the words that the girls used to describe their midi-length wrap skirts, barely-there camisoles, and delicate slipdresses with minimal ruffled detailing. Keeping with the label's modern-vintage aesthetic, the prints here came in all shapes and sizes, from a mini matchstick design to a large-scale bright floral to a spunky "Deco machine" graphic splattered on a range of silky separates. Since rebooting their label with the help of Li & Fung, Buhai and Mayock have opted out of "editorial" looks in favor of simplicity and ease. A smart move on the part of the VC duo, who, in the coming months, will launch their wares exclusively at Barneys.
—Jessica Minkoff

Versace

Donatella Versace often celebrates the enduring connection between her family business and the princes and princesses of pop culture. It's a world she always felt comfortable in. Her Resort collection, for instance, combined Joan Jett's tough-girl stance (or maybe it was Kristen Stewart-playing-Joan Jett) and Prince's dandyism, frothy lace jabot and all. DV named the result Rockmantic, to seal the relationship.

The emphasis was on short, sharp, and sexy in tailored jackets and pants and leather sheaths. The eighties are never far away with Versace. Donatella borrowed some key motifs of the decade, like Keith Haring's radiant heart, laser-cut onto lace, silk, and leather, or graphics drawn from the work of the radical Milanese design group Memphis, which she customized with flowers and guitars. Then she added a little heavy metal, in the form of copper beads trimming hems or copper snaps that allowed sleeves to be opened or closed, to reveal or conceal, as your heart desired.
—Tim Blanks

Viktor & Rolf

If you've ever wondered at the inner life of Viktor Horsting and Rolf Snoeren, their Resort collection offered some pointed insight. After a year of life-changing yoga, Rolf was open to the option of transcendental meditation. But a particularly grim brown-rice-no-knickers introductory tape compelled him to ask, "Why can't spirituality be glamorous?" So he and Viktor trained their powers of imagination on one of those counterintuitive hybrids they specialize in, and whaddaya know? Haute Hollywood met Hare Krishna. Well, hello, Dalai!

Archness is Viktor & Rolf's albatross, but here, the inspiration was so innately peculiar that there was scarcely any point to the accusation. The exaggerated shoulders, the draped lamé, the layers of tulle (for day and night), and the ruching were sheer—though not always see-through—silver-screen goddess. The hot orange-y color scheme and decoration stirred Indian exotica into the mix. (A pair of wide pants were apparently inspired by a sari.) The designers rather fancied the notion of a spiritually enlightened Rita Hayworth as the collection's presiding spirit. Quite how she would speak to women in the twenty-first century was unclear, especially when it was more likely they'd be listening to "classic" V&R: the trench with Chinese lantern sleeves, the gazar blouson with the big bow, the tuxedo with one ruffled lapel. Maybe not enlightened but at least comprehensible.
—Tim Blanks

Vionnet

It's a looser, lighter, dare one say Springier pre-Spring at Vionnet. "We're moving toward more femininity, a more sensual collection," explained sister designers Barbara and Lucia Croce, who are rounding the bend of their third collection for the label. The duo have made pragmatism their beat at the brand, changing course from the more evening-leaning one charted by former designer Rodolfo Paglialunga, but drape is at the heart of Vionnet and they don't reserve it for after dark. Even their tailored pieces sway.

The designers emphasize motion and design in 360 degrees. They're great fans of asymmetry, and what looks one way from the front will often look different from the side or the back: a long silk cotton cloque skirt that plunges and rises or a gossamer-looking gown that surprises at the back with a giant bow. That one side of a print skirt is plisséd is no guarantee that the other will be.

If the Croces are still honing their look at the label, there's also plenty to recommend. The oversized rose floral they debuted had a garden sweetness, especially when you got close and saw that it was patched and stitched, not printed. That emphasis on texture runs throughout, as in the cocktail dress made of cascading layers of sherbet-colored sheers or the finale evening looks, where that opening rose came rendered in sequins.

Yes, evening, too. "As women, it's important for us to propose a complete wardrobe," the designers said. Including, incidentally, jewelry. Their asymmetrical gold-tone bangles were a quiet standout.
—Matthew Schneier

Vivienne Tam

Vivienne Tam has mastered the art of contrast. With her new Resort collection, she adapted circular tribal graphics of the mandala and geometric Buddhist symbols to her urban aesthetic. Subdued hues of black, white, gray, and khaki were mixed with a bold orange. Soft, lightweight cotton was paired with more tailored substantial silk and wool blends. Opposites were very attractive indeed in one of Tam's favorite looks, a patterned tank dress and a structured cropped silk blazer. Other high points: a pair of skinny black trousers with intricate mesh cutouts, a boxy T-shirt with a kaleidoscope design, and a printed hooded parka with a drawstring waist. All three were as wearable as they were chic.
—Jessica Minkoff

VPL

The London Olympics, which have turned many usually oblivious heads toward the world of sport, should be a boon for Victoria Bartlett. Athleticism underlines her collections; she's part designer, part kinesthesiologist. For Resort, scuba-suit snugness met soft draping. There were intricately seamed tops that hugged, then flowed, and open-weave, netlike knits that hung appealing off the body. She looked to cubism to create color-block dresses in mixed fabrics, like ultrathin Japanese suede and Cupro, punched up here and there with patches of sequins. ("Deconstucted bling," she called it.) Cuts, slashes, and plunging necks revealed the underthings underneath, the foundation and literal building blocks of her collection. (Visible Panty Line: not just a name but a promise, too.) The ever-present athletic theme was expressed in the long dresses from VPLX, the ready-to-wear capsule that grew, quite literally, out of the bras. They looked ready for a red carpet in an Olympic Village.
—Matthew Schneier

Wayne

Wayne Lee is still thinking about a trip she took to the Caribbean a year ago. Perhaps it's because she learned an important lesson there about tropical dressing. "I brought all my black clothing and I was so out of place," she said. "In Anguilla you have to wear color." Her new Resort collection follows that guideline. Her hue of choice was a fluorescent green—on an inverted-pleat miniskirt, a boxy tube dress, and a button-up tank. "Kelp," she called it, like the seaweed. Vivid memories of the sea also lent themselves to a cobalt blue and bright yellow anemone print that appeared on a short-sleeve shift dress and a "peekaboo" skirt with an extra, "just for fun" flap in the back. Also in the mix: Lee's signature sporty-chic separates, most notably a white cropped mesh baseball jacket and "denim" leather shorts.
—Jessica Minkoff

Willow

Willow is based in Australia, but more often than not, you'd be hard-pressed to locate anything particularly Australian in Kit Willow's clothes. This season, though, she found inspiration close to home—namely, in the painted raw linen used as a wall covering in the new Willow shop in Sydney and in the extraordinarily hardy hide of the Australian crocodile, a vicious creature sometimes referred to as the last dinosaur. (Fun fact: Did you know that crocs kill or injure as many people in Australia each year as sharks do? Don't go to Australia!) What unites these two seemingly binary influences, Willow explained, is their surface-ness—an abstract connection, to be sure, but one she elaborated through the collection's use of croc prints and applied finishes, such as the foil scales stamped onto leather. In addition, she played with the crocodile theme by patterning dresses and skirts to resemble draped hides.

As seasonal themes go, "surface elements" is pretty loose, and this collection's strength was that Willow didn't waste energy overemphasizing it. Yes, there were the rather literal metallic scales and the croc-inspired cuts, but there were also the killer silk pants, slit up-up-up on the side, which didn't have much to do with anything except looking dead sexy and easy to wear. And though you could, if you tried, make a case for Willow's Madame Grès-pleated numbers having a kind of pachydermal density and tactility, that would only undermine their well-made loveliness. Except, actually, it wouldn't, because Kit Willow's emerging signature as a designer is her ability to marry tough and pretty in an idiosyncratic way—that Madame Grès dress, those slit-open trousers, the trademark bras and corsets, they all have a warrior princess mien. You might even call it an outback mentality.
—Maya Singer

Yigal Azrouël

Yigal Azrouël's latest outing was inspired by an outing of his own: a trip to Japan that began as business and ended as pleasure, when the designer found himself too wrapped up in the country to leave. He was thinking in particular, he said at a preview, of Japanese gardens. The question they pose for a designer is how to balance prettiness with chic. Azrouël bounced from hard-edged to floral and back with a collection that sometimes hit and sometimes missed. There were body-con dresses with architectural seams and jagged layers of flaring skirts that recalled other designers' recent fare, not always to their own advantage. More successful were pieces that wore their specialness lightly. A dress and skirt in Yves Klein blue paisley jacquard not only hit the brocade trend of the moment but did so in a subtle, blink-and-you'll-miss-it way. Likewise the motorcycle jacket that close up revealed itself to be embroidered then perforated organza, a minor miracle of production. That, actually, felt authentically Japanese, an homage to a country where no price is too high for perfection. For the full look, the designer leavened the high with the low: Azrouël showed it with leather leggings miraculously safe for the wash.
—Matthew Schneier

Zac Posen

There's plenty to marvel at during a Zac Posen preview: the acres of bordeaux tulle on a halter gown, the obsessive attention to detail in the curving pleats on a pencil skirt (how many hours did a seamstress toil over those?), model Anna Cleveland's old school sashay. But what's most remarkable is the fit. Posen's hourglass-enhancing dresses can turn even the most angular of mannequins into sex bombs. His lookbook shoot with the androgynous Erin O'Connor is proof positive of that.

Since returning to the New York scene from Paris a year ago, Posen has zeroed in on eveningwear. He says it's paying off at retail, where sell-throughs have been "unbelievable." But dressy skirtsuits and other separates also got their fair share of play in his new Resort collection. A pintucked chiffon and washed organza blouse and pleated high-waisted pants had a smart, retro-modern look.

Posen built options into a long-sleeved black day sheath. Its cowled neckline could be worn pulled down, exposing the shoulders, or up for a more demure look. A pretty violet gown with one manipulable sleeve had the same kind of versatility. Ultimately, it's the drama of these frocks that makes them desirable, but that kind of considered practicality has its appeal, too.
—Nicole Phelps

ZAC Zac Posen

The big scoop at Z Spoke by Zac Posen is a new Signature capsule of 25 eveningwear looks that are priced to sell at around $1,000 a pop, give or take. "I wanted my girl to get the man and not go broke on the way there," Posen said at a Resort appointment this morning. These after-dark numbers are far more affordable than those found in the designer's namesake line, but definitely aren't cheap in terms of construction. Posen starts by scouring the market for materials like stretch duchesse satin and bondage lace, which keeps costs relatively low, and elevates them with signature details like precise seams and flattering corsetry.

For daywear, he offered tailored tropical wool suiting separates, including an asymmetric zip jacket with a removable cowl neck, as well as a tufted tweed coat with an away-from-the-body silhouette. "We wanted to get that outerwear trend in stores as soon as possible," he said. "Canine couture" accessories are another recently developed category. Posen is constantly looking for stylish solutions for carrying around his own three pups (his mini poodle Tina Turner makes an appearance in the lookbook alongside model Tao Okamoto) and noticed his customer wants the same. She'll go for the perforated leather totes and leashes here.
—Brittany Adams

Zero + Maria Cornejo

Not long after Style.com's Resort preview with Maria Cornejo this morning, we overheard an editor from another fashion pub saying that she'd be wearing a Maria dress to the CFDA Awards. "It's simple and easy," she reported—the holy grail for fashion insiders, who've made a religion of dressing down for dressy occasions, saving the gowns for clueless Hollywood types.

Cornejo's latest collection continues in the same casually luxe vein. Or maybe we should call it dorky chic; the designer herself did. "I like that it's kind of dorky," she said, describing a black dévoré popover top tucked into a pair of black shorts made from a feathery synthetic fringe. If all this sounds like you have to be part of the in crowd to understand and wear Cornejo's clothes, that isn't the case. The brand is growing and she's expanding her range, adding jacquard suiting and leather separates to her familiar photo-print dresses (the best of which was an oversize polka dot that was actually a metal mesh fence at San Francisco's de Young Museum). Cornejo also tossed in an elegant ivory jersey gown tucked and draped from a central spot at the midriff. In it, no one, not even a Hollywood celebrity, could look clueless.
—Nicole Phelps